'Breathing life back into' Mediterranean homes

Restoring a chateau farmhouse in Uzès

Steel, concrete, and limewash – just some of the raw materials used in the brilliant redesign of a farm that had been left to slumber for decades. Today, the vast renovation project successfully melds a respect for its heritage with a sense of space, opening up rooms onto a private garden and a shaded pool. 

For Olivier and Stéphanie, the building is more than a house – it’s a homecoming. After almost thirty years of living in England, and raising two children in London, the couple dreamed of the wild brush, of vines and the sun. This rare gem of a building was hiding in a small village in the Gard region of southern France. An old farm connected to a chateau; weathered by time but full of history.

“We wanted to breathe life back into this magnificent building,” Olivier recollects. The challenge was to retain its soul and to reinvent the space without meddling with the building’s essence. Original architectural elements like the monumental timber roofs, the terracotta parefeuille tiles decorating the ceilings and roofs, and the majestic ashlar vaults had to be conserved, but more important, be placed at the core of the project. 

The living room is the heart of the house in what were once the stables. It opens onto a covered terrace, offering continual dialogue between the indoors and the outdoors.

Olivier is passionate about architecture while Stéphanie loves interior design; they had a specific vision for the renovation. They called on Nîmes architect Anthony Pascual and his network of craftsmen to turn their vision a reality. Stéphanie opted for a combination of contemporary and antique pieces for the interior. 

“We also designed bespoke elements with Anthony, particularly the magnificent raw steel stairway which is a focal point of the renovation,” Olivier acknowledges gratefully.

A timeless resurrection. It’s as though the farm’s transformation is simply a continuation of its story. As the writer William Faulkner said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” 

A contemporary guesthouse in Montclus

An aesthetic landmark set just outside Cévennes, a far cry from the usual tourist excesses. 

Rémy Coussedière and Marc Étienne welcome us to their guest house, Mas Re.Source, and the inspirational visual and cultural dialogue between its old stones, restorative nature, contemporary photography, and designer furniture. 

It took over two years for the pair to transform an historic farm building into something boldly contemporary, working with architect Lucilla de Montis from DirectArchitecte. 

Rémy and Marc also called on landscape gardener Luc Échilley to enhance the outside spaces. 

“When we arrived here, the environment around the dilapidated building was completely wild,” Marc explains. “Luc created an extraordinary garden, with the added bonus of it needing little in terms of water.” 

The main building houses five light-filled suites. Every aspect has been completed to an exceptional standard – wide terraces, panoramic windows that make you feel as though you’re teetering above the sky and completely at one with the landscape, and jaw-dropping bathrooms. 

The couple are art connoisseurs, and every space is an opportunity to display their amazing photography collection, amassed over thirty-five years. “Our art is the nerve center of our farm,” Rémy confirms. 

“We want to create interactions between contemporary style and the past, but the photography is always the starting point, the springboard. That’s where our inspiration comes from; the materials, objects, and furniture follow.”

Two separate houses for guests, each with bold features, were built nearby. One is stone, the other is wood. Each has a living room, kitchen area, bathroom, and stunning views. Lower down, the panoramic swimming pool looks right out over the Cèze Valley and Mount Ventoux. 

You can lose hours sitting under the pergola and drinking in the view. Around candlelit tables in the evening, you’ll enjoy meals cooked by Marc using fresh, local ingredients – and become completely enchanted by this special way of life. 

Styling with ceramics

“What I love most about my pieces are their imperfections. They give them something unique – a certain look, personality, and character.” 

This is how Anna Karin Andersson, with her sparking blue eyes, bright smile, and long blond curls, describes her work. 

“I took part in a workshop with a ceramicist in my hometown of Gothenburg in Sweden when I was nine. I haven’t stopped working with earth since then, dreaming up shapes to create into objects.”

Her atelier is located in the centre of the old town in Uzès. 

“I can work however I like here. I have space, natural light, and two powerful kilns. The perfect artist setup!” 

Her preferred material is porcelain that she works with whenever she can, using a variety of techniques – columbine, on a potter’s wheel, or by pouring liquid porcelain into plaster molds she makes herself. 

Anna Karin uses a few different finishing techniques – textured, delicately colored in light tones, speckled, matte, and shiny – depending on her inspiration. 

Vases, cups, plates, side plates, carafes, bowls, candlestick holders – the artist sees her pieces as free spirits, leaving their flaws and imperfections untouched to occupy their own place. 

This approach characterizes her creations and lies at the very heart of her style. 

“I’ve always sought perfection, at school, then during higher educa- tion. But with ceramics, I feel free. I can see how beautiful flaws can be, and I’ve discovered a whole new universe where you can simply let go. 

I let the material speak for itself and come alive – this spontaneity gives my work a liberating, poetic authenticity.” 

It’s clear this ceramicist is both bold and boundlessly free. 

Mediterranean Living by Laurence Dougier is published by Vendome. Photography by Nicolas Mathéus