SOLD June 07 -Stone Character Property D1206
 (Middle property) Showing the garage entrance, first and second floor balconies and the west-facing terrace. | Details:
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Pictures available:
 Showing the garage entrance, first and second floor balconies and the west-facing terrace.')) | ) | ) | ) |  There is also a chimney conduit serving this room which could be opened up again.')) |
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Condition: Good
Full Description: SOLD JUNE 07
At first glance you might think this is a typical village house in a typical Hérault circulade village and has lots of typical features, and it is and it does - but intriguingly this property also has several interesting twists! Read on...
Ok, so the house is a stone built house, set out over several floors and with at least the foundations (and if not some of the walls) being a few centuries old, as with so many of these central village stone properties. The difference with this property is that it used to be the village inn, which gives it a certain cachet and leads one's imagination to run riot as to what stories the walls could tell if only they could talk!
The architectural evidence of the building's original purpose lies in the enormous entrance hall (see the photo oposite). Anyone own a coach and horses? Because I'd seriously like to try and turn them in this hall! The ceiling is in fact in the roof of the house two to three storeys higher, with a large light well ('puits de jour') in the roof itself allowing light to stream down to the hall below.
Now, I say 'two to three' storeys higher above, which gives you a clue to the next interesting feature of this house. Being constructed on a hill, the house has two floors at the front and FIVE at the back!
I'll try to explain the layout of the property for you:
At the back of the house (see the photo opposite) you have the garage (36m²) on the ground floor. This has a stone tiled floor (not earth - much more robust and easier to keep clean) and leads through to two storage areas of 19m² and 9m² ('caves' in French), one with a mezzanine (13m²). Great space for storage, DIY or big enough for a games room. A bit of digging back here, and you'll probably find yourself in the maze of tunnels that lead to the church and used to hide resistance fighters in the last war and may even have existed and been used decades and even centuries before for pretty much the same reason (I'm thinking Cathars - yes - I've read The Da Vinci Code and this is the exact geographic area where a lot of Cathar activity happened, after all!).
Anyway, back on track. Stairs up lead to the next level which is where the independent studio (33m²) lies (separate access). The French doors above the garage in the photo belong to the studio. This is a large, light and airy room with a separate shower-room. Modern kitchen area and all in excellent condition and ready to either rent out or put the in-laws or the teenagers in so they are out of the way!
The stairs continue up to the main living floor of the house. This floor also has the entrance from the front of the house into the grand entrance hall.
So, on this floor you'll find: the entrance hall (24m²), living room (27m²) with blocked off chimney conduit that could easily be re-opened up, a room (9m² - could be a study), shower-room (4m²) and separate wc (all white suite), then along a short corridor lies the kitchen and annexed dining area (36m²).
The kitchen is modern (recently installed), clean and the room itself is lovely and bright - it benefits from the next set of French doors that you see above the studio's in the photo of the back of the house. The current owners use the area behind the kitchen as a small lounge area, as, being a young couple just starting their family, they do not use all the space in the house, but ideally this would make a superb dining room (after all, you have a 27m² living room along the hall!).
Back to The Hall (which suddenly needs capitalising!) and up the sweeping stone stairs with traditional black-painted iron-worked banisters, and you arrive at the next floor, which is the bedrooms floor.
Here you will find two large bedrooms (13m² and 19m²) with built-in cupboards, at the front of the house, plus a spacious landing (16m²), with a corridor leading towards the back of the house with a door off to the big family bathroom (9m²) - with those wonderful green tiles - apparently everyone remarks how much they like the colour! And also a door to the separate wc, and again the whole bathroom suite is white.
Now at the back of the house, there are two more bedrooms of approx 10.5m² each, both opening out (one room by windows, the other by French doors) onto the west-facing sun-trap of a terrace (14m²) which also has the most amazing panoramic views across the Hérault countryside and up to the Cévennes mountains in the north. The terrace is plenty big enough for eating out on and I would actively encourage showing off your sunsets to your house guests with a bit of tilty-elbow of the local wine. The walls would be so pleased that you are continuing the property's original theme!
You may be thinking, wow, what a tour! What a house! But I'm not done yet! Oui, oui - 'la pièce de résistance' is yet to come! There is also no less than 100m² of completely renovable loft space that could in fact make a whole wonderful, light and spacious living area - for instance a master bedroom, en-suite bathroom and roof terrace. Or a separate apartment.
The whole house is in excellent condition, but it's a bit too big for the current owners so perhaps needs either a large family or two families (or someone with lots of friends who are keen to come and stay without having to buy their own house - admit it - you know someone!) to come and fill the place up with people and furniture and to bring back the spirit and excitement of its bygone days as the village inn...
Email me now if you'd like to come and see this property.
Short Description: SOLD JUNE 07
Info:
Tools
Full Description: SOLD JUNE 07
At first glance you might think this is a typical village house in a typical Hérault circulade village and has lots of typical features, and it is and it does - but intriguingly this property also has several interesting twists! Read on...
Ok, so the house is a stone built house, set out over several floors and with at least the foundations (and if not some of the walls) being a few centuries old, as with so many of these central village stone properties. The difference with this property is that it used to be the village inn, which gives it a certain cachet and leads one's imagination to run riot as to what stories the walls could tell if only they could talk!
The architectural evidence of the building's original purpose lies in the enormous entrance hall (see the photo oposite). Anyone own a coach and horses? Because I'd seriously like to try and turn them in this hall! The ceiling is in fact in the roof of the house two to three storeys higher, with a large light well ('puits de jour') in the roof itself allowing light to stream down to the hall below.
Now, I say 'two to three' storeys higher above, which gives you a clue to the next interesting feature of this house. Being constructed on a hill, the house has two floors at the front and FIVE at the back!
I'll try to explain the layout of the property for you:
At the back of the house (see the photo opposite) you have the garage (36m²) on the ground floor. This has a stone tiled floor (not earth - much more robust and easier to keep clean) and leads through to two storage areas of 19m² and 9m² ('caves' in French), one with a mezzanine (13m²). Great space for storage, DIY or big enough for a games room. A bit of digging back here, and you'll probably find yourself in the maze of tunnels that lead to the church and used to hide resistance fighters in the last war and may even have existed and been used decades and even centuries before for pretty much the same reason (I'm thinking Cathars - yes - I've read The Da Vinci Code and this is the exact geographic area where a lot of Cathar activity happened, after all!).
Anyway, back on track. Stairs up lead to the next level which is where the independent studio (33m²) lies (separate access). The French doors above the garage in the photo belong to the studio. This is a large, light and airy room with a separate shower-room. Modern kitchen area and all in excellent condition and ready to either rent out or put the in-laws or the teenagers in so they are out of the way!
The stairs continue up to the main living floor of the house. This floor also has the entrance from the front of the house into the grand entrance hall.
So, on this floor you'll find: the entrance hall (24m²), living room (27m²) with blocked off chimney conduit that could easily be re-opened up, a room (9m² - could be a study), shower-room (4m²) and separate wc (all white suite), then along a short corridor lies the kitchen and annexed dining area (36m²).
The kitchen is modern (recently installed), clean and the room itself is lovely and bright - it benefits from the next set of French doors that you see above the studio's in the photo of the back of the house. The current owners use the area behind the kitchen as a small lounge area, as, being a young couple just starting their family, they do not use all the space in the house, but ideally this would make a superb dining room (after all, you have a 27m² living room along the hall!).
Back to The Hall (which suddenly needs capitalising!) and up the sweeping stone stairs with traditional black-painted iron-worked banisters, and you arrive at the next floor, which is the bedrooms floor.
Here you will find two large bedrooms (13m² and 19m²) with built-in cupboards, at the front of the house, plus a spacious landing (16m²), with a corridor leading towards the back of the house with a door off to the big family bathroom (9m²) - with those wonderful green tiles - apparently everyone remarks how much they like the colour! And also a door to the separate wc, and again the whole bathroom suite is white.
Now at the back of the house, there are two more bedrooms of approx 10.5m² each, both opening out (one room by windows, the other by French doors) onto the west-facing sun-trap of a terrace (14m²) which also has the most amazing panoramic views across the Hérault countryside and up to the Cévennes mountains in the north. The terrace is plenty big enough for eating out on and I would actively encourage showing off your sunsets to your house guests with a bit of tilty-elbow of the local wine. The walls would be so pleased that you are continuing the property's original theme!
You may be thinking, wow, what a tour! What a house! But I'm not done yet! Oui, oui - 'la pièce de résistance' is yet to come! There is also no less than 100m² of completely renovable loft space that could in fact make a whole wonderful, light and spacious living area - for instance a master bedroom, en-suite bathroom and roof terrace. Or a separate apartment.
The whole house is in excellent condition, but it's a bit too big for the current owners so perhaps needs either a large family or two families (or someone with lots of friends who are keen to come and stay without having to buy their own house - admit it - you know someone!) to come and fill the place up with people and furniture and to bring back the spirit and excitement of its bygone days as the village inn...
Email me now if you'd like to come and see this property.
Short Description: SOLD JUNE 07
Listed by Jane Hughes
Info:
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Fax: FR 0826421562
www.moving-to-france.com
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