House Chatellerault (86)

An elegant 17th century house and its well-concealed swimming pool in a harmonious garden, 15 minutes from Châtellerault TGV train station.
This house stands on the outskirts of a little village which is within walking distance. A grocery, selling local organic products as well as bread, a café-restaurant, a chemist and a hairdresser could prevent residents from making trips to Châtellerault which is, nevertheless, only 15 minutes away from the property. Still in Châtellerault, the “Jazzelrault” and “Automne” festivals provide jazz and classical music enthusiasts with first-rate concerts. Its Italian theatre offers an extensive programme shared with the National Theatre in Poitiers and two cinemas will delight film buffs. Its TGV train station provides 1½-hour links to Paris. Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport is 2⅓ hours away. Poitiers airport, 40 minutes away, has regular flights to Lyon, Marseille, London and Edinburgh.
This freestone house, on a promontory looking down on the area around Châtellerault which is particularly luminous courtesy of its light-coloured soil, appears to rise up out of this light. After having bordered the walls constructed alongside the driveway, pedestrians can enter via a little gate, opening into a courtyard with, on the left-hand side, an outbuilding converted into a studio flat and, straight on, the 17th century house with its large openings. Next to the studio flat, another gate provides access to a 10x5 m swimming pool, lined on one side by the wall bordered when entering and, on the other, by outbuildings adjoining the main house. Once through the house, the garden extends longwise. Cars use the entrance with its gates, opening into the garden.
The houseThis south-facing property comprises a main 17th century house which was recently enlarged by adjoining the outbuildings.
Ground floor
The entrance hall is laid out around an impressive stone stairway. On the left-hand side is a guest toilet and, straight on, a door leading out into the garden. The 3.5 m high ceiling gives an immediate indication of the spaciousness of the interior. A lounge, on the right-hand side, has terracotta floor tiles and a streamlined fireplace with foliated scrolls, featuring plants, and fluting. A little lounge, with terracotta floor tiles, has a smaller fireplace with refined lines. The large, adjoining kitchen has a door leading out into the garden and the courtyard, housing the swimming pool. This room, steeped in light courtesy of its double windows, is extremely convivial, encouraging residents to linger in order to appreciate the smells of stews cooking, tarts baking and jams bubbling. A door communicates with the back kitchen and the converted, more contemporary section of the outbuildings. Two large windows open, on one side, on to the swimming pool and, on the other, on to the garden. Two steps delimit two areas, one on the swimming pool level and the other on the garden level. A mezzanine accommodates a study area. A bedroom, enhanced with a fireplace as well as exposed ceiling beams and adjoined by a shower room and toilet, is made autonomous by a stairway in the swimming pool courtyard. Another bedroom, with a bathroom and toilet, looks out over the garden. The contemporary section also provides access to a storage area and a cellar.
First floor
The stone stairway goes up to a landing providing access to two bedrooms. A first has a fireplace, similar in style to that of the lounge, a shower room and a chemical toilet. The second, also with a fireplace, has a bathroom with a shower and a toilet. The bedrooms and the second bathroom look out over the countryside. The first bedroom is carpeted whilst the second has oak wood parquet flooring. The ceilings, at an exceptional height of 3.2 m, enhance the feeling of spaciousness.