an architect-designed house in the heart of one of the most beautiful villages in France

Location
In the west of France, 15 minutes from Royan and 50 minutes from La Rochelle, the property lies in the heart of a picturesque village on the edge of the most important oyster farming bed in France. The shops, the old port and the restaurants are only a short walk away. The two golf courses of the Coubre forest and its 5,000 hectares, as well as the Palmyre zoo can be reached in 20 minutes. A little further north, the town of Marennes famous for its oysters and the Ile d’Oléron can be reached in 25 minutes.
The particularly sunny and airy climate of the Charente-Maritime seaside has allowed the fauna and flora to create a unique and preserved ecosystem - notably thanks to the Natura 2000 nature protection network.
Description
Under a single-span roof, a building with two separate rooms features large picture windows and doors in the continuation of the right-hand wall. The sun lounger area is hidden behind the separate rooms. On the other side of the pool is the bamboo-panelled common wall. At the back, a porch is adorned with two small-paned mirror windows which, as a trompe l'oeil, expand the view. The pool area is surrounded by small trees, for instance an olive tree and two cypresses.
The main house
On two levels, under a typical low-pitched gable roof, the street side facade has a sober white rendering and French windows with shutters. On the garden side, the house offers a more pronounced character, with an exposed stone wall combined with a large roof-high glass wall. One of the pitches, slightly longer on the pool side, extends over the glass wall and creates a canopy reaching to the edge of the pool.
Ground floor
The discreet door on the street side opens into a hallway, with a wooden door just to the right opening into a toilet filled with natural light. Opposite, another door leads to the laundry room, boiler room and electric water heater. On the left, as you enter the kitchen: the surprising brightness and volume of the living room with its glass wall. The floor is paved with off-white stone slabs of the same type of stone as outside around the pool. The kitchen is fitted with quality equipment - notably from Smeg - and features an imposing inset fireplace with a conical hood. Its brightness, due to the local limestone, in contrast to the darker storage units in the kitchen, gives the room a certain personality. Light is provided by the two tinted windows facing the street, as well as by integrated lighting fixtures. The large living room, half under a mezzanine, also with a white stone fireplace, boasts conservatory glass walls on both sides, revealing a view over the garden and the pool. The vast volume of approximately 60 m2 is amplified by the height up to the ceiling and the mezzanine. The lighting is via dimmers. Outside, the space is extended by a canopy in front of the pool.
First floor
Accessed by the staircase along the wall opposite the garden, the first level is a mezzanine overlooking the pool. The English style floor is natural pine parquet. To the left, along the balustrade, past the wooden doors and large cupboards, is an open-plan room, currently used as a study, which could also be used as a bedroom with en-suite shower room. Straight ahead follows a naturally lit bedroom with its bathroom and closet.
The two independent bedrooms
Under a monk and nun tile roof, these two adjoining bedrooms offer a surface area of about 25-30 m2 each, with toilets and water points, their joint facade forms a glass front of windows and doors. The floors are off-white stone, as everywhere else in the property. One features a shower room with a walk-in shower, the other has a bathroom. Both offer their own separate toilet and large wardrobes. One of them includes a small mezzanine.
Our opinion
In the heart of a green and shady garden, the bright and radiant luminosity of the house, nestling against the swimming pool and the two independent bedrooms, breathes into the property a pleasant intimacy under the Atlantic sun. Around the pool, the atmosphere exudes nothing but simple and friendly hospitality.
The quality of the house, fitted out with the best materials both inside and out, is in perfect harmony with the quality of the geographical location. It is as much a comfortable retreat as it is a place to live or for local neighbours to meet. However, in view of the surroundings, the independent rooms, the excellent reputation and the calm of the village, it could be judicious to develop a bed and breakfast activity.
950 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 351853
Land registry surface area | 420 m2 |
Main building surface area | 210 m2 |
Number of bedrooms | 3 |
NB: The above information is not only the result of our visit to the property; it is also based on information provided by the current owner. It is by no means comprehensive or strictly accurate especially where surface areas and construction dates are concerned. We cannot, therefore, be held liable for any misrepresentation.