A narrow country lane, off a little-used secondary road dotted with several houses which is happily reminiscent of the little holiday roads of our childhood, climbs the hills. Here, there is no intensive farming, just meadows and woods where wild flowers and mushrooms can be picked. Within sight is a more luxurious property, a “builder” chose this verdant setting for the construction of his home, built entirely from stone. Neighbours are at a distance and do not constitute a nuisance.

The house

This rectangular house gives a somewhat deceptive impression. Although dubbed the “little house in the woods”, it has everything a large house has. The south-facing facade, built of stone and quarry stone blocks, bordered by a wide terrace, shows but a single storey all on a level and a local tile roof, covering an attic floor. The north facade, bordered by an oak wood, reveals a third level currently in use as garages. The garden, extended by a large wood, harmoniously surrounds the house.

The ground floor
A large French window opens into an entrance hall which provides access, on either side, to the reception rooms. A toilet with a wash-hand basin, in the corner, adjoins a wooden stairway, going upstairs. A door, at the end, opens into an American-style kitchen which communicates with a dining room. On the left-hand side, a large, bright lounge is enhanced with a superb stone fireplace. It opens on to the terrace via a French window and an immense picture window; openings that provide additional living space and give the room a double, west and south aspect. On the right-hand side, a vast through room is extended at right angles by the kitchen and delimited by a counter. A deepfreeze-laundry room area, set back from the kitchen, also includes a stairway down to the lower level. A fireplace in the dining room, as elegant as that in the lounge, is fitted with a hatch for closing off the flue. Further on, in the south-east corner, a bedroom, with large cupboards, is followed by a spacious, north-facing bathroom. It is fitted with a vanity unit comprising two wash-hand basins, a bath, a large Italian-style shower, a toilet and a heated towel rail. There is underfloor central heating throughout the ground floor which also features top quality travertine stone floor tiles.
The upstairs
The stairway in the entrance hall goes upstairs to a large central landing. This area could be laid out as a study or a games room depending on the owners’ requirements. Two large bedrooms, with sloping ceilings, are on either side. They are illuminated via skylights and bull’s eye windows. Each has its own separate shower room and toilet. A third room, closing the floor on the east side, could be used as a linen room. A blind passageway, running alongside the north wall, contains all the technical features for the electric wiring and the plumbing for the shower rooms. This level has wide strip pattern parquet flooring throughout. It is heated via radiators governed by an oil-fired boiler.
The base level
Underground on the south side, the lower level creates a tall facade on the north side. Large openings provide access to garages. Miscellaneous storage areas could make this level suitable for a small business activity. A separate garage could also be converted into a workshop or a holiday accommodation rental unit.