A rural complex of renovated buildings with a house, gîtes and over a hectare
of grounds, 500 metres from the sea in the town of Douarnenez, Brittany
of grounds, 500 metres from the sea in the town of Douarnenez, Brittany
Douarnenez,
FINISTERE
brittany
29100
FR
Location
The property lies in the town of Douarnenez, on the western tip of Brittany’s historical Cornouaille province in France’s Finistère department. Around it, the relief of the Cap Sizun headland forms a charming coastal backdrop. This enchanting maritime setting drew many artists from the late 19th century onwards. The hamlet of Kerstrat is lined with embankments covered with vegetation, as well as stone walls and large walled gardens. It is located on raised ground on the edge of Douarnenez, just a few minutes from Rosmeur port and Treboul quays. The property is only 20 minutes from the high-speed train station in the nearby city of Quimper. From there, you can get to Paris in 3 hours and 30 minutes by rail.
Description
The grounds cover more than one hectare, set back in calm. The property brings together a main house and outbuildings. From a country lane, low stone walls mark the entrance into the property. Beyond the entrance, in the plot’s south-west corner, there is a row of five former farm buildings. On the north side, the tall, pale facade of the main house stands perpendicular to this row of outbuildings. It is partly hidden by the vegetation of the landscaped garden. The grounds naturally extend this view. The main house has a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor in the roof space. It offers a floor area of around 150m². Its architecture is typical of early 20th-century rural dwellings of Brittany’s historical Cornouaille province, with rubble-stone elevations coated with rendering, window surrounds of dressed granite, steep slate roofs with sloping dormers, gable-end chimney stacks and vertical windows arranged evenly and symmetrically. Beyond a vast terrace, an entrance door marks the middle of the south elevation. A single-storey secondary section adjoins the west gable wall. It houses two technical installations rooms.
The main house
The ground floor
A glazed entrance door leads into a vast open-plan reception room. Four windows bathe it in an abundance of natural light. On the west side, the room is designed around a wood-burning stove. On the opposite side, there is a fully fitted kitchen with an eating area. Straight ahead of the entrance, a staircase leads upstairs. This staircase opens out into the main room, adding to the fluid layout of the whole. Beneath the stairs, there is a storeroom. Oak strip flooring extends across the rooms.
The first floor
The landing is filled with natural light from a window in the stairwell. On both sides, it connects to a shower room, two south-facing bedrooms and a lavatory alongside the north elevation. Each bedroom has two windows and built-in wardrobes closed with curtains. Wood strip flooring extends across all the rooms.
The second floor
In the roof space, the second floor has two bedrooms positioned symmetrically, like on the floor beneath it. These bedrooms are filled with natural light from two large roof windows on either side of the roof and a small window in the east and west gable walls. Up here, there are sloping attic ceilings and exposed roof beams. A bedroom in the house’s south-west corner lies beside a shower room with a lavatory. Wood strip flooring extends across all the rooms.
The terrace
The terrace lies by the south elevation. It is partly edged with low stone walls. It is made of wood strips, like the terrace by the row of annexes. A slightly sunken path forms a central passageway that leads up to the entrance door of the main house, creating two spaces for different uses. On the west side, a stone arch leads out to an orchard. On the east side, a few steps lead to the garden.
The west wing
A single-storey section adjoins the west gable wall, extending the facade and leading out onto the terrace. It houses a water-drawing system. It also serves as a boiler room and storeroom.
The elongated building that houses a row of annexes
Five former farm buildings were recently restructured and fully renovated in a plain, contemporary style. They are designed to be rented out. They have a ground floor and a first floor in the roof space. Dressed stone, laid mostly evenly, forms their elevations. The arrangement of the windows and the ornamentation of the lintels suggest the stone blocks were reused, having come from another construction.
The south wing
The south wing houses a first gîte, nicknamed the “Maisonnette Verte”. It offers an 85m² floor area and is extended with a terrace. The ground floor is arranged around a dual-aspect reception room that brings together a kitchen and a lounge. There is a wood-burning stove in an open-hearth fireplace that dates back to the time of construction. The room has a high ceiling and is bathed in an abundance of natural light from windows in the east wall. Next, there is a shower room with a lavatory and a storage space. The floors are tiled and the walls made of exposed stonework. Upstairs, a landing connects to two bedrooms beneath exposed roof beams. One of them neighbours a walk-in wardrobe and lies on an open-sided mezzanine that looks down at the reception room below.
The studio apartment
There is a studio apartment in line with the first gîte, which it adjoins. This dwelling is smaller in size, with a ceiling height of around two metres. It offers a 15m² floor area. The studio apartment has a bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe and a bathroom with a lavatory. Set back from the main house, it could be used separately with different periods of occupancy.
The central section
This central section, housed within a former farming building, is nicknamed the “Maisonnette Bleue”. It offers a 100m² floor area. Like the first gîte, it has been restored. Its ground floor is laid out around a vast reception room with a wood-burning stove, a fitted kitchen and a lounge that leads out onto a terrace. The walls are mostly made of exposed stonework, either left raw, painted or coated with lime-hemp plastering. The floors are tiled. A staircase with a modern design was made by a local craftsman. There is also a lavatory and a storage space on the ground floor. Upstairs, wood strip flooring extends across the rooms and the walls are coated with lime-hemp plastering. A landing connects to a shower room with a lavatory and to a garden-facing bedroom with a private shower room. The staircase carries on up to reach a second bedroom in the roof space.
The music studio
The music studio is one of the particularities of the property. It offers a 40m² floor area and was designed as a true space for artistic creation. Soundproofed, it can be used for music practice and even recordings.
The workshop
The workshop adjoins the music studio, forming the south end of the elongated building. It offers a 30m² floor area. Inside, it is spacious and filled with natural light, so it could be used for a range of purposes: it could be an artist’s studio, a storeroom or a rented-out space.
The grounds
The estate enjoys absolute privacy. The grounds were designed around 50 years ago as a landscaped botanical garden. The vast outdoor space covers over a hectare of land, through which paths snake between clusters of rhododendrons, collections of hydrangeas and camellias, tall trees and shrubs adapted to the oceanic climate here. The shrubs and trees were planted according to a plan of sizes, blooms and colours that bring them to life over the course of the seasons. Indeed, this haven of greenery opens up vistas structured by majestic trees and cosier spots formed by ornamental shrubs or fruit trees.
The kitchen garden
The kitchen garden is surrounded with low stone walls, which run around most of it. So it is protected from wind.
Our opinion
This charming property is a unique gem. It embodies the spirit of those hamlets that dot Brittany’s Cornouaille province. Yet it harmoniously incorporates a contemporary project in accommodation and artistic creation. Indeed, recent restoration of the buildings respected the place’s architectural identity, while adding touches of modern comfort. The main house, the gîtes, the music studio and the grounds form a coherent whole. The complex lends itself as much to family life as to tourist accommodation and creative work. The grounds were designed several decades ago. They are embellished with a wide range of shrubs, giving the haven a characterful atmosphere, just a stone’s throw from the Atlantic Ocean.
Reference 263958
| Land registry surface area | 1 ha 8 a 16 ca |
| Main building floor area | 381 m² |
| Number of bedrooms | 9 |
| Outbuildings floor area | 30 m² |
French Energy Performance Diagnosis
Information on the risks to which this property is exposed is available on the website: www.georisques.gouv.fr
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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.
