A restored rural dwelling with a 200m² floor area and a 6,000m² garden, tucked away in France's Perche province near the town of La Ferté-Bernard, und
A restored rural dwelling with a 200m² floor area and a 6,000m² garden, tucked away in France's Perche province near the town of La Ferté-Bernard, under two hours from Paris.
The property lies 15 kilometres west of the town of La Ferté-Bernard and 20 kilometres from the town of Bellême. From the train station in La Ferté-Bernard, you can get to Paris via the city of Le Mans. You can also easily reach the A11 motorway from the property. In a village three kilometres away, there are primary schools, shops and farmers selling produce. The property neighbours the beautiful Perche regional nature park and Bellou-le-Trichard forest. The rural surroundings offer countless activities, ranging from hiking to off-road cycling and horse-riding. In this remarkable region of France, you can discover hidden treasures among its wealth of built heritage.
The restored property, a former enclosed plot, lies at the end of a lane beneath a vault of vegetation. The property is hidden, tucked away in the countryside. You enter the property between the main dwelling and an outbuilding. The rectangular house dates back to the 19th century. It offers a floor area of around 200m². It is built of rubble stone, coated with ochre lime rendering. It was recently restored. The outbuildings are built in the same way. Exposed tuffeau stone forms the quoins and door and window surrounds. The gabled roof is covered with old tiles and has three newly created dormers on its south slope. Beside the dwelling, there is a wooden building and another outhouse. The series of buildings forms a courtyard where a tall tree towers in the middle. The garden is enclosed with hedges. The dwelling's facade is its south elevation. Opposite the house there is only a wooden outbuilding that looks out at the surrounding fields.
The house
The ground floor
The rooms have French-style beamed ceilings and floors of terracotta tiles. The walls are timber-framed or plastered and painted. The north side, where there are bathrooms and a bedroom, is insulated. The windows are double-glazed. On the south side, three doors lead outside from reception rooms and a bedroom with a fireplace. The entrance hall is in a section with a lower roof. A bread oven was once housed here. This space, with two large east-facing windows, leads to a spacious lounge via two steps. This lounge has a wood-burning stove in one corner. Next, there is an open-plan fitted kitchen, separated by a timber partition of openwork. The whole layout is smooth and bathed in natural light.
The upstairs
You reach the first floor via a wooden staircase in one corner of the lounge. This upper floor has been renovated and insulated. Up here, you can see exposed beams of the roof frame. A landing connects to two bedrooms with sloping attic ceilings of plasterboards painted white. Roof windows with electric shutters bring natural light inside. The rest of the first floor includes a storeroom and a shower room with a lavatory.
The outbuildingsThere are three outbuildings. The first two are made of rubble stone and are crowned with tiled gable roofs. One of them houses two former stables with a pig shed on one side. The second one is near the orchard. It has a single room. The third outbuilding is timber-framed with one wall of rubble stone. It could be used as a summer kitchen. It looks out at the fields.
The garden and orchardThe garden is enclosed with hedges. It offers far-reaching views of the countryside through a few gaps in the vegetation. It includes an orchard with old walnut trees, apple trees, pear trees and cherry trees.
