By Neil Parkinson

Published in French Property News, January 2008

 

The property market in the Languedoc has seen significant changes in recent years. Enquiries for houses or barns requiring full restoration have dwindled. The prospective buyer appears less keen on the trials and tribulations of a full restoration; besides which, the truth is that derelict properties ready to be snapped up at basement prices are now very thin on the ground. No, today’s buyer is looking for a place that is ready to move into.

 

So how do Brits feel about buying property that has already been restored? To the modern eye, be it French of British, property restorations in France dating to the sixties or seventies are at best quaint, at worst, an eyesore. At the time, the inhabitants of old buildings modernised effectively to bannish their antiquated lifestyles. Old beams, stones and fireplaces were hidden or disposed of and an abundant use of concrete thought appropriate to equal construction aesthetics of the day. The contemporary restoration is very different.

 

Taste is subjective and moves along with trends, but a number of traits are commonplace and now considered the basis for a good restoration. Contemporary decor often blends repointed stone walls with fully rendered walls or with plasterboard in order to lessen the "mineral" aspect of too much exposed stone, but also to mask defects in stonework or utilities. For full effect, these are ideally married to a tiled floor - original hexagonal or square terracotta tiled floors if in good condition. Otherwise something that comes close - new tiles with a weathered look - or a quality parquet will often fit the bill. Dark ceiling timbers are out in modern restorations. Instead, the aim is to achieve the airy quality produced by white lime paint or original wood shades. It is interesting to note that sometimes the functional side takes precedence over the look of stones and beams - in a bedroom for example, where simple plasterboard makes things easy to keep clean.

 

Open-plan designs - where structurally possible - and bright white interiors have largely replaced the Provençal conception of the house, with its pastel shades. The adoption of antique doors and fittings for communication between rooms or for closing off niches in walls is common. On the outside, paradoxically, some choose to keep all or parts of old exterior renderings rather than exposing and repointing the stones. Where this is done, care is taken to preserve the beauty of sculpted stone work around windows and doors. Finally, on the issue of comfort, it is routine to allocate thought and finance to aspects like thermal insulation and modern double glazing to reduce energy losses and make for a draught-free interior. Such are the beguiling characteristics that are the essence of a modern restoration, and very much in concert with British requirements.

 

To illustrate these points, our first example, and one that is exemplary in every way, is a village house in Pujaut (Gard) near Avignon, built in what was a cluster of barns and stables once adjacent to the village chateau. This makes for an interesting layout – not grandiose in any way, but characterful and cosy. Immediately noticeable from the outside are the striking iron framed windows that illuminate the kitchen/dining room – almost a glass curtain wall - and the vast single pane window of the living room. These most certainly would have been absent in a lower quality restoration. Outside, one notes the contrast between a newly rendered south facing wall and the ochre tinted eastward wall. This is perfectly intact and respectable but an old rendering scarred by years of weathering and revealing traces of a former stone arch adds an attractive touch. The owners have opted for ceiling beams painted in white lime. Floral decorated antique cast-iron radiators – installed in most rooms at considerable expense - are a striking feature. Add to this a patio and jacuzzi and you see why the property is in a league of its own. The property is for sale for 495,600€.

 

The front façade is all that remains to be refurbished - if it is felt necessary - in a house near Pezenas (Hérault), the famously medieval arts and crafts town between Montpellier and Beziers. It offers a pleasing three-tiered window set up with stone window surrounds and the characteristic ‘genoise’, a common regional trait with layers of roof tiles where the wall meets roof. Inside, the ground floor of the house is an open-plan layout with modern kitchen / dining and living areas. Exposed timberwork, white walls, and terracotta style floor tiles, with original decorative tiles preserved in one of the bedrooms summarise the interior. The master bedroom has space and character, at the top of the house. At 250,000€, the house is priced to sell, given the quality of work, the size and setting.

 

As an aside, it is interesting to note that some modern houses mimic old ones. In the village of Gigean (Hérault), twenty minutes west of Montpellier there is such a house. Built in 2006, it has wider than normal windows with large panes, multiple double doors and a symmetry which gives it great dignity. A similarly fashioned property in Ledignan offers a more countryside setting, pool and pool-house. Their prices are respectively 328,600€ and 371,000€ - both houses have four bedrooms and offer the benefit of reduced rate notary fees.

 

Returning to restored properties though, for sale currently is a free standing farmhouse with gite beside Anduze (Gard). A notable architect was employed to blend the construction of an adjoining two bedroom gite with the existing house. The gite forms a smaller volume than the main house and is displaced from the main axis of the house. This adds architectural interest, and creates areas for terraces and patios. Pale wooden doors and windows, old wooden interior lintels and refurbished terracotta tiles, make for a quality restoration. The property has an acre of land and a large pool. The asking price is 519,500€.

 

Finally, consider a farmhouse in the Cévennes, the origins of which go back to the late 1700s and which until recently had fallen into a state of semi-ruin. The property was bought with an eye to creating guest accommodation and a honey outlet – plans that have since been thrown into question due to new professional constraints. A good 220m² of the property has undergone a thorough structural overhaul, walls repointed, new floors and roof installed, doors, windows and shutters fitted, plumbing, electrics and thermal insulation installed. Another 130m² await restoration - prime material for gites and as such, eligible for grants from the local tourism authorities.

 

Oak doors and traditional chestnut shutters are fitted and stone and timberwork exposed – what one might call a blank canvas, ideal for the new owner to adopt it and make it their own, with the peace of mind that the work is covered by a ten year guarantee. The asking price is 383,720€ and an estimate of another 161,000€ has been drawn up to cover for fittings in the main house and the restoration of the two gites.

 

In conclusion, one might say that there is a new equilibrium between demand and supply in the Languedoc. In terms of quality, the bar has been raised, the market offering more distinguished restorations, from village house through to farmhouse format, and in parallel, the construction of new houses that mirror old ones.