TRAVEL | ESTATES IN FR ANCE 2
FRENCH
TOAST AFTER A FACELIFT, TIMEWORN GRAND HOMES IN THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE MAKE FOR AN IDYLLIC ESCAPE By LISA KLEIN
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rom the “valley of kings” to hilltop pastoral views, rural estates in France welcome visitors into a life of leisure. These huge old homes in one of the many picturesque regions scattered throughout the middle of the country, although a bit of work at first, more than deliver a holiday reward. “Each property is so different and rustic, and comes with all sorts of problems obviously, but there’s so much charm,” says interior designer Kate Hume, who owns a home in the southwestern region of Quercy. “I mean, they’re really charming houses, and that’s a joy, you know, to work on something without destroying the beauty of the property, trying to keep it intact.” Ms. Hume’s maison de maître, or master’s house, dating to 1760, sits amidst rolling hills, surrounded by walled orchards and vegetable and cutting gardens that extend into meadows and a tiny town of white-walled villas beyond. A large river flows by, carving steep cliffs through the vineyards in the area. “It’s a slightly quiet, off the beaten path part of France, and people that live here like to keep it that way, in a sense,” she says. “It’s under the radar, but it is still very beautiful.” Fellow interior designer Timothy Corrigan owns a château in the Loire Valley, a forested UNESCO World Heritage site outside of Paris that was once where French royalty built their country palaces before the days of Versailles. These are huge, lavish residences — anywhere from 5,000 to 60,000 square feet — built mostly in the 17th through 19th centuries that often include ornate formal gardens. “I am just crazy about châteaux and everything about the whole process,” Mr. Corrigan, a self-proclaimed “châteaux-aholic,” says.
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