{"id":14039,"date":"2022-08-25T11:00:57","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T09:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=33973"},"modified":"2022-08-25T11:16:11","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T09:16:11","slug":"a-renovated-ancient-french-farmhouse","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/a-renovated-ancient-french-farmhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"A renovated ancient French farmhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Molly Malsom\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 25 August 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Michelle Opperman\u2019s love affair with France, its architecture and culture, began when she visited Europe for the first time. As an 11-year-old from South Africa via California, whose French ancestry was evident in her surname, La Roux, she felt what she describes as an \u2018incredible connection\u2019 to the country when she passed through France on a family holiday to visit relatives in Germany.<\/p>\n

Over the years Michelle, an interiors architect, has lived all over the world \u2013 Tokyo, New York<\/a> and Amsterdam \u2013 but her dream was to settle in France. However the opportunity never arose. Then, on her 45th birthday, while still living in California, her husband Craig presented her with a leather-bound journal in which he had listed two different house-hunting itineraries in France. The journal was to serve as a record of their property search, which was to begin in Paris<\/a> and around the Loire Valley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Michelle knew from living in Amsterdam that the northern European climate was not for her. So the family\u2019s focus swiftly moved southward towards Montpellier. Multiple trips to France ensued, says Michelle, \u2018but we couldn\u2019t find a place that really spoke to our souls\u2019. Even if the requirements on the family\u2019s list of \u2018must-haves\u2019 could be ticked off, a certain something was always missing.<\/p>\n

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And then finally, four years into their search, they stumbled upon an extraordinary ruin, which is now their home-from-home in France. Set in an idyllic location with several vineyards, an olive grove and an oak forest, not to mention outbuildings and a garden, the house itself was in a terrible state, says Michelle. \u2018It had been badly neglected, but we could feel there was a soul waiting to come back.\u2019<\/p>\n

For Michelle, the dilapidated building was a blank slate and an exciting challenge. Though the next two years required real stamina and for most of the time the house was uninhabitable. One room was rat-infested, pigeons lived in the attic, and there was very little electricity. Some parts were so rotten, they had to be entirely removed and rebuilt.<\/p>\n

The aim of the renovation was to respect the history of the property as much as possible, while introducing 21st-century modern conveniences. In many areas this meant taking the building back to the bare bones. Wherever possible original building material was reused, so, as Michelle explains, the actual history of the structure remains, \u2018but sometimes it\u2019s in a different location\u2019.<\/p>\n

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When elements had to be built from scratch, the couple used local craftsmen familiar with the traditional techniques in order to remain true to the spirit of the house, even to the extent the stone walls still crumble a bit in places. \u2018We\u2019re always vacuuming up bits of sand, but that\u2019s part of the character,\u2019 laughs Michelle.<\/p>\n

When it came to decorating and furnishing the house, Michelle\u2019s design philosophy was to \u2018establish a conversation between the architecture and the interior design\u2019. This didn\u2019t mean replicating a 17th-century room replete with 17th-century furniture, it was about strategically placing antiques \u2018that reference the history of the building, whilst mixing in modern comforts, such as comfortable sofas\u2019.<\/p>\n

Craig and Michelle have acquired an eclectic mix of art and furniture over the years. \u2018We don\u2019t stick to one period or one country,\u2019 says Michelle. \u2018There are light fixtures by the Dutch artist Pieter Adam that add a pop of modernity to the old farmhouse.\u2019 But in the last year they have begun to collect antiques<\/a> that come specifically from the Languedoc region.<\/p>\n

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The couple split their time between busy working life in California and the south of France, so it was important to Michelle that the house was a space that allowed visitors to \u2018breathe a sigh of relief and completely relax the minute they walk in\u2019. To this end she restricted herself to a harmonious palette of soft neutral shades<\/a> throughout the house.<\/p>\n