I have lived a bucolic French life for 15 years, wining and dining, eventually skiing and sailing but primarily working, restoring stone Breton cottages, making homes, for friends, clients and family. But that is why I first came Brittany, to help a friend renovate his stone building and turn it into a house. A great challenge when you are 18 and have just finished a plastering apprenticeship.
Since living in Brittany I have seen large increases in the number of visitors coming to the region, everyone has been complimentary of the countryside, the fantastic coastline, interesting towns, the people and general quality of life. That is why I stayed.
More and more of the visitors have come back, many of them house hunting. The Majority of the people that I have met who have been house hunting are looking for the same thing, a Breton longhouse, normally to restore. People love their simple beauty of stone masonry, slates, and the woodwork. After having worked on such buildings for the past 15 years I feel like I know them well. However, due to the simple fact that stone longhouses haven’t really been built over the past century, there aren’t many left to renovate, so I feel that is my duty as a builder to build some new ones.
What we are planning to build will be quite simply a row of cottages. Cleverly designed so that ones neighbours don’t overlook your cottage. Hopefully creating a neighbourhood where people will want to live for many generations to come. The site that we have is perfect. In idyllic countryside, 30 minutes from the coast.
Your cottage will be traditionally built but with all the comfort and convieniences that you would expect from a newly built house. You can expect;-
- Solid Stone walls
- Stone fireplace with built in clothes dryer
- Archways
- Oak beams
- Craftsmanship
- Terra Cotta tiles
- Garages
- Renewable energies
- Sky water systems
- Electric roller shutters
- Underfloor heating
If we plan together the finish can be to your specification.
Your house will probably be the most expensive item that you will ever buy
However, if you choose wisely, it can be one of those few items that if you sell it, it will be worth far more than you paid for it. But more importantly, there is nothing more important in life than somewhere decent to live, where we can relax, and bring up our families in a safe environment, or enjoy coming home too after a hard day.
Building quality houses is not a profitable project for a builder, I only wish it was, but that is not the way of the world. Stonework and oak carpentry is a labour of love where as concrete block, spray on rendering and Velux window is easy money.
I seek job satisfaction by creating and building quality houses, from which you will profit. . Firstly by having a lovely, well built home in which you enjoy living and secondly, from the value that it will gained over the years as it will have been built from noble materials.
Building to start 2006, First delivery June 2007.
Watch the development take place :
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