Location
This property is located in the heart of the Occitanie region - famous for its eventful history, well-preserved architecture, culinary specialities and full-bodied wines - in a village in the Tarn-et-Garonne area which boasts two Natura 2000 sites, three protected zones and two ecologically interesting areas teeming with wildlife and plant-life. The origin of this old village and its many townhouses typical of the region, built with pink brick and boasting façades incorporating arcades, is said to be linked to the construction of an abbey in the late 10th century. Some shops and a doctor’s surgery can be reached on foot, while other amenities are only 6 minutes away by car, as is an outdoor activities centre.
Lastly, the property is 30 minutes from Montauban, where there is a high-speed TGV railway station, as well as schools, university establishments, a hospital and clinics. It is also 50 minutes from Toulouse-Blagnac international airport.
Description
A single-storey building used as a garage is located at the end of the small driveway leading to the rear of the property. A pink brick rendered wall encloses the garden. There is a metal gate in the side wall that opens onto the adjacent narrow street.
The house
The north-facing, pink brick façade features six arcades, two of which face to the sides. The slightly darker coloured semi-circular arches with sober slightly protruding keystones are supported by large square pillars each topped by a moulded cornice. Behind the arcades, the gallery is paved with pink and orange terracotta tiles. Three tall, rectangular, large paned windows as well as a large door made of Carolina poplar wood open onto this gallery. The double leaf door, with a pink brick frame and a fanlight window boasting very sober ironwork, is the main entrance to the property. The façade possesses three belt courses and a cornice, all of which are moulded, as well as six windows with white wooden shutters.
On the south-facing side, the elevation has seven openings on the ground floor - through five of which the patio can be reached - and seven windows on the upper floor. There are three chimney stacks on the roof, underneath which ivy runs above the upstairs windows, providing a touch of refreshing greenery. Almost all the openings are fitted with white wooden shutters.
The ground floor
The entrance door is an original feature and opens into a hall that leads to an office on the right and to a lavatory and cellar door to the left. The garden can be seen through a corridor behind a double leaf glazed door. Dating from 1869, a large elm wood staircase with balusters is the centrepiece of this space, lending a bourgeois feel to the house.
The corridor leads to the living rooms of the house, which are all south facing. On the left, there is a vast fitted kitchen with exposed dark oakwood beams. The pink brick fireplace, with a dark oakwood mantelpiece, standing against the wall, heats part of the house. The kitchen, with a ceiling height of more than 3.2 metres is generously bathed in light through triple leaf French windows stretching from the floor to the ceiling.
At the end of the corridor, a partially glazed door opens out into the garden. To the right, the corridor leads into the lounge. The cream and light-grey walls are decorated with wood panels with straight moulding. In the middle of one of them proudly stands a wine-red marble fireplace framing a cast iron wood burning stove, above which there is a mirror with a gilded frame. The lounge has honey coloured pinewood English bond flooring. To the right, it leads into the office, while opposite there is a 54-m² space made up of a bedroom with solid oakwood herringbone flooring, a shower room, a cloakroom and a utility room. The rooms are connected by wooden doors.
The bedroom ceiling is adorned with a trompe-l'oeil painting. In the centre of the suspended ceiling decorated with foliage patterns, a rounded balcony in sculpted white stone decorated with roses, primroses and pansies, is reminiscent of a spring sky in which two swallows fly.
The upstairs
The wooden double-flight staircase leads upstairs. Gentle light streams through a window above a half-landing, highlighting the impressive ceiling height of approximately 7 metres.
On the upper floor, a landing overlooking the staircase is bathed in light through another window. From the landing, a large corridor with herringbone wood flooring leads to a bedroom with light oakwood flooring, its en suite bathroom, lavatory and wardrobe, occupying approximately 28 m².
Thereafter, on either side of the corridor, there are five bedrooms with wood stripped flooring whose size ranges between 18 m² and 32 m². Two of the bedrooms have en suite shower rooms. Two others boast marble fireplaces, whose colours vary from white and grey to greyish brown with beige and white touches. There is a small wood-burning stove in another of the bedrooms which boasts exposed brickwork on two of its walls. The last bedroom, which requires refurbishment, boasts many original features, such as solid oakwood herringbone flooring, a dark brown marble fireplace with a red and black cement tile surround, light blue wallpaper with cream-coloured arabesques and a walk-in wardrobe with extensive storage space. The rest of the flooring on this level is made of firwood.
The basement
This perfectly ventilated cellar has a light-coloured gravel floor. Three pillars in the middle of the room support the master beams. Uniquely shaped shallow-arched concrete shelves intended for wine storage line one wall. Two of the other walls are lined with straight light-coloured pinewood shelves.
The ornamental garden and swimming pool
The garden, which plays host to a tiled terracotta patio of almost 51 m² covered by a period glass pergola, is organised into neatly laid out areas that are lawned or gravelled and planted with trees or shrubs. Olive, palm, fig and maple trees are dotted around the garden. The summer lounge, also covered by a removable pergola, as well as the former dog pen are separated from the rest of the garden by hedges. This foliage also hides the garage at the end of the garden.
Lastly, positioned to benefit fully from the sunshine, a 4.5 metre by 9 metre chlorine-treated swimming pool occupies the garden’s centre. It is surrounded by terracotta tiled coping and decking made of teak as well as stone slabs.
The small outbuilding
This building is made up of a long summer kitchen and a second room in which there is a lavatory and a boiler. It also houses the swimming pool’s technical installations.
Outside on its southern side, there is a shower.
The garage
The property includes a garage which houses a fuel-oil tank. A staircase leads to loft space that can be converted.
Our opinion
This family home combines the advantages of both a main residence and a holiday property. It is located in the heart of a village near to various economic, tourist and leisure hubs. Its quiet and peaceful setting provides a pleasant living environment in the countryside, with all essential amenities only several minutes away.
Once some refurbishment work and modernising of the decoration has been carried out, the warm ambience of the house will take on a new dimension, combining modern and traditional features.
Lastly, in addition to the comfort they provide, the garage, patio and swimming pool confer upon the residence a holiday home feel and an impression of carefree living to life in and around it.
Reference 519555
Land registry surface area | 717 m2 |
Main building surface area | 325 m2 |
Number of bedrooms | 6 |
Outbuilding surface area | 140 m2 |
including refurbished area | 70 m2 |
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.