Intro
In today’s blog post I will tell you how I go about questions of design and home makeover. But first things first. There are many aspects that are important for a successful design and an appealing look. This is a rather lengthy process and never a quick shot.
While interior design is important it only happens when other homework has been done.
I am neither an architect nor an interior designer but I have been told many times that I have a good sense of style. What helps is that we have renovated before. Our German house is a 1910 house and we went through a similar process. Why don’t you follow this post and then decide for yourself?
Table of Contents:
Design aspects form a buy decision
When we bought our house perched in the heights overlooking the coastline of La Ciotat I was a far cry from thinking about interior design and furnishing.
How to handle the renovation backlog?
Too shabby and derelict was the house, with signs of wear and tear everywhere and in dire need of renovation. The previous owner had not initiated a renovation in many years and the large garden was overgrown. From a technical standpoint the electrical situation as described in the diagnostic report was horrific and completely outdated. And finally there was an old septic tank behind the house that the authority had identified as defect and ordered an immediate replacement by the new owners.
This state did not deter or discourage us. As described in an earlier blog post about buying property we called in a professional surveyor to make sure the building was constructionally sound (this was the case).
What to look for then?
This is what we saw
Location
The location of the house is in a very nice neighborhood. As a matter of fact it is an area that is sought after by others as well. Regularly do I find advertising in my mailbox looking for houses in the area). And just a little short episode at the side. When we renovated and it took ages, we received a handwritten letter in the mailbox from a young couple asking if we were to sell the house as they were searching for exactly this.They probably assumed from the long renovation period that we had either run out of money or were renovating to sell.
Position and embedding
The house is perched up high and oriented towards the south-west and the sun. The building is shielded from the passing street, large terraces face toward the sea and are directed south-west granting privacy and nice views. In the South of France life takes place outside. Already in April it has 20 degrees in the daytime and all meals are taken outside.
It is a house on the hillside which is a guarantee for great views. The building regulations in the area forbid additional building (there is a correlation of size of terrain and ability to build) so that we hope that nothing can change. But at the same time it is a place of many stairs and steps. So let’s be frank and honest. Beware of immobility or a handicap. Then this place becomes unattainable.
Beams
The house has large visible beams outside and inside that are very distinct and determine to some extent the style. Using beams in a prominent way is a typical style element of the local architecture. It is typical for a provencal mas.
One of the first books I bought was by Jean-Luc Massot called `”Maisons rurales et vie paysanne en Provence”. There you can read about the house types typical of the region and classical structures and elements.
Roof
It has a typical roof with overarching clay roof tiles forming a very small overlap in places. The tiles are traditional flat clay roof tiles in a burnished red color which can be seen everywhere around the Mediterranean. No tile is identical to the next. Depending on the clay and burning they are a melange of red.
Where the roof reaches the walls of the house the tiles are stapled on top of each other and look like a laced rim to the house.
Windows
Large windows in the living room and kitchen area open up toward a terrace and ensure that the house is sunny and well lit. The windows are large bay windows that create fluidity between the inside and the outside. When inside, your eye roams freely over the surrounding gardens and you direct your own gaze towards the sea.
Shutters
All windows of the house are protected by shutters, made from sturdy wood and providing security and shade. In many mediterranean countries, houses feature shutters as a key element of comfort to protect the house (heat/ cold/ thieves). From a design standpoint I like to compare shutters to eyelids. They structure and emphasize the appearance.
Render/ dry stone facade, outside walls
While the house is rendered on the outside, there are large areas covered in the typical dry stone style that is prevalent everywhere. Supporting columns are covered in dry stone as well as the whole lower part of the house that is completely covered by stone. The outer walls of the house are thick and wide. They measure more than 20 cm in places. The thickness of the walls is relevant as a means of insulation but also supportive as it determines the angle of the incidence of the light. Helping to keep the heat at bay in hot summer months.
Terraced garden and dry stone walls, pool house, pines, cypresses
The different levels of the house have been landscaped at some point in the past with elements of dry stone walls to create beds for planting.
A small pool house sits on the far end of the pool loosely carrying roof tiles on a basic wooden beam structure.
A large, old pine tree shades the house and the terrace in front of the living room perfectly.
Cypress trees, now old and tall, have been planted at the border of the property to provide a look of surveillance. Maybe this is just my imagination but I view these cypresses like tall soldiers holding their watchful eye over the property.
Lower garden, arcade, restanques, property boundaries and neighbors
There is an arcade made like a typical pergola in a steel structure in the lower garden with old vines, framing a long path to the technical chamber of the pool. it was barely recognizable when we bought the house.
The property is bordered by dry stone walls and restanques. The garden is planted with typical Mediterranean vegetation such as olives, almonds and figs. There is a house to the left and one to the right, not too close but clearly visible. We and both neighbors have made sure that there is sufficient privacy without creating a fenced atmosphere.
Compare your house to a person
Everything I have described so far is the bones of our house. We did not build or buy new. It is an old building with a given shape, environment and elements. It is what I call the bones. Any design and style builds from this starting point. Or to explain it more blatantly: a miniskirt is very flattering when a person is tall and leggy.
Personal taste, background and liking determine what we buy. But to create a coherent design and style I consider the given and existent elements first. Everything that comes next builds around these elements and adds to the overall result.
In my next blog post I will tell you how my efforts to create a perfect design and my husband’s vision of good engineering come together. My husband is an engineer and he cannot be as easily excited as me by questions of design. Renovation is for him first of all the best technical solution. Everything else must follow. He is the expert for the right technical choice. I try to think of the final result. The famous discussion of form and function pops into my mind.
I love the quote of Frank Loyd Wright: “Form follows function- that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.