2019-06-01 25 Beautiful Homes

french country house | 25bh

T

heysaygoodthingsareworth

waitingfor,andthatis certainly

thecasewhenit comestoCéline

Michaux’svillagehome.Located

closetothethrivingcityofLyon,it offers

theidealcombinationofcountryandcity

living,andthougha newbuild,it hasmany

elementsofthetraditionalFrenchbastide.

However,CélineandherhusbandFranck

spentmorethana decaderentingbefore

movinghere,andtookthreeyearslooking

fortheperfectplotonwhichtobuild.

‘Weviewedseveralplacesbuttherewere

somanycompromisestobemade,’reflects

Céline.‘Thenwesawtheidealplotandwe

decidedtotaketheplungeandbuildfrom

scratch.Wedidn’tneeda bighome;instead

wechosetocreatea propertythatwasboth

ergonomicandeconomical– a placewhere

everyinchis utilisedandwheretheliving

spacescouldbeopen-planandinclusive.’

Thecouplespentseveralmonths

designingthelayout,makingsureit

workedasa familyspacethatcouldeasily

accommodatevisitsfromHugo,their

21-year-oldson,aswellasfunctioningasa

cosyhomeforthetwoofthem.Eachofthe

threebedroomshasanensuite,thereis room

fora miniofficeinthehallwayandthereis

additionalstoragespacehiddenunderthe

stairs.‘Weknewthatat110sqmit wouldn’t

bea bighouse,butthankstohighceilings,

generouswindowsandtheopenlivingspace,

itfeelsmuchbigger,’explainsCéline,who

trainedasa specialistindecorativefinishes,

andis nowa restorerofvintageitems.‘Above

all,wewantedtocreateourowncompact

“cocoon”thatreallyreflectedourlifestyle.’

Keytothesuccessofthebuildwas

a comfortableblendoftraditionand

modernity.‘Weusedplentyoflocalstone,

knownforitsclassicgoldenhue,butwealso

incorporatedlarge,metal-framedwindows

bywayofcontrast,’saysCéline.Inaddition,

thecouplewentforsleeklinesthroughout

and a contemporary sail-like canvas shade

KITCHEN

Blackcabinetryissophisticatedandalsodefines

thecookingareaintheopen-planspace.

Forsimilarbarstools,trytheHenriksdal,£85each,

Ikea.Life is Better Together poster, €20, Cinq Mai

DININGAREA

Mismatchedchairsandrattanpendants

lendthisareaa chic,informalfeel.

Ikea’sNorrarydchairsinBlack,£50each,are

similar.Thependantshadesweremarket

finds.TheBalbilights,from€120each,

Caravane, are comparable

favourite room ‘Welovethe

kitchen-dinerbecauseof itsgenerous

windowsand thefactthatit leads

directly to the terrace and garden’

25bhjuNe 2019| 109