a french country house to love and care for

If you've ever dreamed of packing up and moving to France, to a truly authentic region, full of history and natural beauty then you'll want to know about this house.  Not just a house actually, a former presbytery, dating back to the 18th century and beautifully restored to create a 4 bedroom/4 bathroom home, with room for more on the top floor.

The house is in the Cotentin,  a  protected area of outstanding natural beauty.   The subtle grey stone of the building is typical of the region and will look wonderful with roses climbing up the walls and over the gate.   Within walking distance to the sea, the house is near St Mère de l'Eglise, made famous during the D-Day landings.

The person who acquires this lovely property will be starting with a clean palette, as inside everything has been very tastefully restored without changing the essential character.   I love the double opening doors, the huge fireplaces and the soft tones of the walls and floors.

The outbuildings give that essential French feel to the property and will prove useful for creating summer rooms or storing garden furniture.  The property lies within easy reach of Paris by train, and close to the port of Cherbourg, making it ideal for anyone thinking of creating a B&B.

The garden is perfect because it's not too big an area to handle, but being surrounded by green fields there's the feeling of size.    I can see this laid out in a potager and parterre, complimenting the strict façade of the house.  The land is rich here, trees and garden grown well, and the property could go from beautiful to stunning in quite a short time.

If you would like more details and other photos, you are welcome to drop me a line and I'll tell you what I know or put you into contact directly with the owners.

falling in love again

I have always loved the used of stone, brick and flint stone in the traditional Normandy buildings but I haven't often seen such a beautiful example as this little château, currently up for sale.

This place must have been designed by a man in love and full of bubbling enthusiasm and admiration for the woman he adored !!  He made this château as pretty as possible with intricate designs in the brick work, a multitude of fancy  windows on the roof, carved stonework and a couple of asymmetrical towers, just for fun!

This black and white diamond design, is created using specially cut and split flint stones for the black, and local stone for the grey - the château may be 16th century, this sort of detail is still fashionable today! 

To create beautiful hand carved stonework like this over the main entrance, he would have employed the nomad craftsmen called 'les compagnons de France', who travelled around the country selling their expertise as they went.

In case I've got you dreaming, you might like to know that this pearl is up for sale for just under 800.000 euros.  It has 8 bedrooms and 10 hectares of land.  A beautiful family size château, I am totally under it's charm!  Inside there are fantastic fireplaces, wood clad walls and original window panes, I believe that  major restoration is required.

I love this monochromatic portrait,, framed by stunning stucco leaves and fruit, and more pretty patterns in the brick and stone walls.

Any takers?  I'd love to come and visit if you do buy it!

Le Bois des Moutiers - the most english corner of France

On the Normandy coast, about an hour from here, there is the opportunity to acquire one of the most remarkable properties in the region, indeed in France.

Le Bois des Moutiers was deigned by Edward Lutyens, then a young architect only 29 years of age, not yet famous for such achievements as the Viceroy Palace in India. The gardens were laid out by the incomparable Gertrude Jekyll, and today is still a lesson in garden design. 

In 1897 Guillaume Mallet bought the land, that was already outstanding for it's position overlooking the sea and for the beautiful mature trees. He had met Lutyens at the Unvieral exhibition and asked him to design the house, and turned to Jekyll for the gardens.

The Mallet  family, still the owners today, filled the house with music, philosophy, literature and and painting and were proud to be a flagship to the Art and Craft movement. Virgina Woolf, Claude Monet, Proust, are just some of the famous names drawn to this exceptional property.

Today, although the property is listed historically and open to the public, the Mallet family can no longer keep up with the upkeep and maintenance.  They are hoping that a wealthy foundation, or private person, with a real understanding of the history and value of the property will fall under it's charm and step in to save this treasure.

If you have the patience, watch at least the first 30 seconds of this little video, the shot coming up the cliffs and over the house is breathtaking!

dreaming of a chateau

I thought that for the weekend we could all do with a little something to dream about.

This property has recently come up for sale, it's less than an hour west from us, deeper into Normandy.  A medium sized château and typical of the style around here, built in brick and stone.  It has beautiful grounds, stunning outbuildings, a pool and a lake!

So let's pretend we have 8 million $ to invest with,  what will it bring us?.  Listen carefully and I'll tell you .....for that bargain price, Sotheby's is offering us a pretty 17th century château ...

 that we can admire from the front and the back

(can't you just see those steps and lawn being perfect for a big summer ball!)

.....11 bedrooms with beds of all shapes and sizes,...... 

(I grabbed this one, so you'll have to look further down the hall)

.......8 bathrooms too.....

(If you need to bring a governess with you, don't worry she gets her own quarters.)

we'll have ornate plaster work on the walls and ceilings, 

and carved stone decorations on the façade

..... we get a massive hall, and four large reception rooms including a real library....

in the grounds of the house we have a pool - complete with  thatched pool house,
a stable block,  a 17thC dovecote, a 19thC guest house,
  a caretaker's house and a Norman manor.  

(now that's a real relief because I'd hate us to fill squashed in there
when friends come to visit!)

we could take afternoon tea on the terrace

(this, by the way, is my favourite shot)

 ...... and when the weather is fine we can walk (all day) around the extensive
300 acre property, and even check on the duck's eggs in the laying
baskets that will  have been carefully positioned by our gamekeeper.....

 Sotheby's rather touchingly labels this a 'luxury single family' property.  
One assumes, this is because - once you've lodged the army of staff necessary 
for maintenance -  there will only be the space for one family.

Seriously though, I think this place is stunning.  We definitely couldn't afford to buy or 
maintain it, but I am thrilled to think that some people can and will. 

Wishing you a dreamy Sunday