A 19th-century rural house being renovated on an 8.7-hectare plot on a plain in France's Var department, 35 minutes from the Gulf of Saint-Tropez - re
A 19th-century rural house being renovated on an 8.7-hectare plot on a plain in France's Var department, 35 minutes from the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.
The charming town of Vidauban has around 10,000 inhabitants and lies in south-east France's beautiful Var department - the lushest department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It is nestled among vineyards in the River Agens valley, by the foothills of the Massif des Maures mountain range. The town's name comes from the word "vidalban", which originally meant "the white vine". Vidauban is a highly attractive location. Indeed, here you can enjoy wine-tasting sessions in cellars, take a canoe down the river to discover the local flora and fauna, go fishing, visit cultural sites, go on long hikes through the spectacular surroundings, and quickly reach the Mediterranean Sea. Vidauban is 1 hour and 10 minutes from Marseille airport, 50 minutes from Toulon airport and 20 minutes from the Les Arcs Draguignan high-speed train station. It is only five minutes from the A8 motorway too and 30 minutes from the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.
A narrow country lane that leads to scattered dwellings takes you straight to the north side of the property. Then a dirt track leads to the house. Next, the building's north-facing elevation comes into view with its five large windows upstairs and three smaller openings downstairs. The house has simply a ground floor and a first floor. The south-facing elevation has five sets of French windows along the ground floor and six windows upstairs. All these openings are fitted with louvred shutters painted pale green. This tone of green pairs harmoniously with the local stone of the elevations. The stonework has pointing. On the south side, the elevation faces the countryside. A garden here, in front of the house, stills needs to be developed. Exposed dressed stone forms the quoins. Small, discreet bricks form the window surrounds. The roof of barrel tiles has been entirely renovated. It is underlined with a double-row génoise cornice, which adds to the house's traditional appearance, typical of the south of France. The dwelling was recently restored with respect for the original architectural style and with a desire to add modern comfort. However, this restoration still needs to be completed. The house offers around 110m² of floor area per level. On the ground floor, there will be three large rooms: a future lounge, dining room and kitchen. And on the first floor, there will be four large bedrooms with private shower rooms, beneath the sloping ceilings of the roof. An outhouse on the west side needs to be developed. And on the south side, a spring makes it possible to create a small lake too.
The house
The garden-level floor
The whole of the ground floor is currently being renovated. It offers a floor area of over 110m². It has three large rooms. On the west side, there is a future lounge, filled with natural light from two sets of French windows that face south. On the east side, the kitchen leads into a dining room, which is completed with a pantry bathed in natural light from small north-facing openings. In the middle, there is a spacious entrance hall with a half-turn stone staircase that leads up to the first floor. The rooms are generously sized with ceilings over three metres above the floor. At the current stage of renovation, no partition wall has been created.
The upstairs
The first floor offers a floor area of over 105m². It will be divided into four spacious bedrooms, three of which will face south. Each bedroom will have its own shower room. Each room offers a beautiful view of the countryside and of the undulating land of the Massif des Maures foothills. This first floor offers remarkably spacious rooms with sloping ceilings that go up to the roof ridge and showcase exposed beams that were revealed as ...
