Elegant Town Home in French and English Furnishings

stone staircase design

Nothing but a weathered old door and single window can seen from the street. It would appear that only a tiny and very narrow house could be squeezed into such a tight space, but ancient Provencal towns and village are full of surprises. The front door opens onto another world: the dimly lit, tiled hall leads to a stone staircase that draws one up to a magnificent enclosed courtyard garden, two sides of which are formed by the house itself. The adjacent town wall is certainly thirteenth-century and the house was known to have been a resting-place for members of the church travelling from Rome to Avignon to visit the Pope. The poet, scientist, and doctor Nostradamus was born near by.

The present owners, who are Dutch, called in an expert and highly respected architectural practice situated only a few buildings away to carry out a complete renovation and redesign. Masters of the Provencal Vernacular, the team has built a most elegant home from somewhat inauspicious beginnings. The mainly French and English furnishings and fabrics were chosen by the owners to complement the typically eighteenth-century-French greys and muted pastels of the flat paintwork – a timeless combination.

narrow townhouse room interior design