luxury bastide for sale Velorgues-Petit Palais district of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France

A luminous 260 m² forest house with swimming pool and over 1 ha of grounds in the heart of the woodlands of the Vaucluse Mountains. Probably a former forester's house, the dwelling was built at the end of the 19th century on the edge of a municipal or state-owned forest to house a forest ranger and his family. This type of lodge was once owned by the state or the local authority, but they were then progressively sold to private owners throughout the 20th century. There was no precise architectural model for these constructions; their layouts varied according to the region in which they were located and the needs of their occupants. The property is situated to the south of the village, on a hill predominantly planted with pine and oak trees. A noble two-leaf wrought iron openwork gate in the arched shape of an eyebrow, supported by two stone pillars, provides access to the property, possibly a remnant of an entrance to a larger forest estate. A driveway crossing the pine forest from the north-east provides access to an area destined for parking cars. Starting with a modest forester's house, the successive extensions have over time created a proper family home. Several parts of the building follow the sloping ground, so that there are two major differences in level within the dwelling. Set in the heart of 1.19 hectares of well-tended woodland, the main building is itself surrounded by vast terraces of stone from local quarries and a 5 x 7 m south-facing swimming pool. The house has been designed to let the light flood in throughout, providing the whole family with moments of relaxation and leisure in absolute tranquillity, only interrupted by the sound of birdsong. On the whole, everything in the house reflects the fact that here, as in most Provence houses, people lived outdoors most of the time. At once an open-air cabin and a warm refuge from the rigours of winter, the interior, with its many windows, successfully achieves the feat of being as bright as the exterior.