When we decided to leave the 9th arrondissement which sits between the long tree-lined rows of Avenue Trudaine and the calm of Square Pétrelle, we were looking to settle somewhere "green" with our two children aged twelve and seven, in a beautiful family home near Paris. We immediately fell in love with this beautiful Mansart-style building that dates from the end of the 19th century. It is located in the centre of a village near Rambouillet, just thirty minutes from Paris by train, in the heart of the Haute Vallée de Chevreuse and the vast national forest of Rambouillet.
It is a two-storey Mansart house from 1890 made of brick and stone in buhrstone style. It is separated from the central street and neighbouring properties by a long gate overlooked by old lime trees and high stone walls surrounded by yew and cypress trees. On the garden side, the house is extended by a veranda immersed in nature and surmounted by a terrace which enjoys a view of the Château de Pinceloup in the distance. The garden dotted with elm trees is currently being landscaped, of note is the long swimming pool being built which will run along the back wall of the house near the sheltered well on the west side.
The property is a bourgeois house which was notably inhabited by the founder of Delage-Delayaye automobiles in the 1930s. The old family house was subdivided when it was inherited by a previous owner in the 2000s. It was then completely renovated by a couple of interior designers-architects - Royal Roulotte - who turned the property into an exhibition of their expertise by combining the original spirit of the place with more contemporary inspirations. The house once stood at the heart of a very extensive estate consisting of a stable and a barn (which are now independent properties) and a vast meadow where sheep grazed between the fruit trees and which led to the Rémarde, a narrow stream that crosses the village of Sonchamp.
Depending on the season, guests can retreat into the house and enjoy the living room, the office or the library upstairs; or they can open the house up to the outside and enjoy the garden, lunches on the grass and the soon to be added pool. They can even explore the many hiking paths of the village, which alternate between forest and countryside paths, or to go a little further afield by bike. In the evening, the house illuminates the centre of the village but remains sheltered by the walls of the property. It is a very cosy house. Both elegant and functional, it is a joy to live in. Guests will feel rejuvenated as soon as they arrive and take refuge from the noise of the outside world.
In the village, take a walk through the forest of Pinceloup or even go as far as the Domaine de la Chéraille. Visit the old house that Aragon gifted to Elsa on the outskirts of Saint-Arnoult. In Rambouillet, enjoy a coffee at the Café de l'Industrie or try the tasty burgers at the Maison Blanche. Children will enjoy a trip through the chateau park to the Bergerie Nationale or a show at the superb contemporary room of La Lanterne. In La Molette, we recommend dinner at Patio, an authentic Italian restaurant with a Neapolitan chef. Savour an aperitif on the terrace at the Cinq Anneaux in La Celle-les-Bordes on a sunny day. Go to the market and the delicious Clairefontaine patisserie on Sunday mornings. In Cernay-la-Ville, a little further away, the Jardin Sucré is the region's best loved patisserie.
The communal rooms (kitchen, dining room, living room, office-veranda, and bathroom) are on the ground floor and overlook the garden. On the first floor are a master suite with a bathroom and two children's bedrooms, one of which has a terrace and a bathroom with a toilet. The second floor includes two more bedrooms, one of which has an office, as well as a library and a second bathroom with a toilet.
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The two guest rooms, one of which also has an office room, are located on the second floor and can be reached via the central staircase of the house. On the other side of the corridor is a library and a bathroom with a toilet. Breakfasts are served in the dining room or in the garden depending on the season.
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