A 19th-century family home in grounds with a swimming pool, 25 minutes from Vichy, in the Bourbonnais part of the Limagne sector - ref 922734
A 19th-century family home in grounds with a swimming pool, 25 minutes from Vichy, in the Bourbonnais part of the Limagne sector.
The Bourbonnais part of the Limagne sector is a natural zone situated between the Loire and Allier rivers, in the Allier area, in the northwest of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Its open landscapes, shaped by cereal crops and orchards, spread out as far as the eye can see, with the former volcanoes of the Chaîne des Puys mountain range as a backdrop. The property, located in a village, stands next to the church square and very close to shops, services and doctors' surgeries. The start of the A179 motorway that links to the A71 between Clermont-Ferrand and Paris, is 12 kilometres away. Vichy and its train station can be reached in less than 25 minutes, Lyon in 2 hours, Geneva in 3 hours 20 minutes and Paris in 3 hours 40 minutes.
The wrought-iron gate opens directly from the church square into the property. The rectangular main residence is topped by a hipped roof made of flat, red, terracotta tiles. It boasts two large, rendered facades, one facing the street and the other overlooking the garden, with long-ranging views to the Chaîne des Puys mountains. The quoins, window surrounds and door frames are made of stone. A square annex building of the same style and attached to the main residence by a covered corridor stands above a cellar and boiler room. To the right of the entrance gate, there is a single-storey building with a gabled roof that used to house a notary's office. A passageway between the two aforementioned buildings leads to a carport. At the bottom of the garden adjacent to the cemetery, there is a swimming pool, allowing refreshing dips on sunny days.
The houseThe south-facing edifice built in the 19th century with noble materials is surrounded by a garden and possesses a ground floor, first floor and a top floor in the attic level, while there is a cellar below part of the house.
The ground floor
This level can be reached via the entrance door from the church square and through two French windows from the garden. It contains the living rooms in which there is wood stripped flooring throughout and double-glazed windows.
The entrance hall leads to a first lounge with a functional limestone fireplace. It is wallpapered with Japanese paper and opens onto the garden via a flight of steps. At the eastern end, there is an office with views of the garden, next to a second lounge, overlooking the church square, with a Louis XVI style white marble fireplace adorned with sculpted acanthus leaves.
Next to it, there is a kitchen requiring refurbishment, a dining room boasting a central Louis XV style yellow Brocatelle marble fireplace, followed by a bedroom and a lavatory. From the bedroom, a corridor leads to a bathroom and a utility room.
The first floor
At the top of the imposing staircase with balusters, the landing leads to bedrooms in need of redecoration, a games room, two shower rooms, a bathroom, a lavatory and a storeroom. The bedrooms, which are all carpeted, have small, single-glazed windows overlooking the church square or the garden, according to which side of the house they are on.
The second floor
Beneath the rafters, a mezzanine has been installed to create a dormitory, although the limited ceiling height makes standing up a little difficult.The outbuildingsAn open barn provides capacity for parking two cars. Another single-storey building could be converted into an independent apartment or a workshop.
The gardenIt is bordered by the village's church and cemetery and has a surface of around 1 hectare, in which there is a 12-metre by 5-metre swimming pool.
