French holiday

We recently spent 10 days in the Midi Pyrenees staying at the wonderful 'Petit Bayle'. I am a big fan of raw materials used in interiors so I was very much looking forward to experiencing living with it for a short time. The design of the house made the most of the wonderful views and there were endless framed 'works of art' that were the Tarn-et-Garonne hills (of which we spent most days cycling up and over). The natural pool blended seamlessly into the landscape and whilst the weather was hot, it had not warmed up enough to make the most of it. We did brave it a couple of times however. Tres refreshing..

The living space was a triumph. A huge open space that integrated, eating, cooking and relaxing and extended out to a balcony that cantilevers out towards the views. A lovely window seat by the wood burner (not that we needed it) was a perfect spot to read a book or drink a glass of wine and look out to the countryside. Built in storage along the full length of the upper floor ensured that there was plenty of space for storage without interfering with the lines of the interior. The finish was a little rough around the edges in places but added to the charm. This doesn't appear to be a house that wants to perfect and it isn't. There were quite a few elements of the design that didn't work for us personally. One being the green roof and the fact that the top half of the house is timber meant that every night it came alive with the sound of scurrying animals above you which was a little off putting and meant sleep didn't come easily. Not ideal for a relaxing holiday!

The lighting scheme for the house created real drama at night but there was not much task or general lighting. This caused an issue, in particular along the storage corridor to the front door not only at night but also during the day if you had to close the side shutters, which we would frequently have to due to high winds. (The shutters weren't designed to withstand being open during any level of wind). The weather was very warm for 5 days and we had a small taster of what it must be like inside during the summer. The shutters are advised to be shut during the main part of the day to attempt to control excessive heat gain which was a shame as it did feel a little dark once shut and you lost the open feel of the house and a lot of the views.

The interior finish was perfect for a holiday home however I learnt I couldn't live without white space but I could definitely live with those views and concrete floor!

Sadly I don't have many pictures as I took most of them with my Olympus trip only to discover on my return there was no film in it.