Riviera Hideaway | David Price Design

David Price Design has just completed the renovation and extension of a stunning, sun-filled villa, hidden away down a winding lane in the south-west coast of France, for a French-Moroccan couple and their two young sons. The villa’s beautifully crisp, white and light interior is punctuated with glamorous jewel-box colours and subtle patterns that reveal a Hispanic-Moroccan influence and which were developed in partnership between the client and Nina Laty, Consultant Head of Interiors at David Price Design.

The client couple, who work in the finance sector in Paris and live there during the week, had been looking for some time for the ideal property to buy in the South of France to enjoy their family leisure. They eventually located and purchased a former farmhouse, which had been converted into a holiday home in the 1960s.

‘The original farmhouse dates from around 150-200 years ago’, David Price commented. ‘It had then been converted into a holiday home in the 1960s, as so many farmhouses in the region were during the great tourist boom of that era, which saw the property reconstituted into a U-shaped layout, with a new adjoining building for guests and a pool to the rear. By the time our clients purchased the property, the exterior had become very shabby, whilst the interiors were a series of small, dark rooms and the very opposite of the light-filled interior the client wanted.’

The property’s location was just perfect, however; high up in the hills above the one-time fishing village of Cassis, with beautiful views out over the village to the sea and the surrounding rocky coastal area that forms part of the Calanques National Park.

David Price Design began the project by re-imagining the whole flow of the house, so that it would work in a much more attractive and practical way. Although the property was of a good size – 600 sq m - with plenty of potential, it was decided to extend the property to create the full sense of space and light the client wanted. The new layout includes a series of open, ground-floor spaces – a kitchen, dining room, living space and terrace –all interlinked, enabling views all the way through to the sea-facing far end of the living space and the brand new swimming pool beyond, replacing the pool originally located on the other side of the house, in the garden behind the kitchen.

A re-located front entrance and stunning brand new central stone stair now lead up to the first floor, where the master suite, children’s room and a TV room are located. The second part of the building, still part of the original U-shaped layout but with separate entrances, was also re-planned for better use of space and now houses four guest bedrooms and bathrooms, plus a kitchen-dining space, a laundry room and a final downstairs space, whose purpose has still to be decided, but which may well be adapted to serve as a gym, wine storage area or cinema room!

Design Walk-through – Architectural

The approach to the property is down a narrow lane up from Cassis, which passes between high stone walls and alongside vineyards and wooden slopes, until visitors arrive at tall, curlicued iron gates, which lead into a garden area at the front of the property, with a mature magnolia at the centre in a circular bed, with parking all around.

The garden was re-planned and planted by designer Benjamin Burzio, to a brief by David Price Design and was transformed in the process from an overgrown, untended mess to a very considered and landscaped terrain. A good number of pine trees were removed to ensure views towards the sea and across the valley were optimised and a range of plants the client particularly liked or which were known to work well in the region was included, including white roses, orange trees, santolina, lavender, sage, rosemary, pomegranate, valerian, white and blue agapanthus, viburnum bonariensis, strelitzzia and trachelospermum. The original planning of terraced levels was retained.

The new pool, designed by David Price Design, measures 14 x 6m and features a mosaic design, a Périgord stone surround and a roller cover to keep in the heat. There is plenty of room around the pool for loungers and tables.

To the rear of the house, where the old pool was, a small existing bar was retained, so that the back lawn could still be used for games, offering some shade for rest or refreshments.

To ensure a proper sense of arrival at the house, David Price Design moved the front door – previously in a very unwelcoming position on a side ramp - and created a new external flight of stairs. The scheme’s main architectural/external works included the new extension, now creating a seamless transition with the rest of the house after being plastered and painted the same bright white. A completely new roof was also put in, as were a series of new windows to add more light, with new window frames and shutters throughout the property, painted a fresh pale blue. From the kitchen courtyard a tower rises in the corner, hiding the valley gutters where several roofs come together.

‘This was a detail the client was unsure about to start with, but now loves!’ David Price added.

The new extension replaced an existing rounded conversion and heralds a return to the simpler forms of local construction, hosting the new living space plus the full master suite directly above, with open connections and very large windows helping to integrate and illuminate the rest of the property.

Design Walk-through – Interior Design

When it came to the interior design of the property, Nina Laty was also involved as it became clear to the client that the project was too large to take on herself: ‘To start with, the client, who was looking for a clear, clean and light overall feel, talked about an all-white interior.’ Nina Laty explained. ‘I suggested some injections of colour in order add a level of excitement into the scheme and the client agreed, allowing the conversation to move on to her particular influences, which turned out to be from Spain and Morocco particularly, as she had spent her childhood in Morocco and her mother was Spanish. Even when it came to the basic white canvas, interest was by using different tones of white and different textures each time for the fabrics, with the intricacies of lace chosen to reference classic Arabic geometric moucharabieh paneling.’

The new entrance hall is situated directly between the living room and dining and kitchen spaces with all the conjoined spaces offering great slightines via a new series of arches. The stunning new cantilevered stone stair was created in the west of France by an artisan friend of the owner and turns back on itself so that its full shape is clearly seen from below. The balustrade and rail are in wrought iron, made to measure by a local blacksmith, or ‘ferronnier’, in Fontevieille.

‘It was important that the stair was not made of concrete but of solid stone’ David Price added, ‘so that it looked as though it had been there as long as the house and was therefore created ‘a l’ancien’. Flooring for the whole ground floor is made up of slabs of the very best Périgord stone, also used for the new pool surround, which I selected personally to ensure a good mix of variegated tones and textures.’

The house already contained several great antique wooden doors, which had been architecturally salvaged in the 60s. These were retained and then re-hung where they were best suited, including double ‘Spanish’ doors for the back kitchen and several 18th century walnut doors, now re-hung upstairs.

Aside from the re-positioned and re-hung doors, the new kitchen was kitted out with entirely brand new bespoke oak joinery, with old solid oak used for any new doors that were needed. Ceiling beams are original and have been retained. At the top level of its white plasterwork walls, the kitchen features new inbuilt high-level niches, whose arched shapes nod towards Moroccan forms and which are populated with a series of eye-catching, brightly-coloured glass jars. Lighting in the kitchen includes small spot feature lights over the work surfaces and two feature pendant lights in the centre of the room, made up of clear glass spheres in various sizes. Both sets of lights are by Giopato & Coombes.

The central dining area is almost monastic in its simplicity, with warmth and solidity given by a bespoke-made heavy oak table and benches, created locally specially for the space. Added glamour and jewel-box tones are given by the stunning feature light overhead, made up of five glass and metal shades in different shapes and colours– white, smoke, pale blue, copper and gold – all hanging at different lengths, sourced from American company Roll & Hill.

‘The lighting throughout the scheme had to be stand-out and individual and yet work together’, Nina Laty explained. ‘It was a real pleasure to find such great pieces and for the white of the house to work almost as an art gallery setting for them.’

The living room is similarly spare and spacious, with white-painted beams, two stone-coloured sofas with wooden legs from Porada, upholstered in fabric by Casamance and the addition of minimal colour – just some flower cushions for a summerhouse feel, featuring fabric from Manuel Canovas, plus a beautiful rug from Diurne adding flecks of sea blues to the room. Other furniture includes two small, marble-topped ‘Ziggy’ tables (also from Porada) and a simple and sculptural Japanese pendant light, which takes the form of clear glass pendants with a very thin supporting structure. The stunning ‘Aria’ chair, which has an open steel structure and laser-cut leather upholstery, draws the eye through almost as a piece of sculpture, whilst the stunning views lead from the terrace lead to the pool and down the slopes to the sea.

‘Everything here was very much developed in partnership with the client’, Nina noted. ‘We sent ideas back and forth to find the perfect fabrics and feature light fittings. It was important to find solutions that were wholly contemporary, but which married well with the building and weren’t too hard or brittle in feel.’

Directly above, on the first floor, the master bedroom is a beautiful, light-filled room, which also faces out towards the pool and sea beyond through a covered terrace. The very spacious room has white painted beams and a generously-sized bed, with a central open central area featuring built-in wardrobes, a desk and chair and then, several steps up, a stunning bathroom with a freestanding bath.

Curtains and blinds in the bedroom are from Black Edition, with a fun, slightly nostalgic print. Yellow scatter cushions on the bed are from Christopher Farr Cloth and the same colour is picked up for the upholstered chair that accompanies the glass and timber desk – both from Porada. A stunning, delicate, many-armed chandelier directly above the bed in white and gold is from MM Lampadari, who also supplied the wall lights.

A large piece of artwork hangs directly behind the bed, whilst two clear glass pendants from Rothschild & Bickers hang low at either side of the bed serving as reading lights, set above timber bedside tables with marble tops, by Porada, who also supplied the standalone mirror on timber legs, which speaks the same design language as the desk and chairs. A hanging rattan seat by Sika Design helps to keep the floor clear, as does the ‘floating’ bed by Désirée. Cushions within the rattan chair pick up the use of yellow-gold tones once more, via a diamond-print from Casamance. A beautiful bench, whose gapped woven leather surfaces talks the same vocabulary as the lace/mourabieh fabric theme, sits at the base of the bed.

Also on the first floor is a TV room, which features a 2-piece daybed and an armchair, all from Meridiani and upholstered in Boussac fabric from Pierre Frey, making for a very light room that is soft and comfortable in the day but at the same time is easily adapted, with the daybed becoming one long giant sofa if needed for the whole family to watch a movie. The Sahco curtain fabric is once again a modern take on lace. The highlight colour for the cushions is blue, linking to the feature colour of the children’s bedroom beyond, with cushions in a plain blue and a patterned fabric from Métaphores and Elitis respectively. The circular wall lights by Veronese bring an original and unique touch to the room.

The brief for the children’s bedroom was to create a masculine environment, but not stereotypically so, so that the boys could also be happy in the room as they grew older.  A palette of blue, white and grey was chosen. The client purchased two antique metal beds for the room and we repainted them in grey, adding blue cushions for colour, with some featuring a boat sail and others a more abstract, dot pattern – with both fabrics by Christopher Farr for Holland & Sherry. Striking curtains and blinds in blues and greys are in a fabric designed by Dominique Kieffer and sourced from Rubelli. The fun pendant lights are reminiscent of night-time planets and come from Semeur d’Etoiles. A highly contemporary white armchair – perfect for lounging in – is by Charles Eames.

The brief for the guest wing was to be a little more colourful and to incorporate some classic Provencale imagery of flowers and fruit in an elegant and chic way, but still linking to the Hispanic-Moroccan feel. The guest wing houses four bedrooms and bathrooms plus a kitchen-dining room. Wasted space was combined so that a fourth bedroom could be created, as well as a large laundry room for both parts of the house and the space with a future purpose. The bedrooms here all have terracotta file flooring and white walls, but otherwise feature different treatments, including one with a wooden ‘four poster’-style bed with green curtains and a leaf pattern and another with a wrought-iron bed and colourful botanical-fabric cushions. The client bought the central lanterns over the beds, whilst black and gold wall lights are from Art et Floritude.