A beautifully restored house with a court and gardens, nestled in a historical town in an area recalling Tuscany in France's Touraine province - ref 5
A beautifully restored house with a court and gardens, nestled in a historical town in an area recalling Tuscany in France's Touraine province.
The south of France's historical Touraine province is often nicknamed Touraine Tuscany. This is doubtless because of its gently undulating landscape dotted with Lombardy poplars that recall the famous cypresses of Italy and because the sun feels milder here than elsewhere. Yet Paris is only a little over three hours away by car. And from the high-speed train station in Châtellerault, a 30-minute drive away, you can get to central Paris in just 1 hour and 30 minutes. The three regional administrative centres of Tours, Poitiers et Châteauroux are each only a one-hour drive away. The town where the property lies has a historical centre, as well as shops and amenities for everyday life. It also has health professionals. The house and its gardens are nestled in the heart of the town, on a small, calm street.
What you first see in this property, with its classical architecture dating back to the 17th and 19th centuries, is its long street-facing facade. At the back, two wings protrude from it at a right angle, forming a U shape around a paved courtyard. At the end of the court, there is an upper garden that you reach via a stone staircase. This garden's retaining wall closes the court's fourth side. The street-facing ashlar facade was recently restored. Its main entrance door is made of varnished wood with a glazed portion at the top. There are two windows on either side of it. The glazed section is protected with a cast-iron grate. The fanlight has elegant wrought-iron decoration. On one side of the facade, a carriage door, also made of varnished wood, leads into a large carriage entrance area that takes you through to the inner court. Beyond the carriage entrance area, one last ground-floor window lets light into an office in one of the wings. Upstairs, the windows are aligned with the ones along the ground floor. The upstairs windows are fitted with louvred shutters, while the ground-floor windows are fitted with solid shutters. The street-facing elevation is rendered. Its doors and windows are set in ashlar surrounds. A luxuriant Virginia creeper grows along the three court-facing elevations. The roof is entirely covered with traditional local tiles. It was recently restored. The upper garden is dotted with trees and enjoys absolute privacy. A lower garden with fruit trees and a stone garage lie on the other side of the street.
The house
The ground floor
The floor of the entrance hall is covered with stone tiles patterned with green marble square inserts. Wallpaper with a foliage motif adorns the walls and ceilings. A wooden staircase with a wrought-iron balustrade leads up to the first floor. At the end, a low door leads straight out into the courtyard. On one side of the hallway, there is a dual-aspect lounge filled with natural light from two large south-facing windows. A window looks northwards out at the courtyard. Wood strip flooring extends across the room. There is a white marble fireplace in working order. Exposed beams that are painted in a light grey tone run across the ceiling. The dado panelling is also painted in this same grey tone, which brings out the imperial green of the painted walls. On the other side of the hallway, a large door opposite the lounge door leads into a dining room filled with natural light from two windows that look southwards at the street. A plain grey marble fireplace stands between two large cupboards. Like in the lounge, varnished wood-strip flooring extends across the room. The dado panelling and exposed beams are painted white and the walls are painted amber. From the dining room, a door leads to a kitchen in one of the wings. This kitchen looks out at the courtyard. The kitchen was recently renovated entirely. ...
