A Provençal house with an olive grove, a small wood, 1.3 of grounds and a valley view, nestled near the town of Sisteron in south-east France - ref 26
A Provençal house with an olive grove, a small wood, 1.3 of grounds and a valley view, nestled near the town of Sisteron in south-east France.
The property lies in the west of France's beautiful Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, near the town of Sisteron and its citadel. The wooded backd-rop looks down at the River Durance valley and also gazes out at the River Jabron valley, further away. The undulating surroundings form a landscape typical of Alpine foothills, dominated by downy oaks, chestnuts and hornbeams. In the foreground, there is an olive grove, protected behind a small wood. Sisteron is only 3.5 kilometres away. It offers shops, amenities, schools, a train station, cultural vibrancy and a wealth of built heritage. The property is easy to reach. The A51 motorway, just one kilometre away, takes you to the town of Gap in 40 minutes, to the city of Aix-en-Provence and its high-speed train station in one hour, and to Marseille airport in just over an hour.
A calm, tarmacked country lane leads to the entrance gate on the north side of the house. This lane leads to a few other properties and olive groves, set back in absolute privacy. The gate leads to a vast court with a garage. From this court, the main entrance door leads into the south-facing family house, which was built in 1994. The facade looks out at a vast summer kitchen, a true outdoor living room with a terracotta-tiled floor. Beneath the traditional roof of tiles above this space, oak beams combined with rafters of chestnut wood form a masterfully built roof frame. From the court, the open-air reception spaces cannot be seen entirely: you reach them via a covered walkway between the garage and the house or via a part of the garden that edges a small wood of oaks. There is an open-air eating area with garden furniture. And near the first olive trees there is a swimming pool, which faces south and is constantly bathed in sunshine. It extends the clear view of the olive groves and the surrounding wooded hills.
The Provençal house
The ground floor
The main entrance door, which leads in from the court, takes you into a central hallway filled with natural light. On one side, an arched doorway leads to a kitchen. Straight ahead, there is a reception space made up of a spacious lounge and a vaulted dining area. The floors of this ground floor are all terracotta-tiled. Designed for family get-togethers, the vast lounge has a fireplace with an insert, backlit wall niches and a broad sliding glazed door. All the sliding doors are pocket doors. Most of the outdoor shutters slide away too. The shutters are painted in a typical Provençal blue. The dining room is cosier. It naturally extends the lounge. The dual-aspect kitchen is fully fitted and practical. It leads to a linen and utility room, which is completed with a pantry and many storage spaces. In line with it, a corridor connects to the outdoor summer kitchen and the swimming pool via several doors. All the picture windows offer views of the olive trees and the small wood. There are also two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms on this floor, including a master suite with a walk-in wardrobe and a broad sliding glazed door that leads out to the pool. For comfort, the house is fitted with a central vacuum cleaning system and all the windows are fitted with discreet mosquito nets.
The upstairs
From the house's central hallway, a staircase leads up to a landing. This landing connects to four extra bedrooms, an office, several storage spaces and two bathrooms. From the bedrooms, you can admire a view down over the olive grove and across the surrounding woods. This vista reinforces the sense of calm and seclusion here. The bedroom in the middle of the first floor is extended with a private balcony that looks out at the landscape.
