Farmhouse Property renovation in Arcangues

The Property Search And Finding The Farmhouse

Arcangues is a village 10 minutes outside Biarritz and feels very rural yet so close to town. Because of its proximity to the coast, it is very popular and many properties have mountain views looking towards Spain.

A significant number of properties are large and we wanted to find something relatively small – not an easy task as we discovered…

However, one day whilst scanning the property websites as I do as a property finder, I saw a view to die for from a small farmhouse in a large plot of land. I visited it and completely fell in love with the aspect – completely open to the Pyrénées, in a quiet cul-de-sac set down from the lane.

Living space: 130m2
Garage:25m2
Land: 3000m2

After a fairly complicated sale we started planning the renovation.

Once the plans were done and submitted, we organised a schedule of works for the house and pool. There were two main sections – groundworks and the house interior.

Planning and Groundworks

The house was in a dominant position and had a sloping garden towards a wood below. The aim was to put a pool in below the house, slightly hidden so that it didn’t dominate the property.

We wanted the house to have several terraced areas to optimise the views and the sunlight hours. One covered terrace south-facing and one open terrace to the west for sunset!

One thing that struck us was the lack of windows, especially open to the views. We were going to change all that and bring the outside inside and create an open living space that flowed freely between outdoor terraces and the living area whilst maintaining a ‘cottage’ feel.

Internal Renovation Works

The ground floor was initially made up of 5 tiny rooms and a separate garage. The kitchen was squeezed under the staircase – you couldn’t swing a cat! We knocked down all the walls and this space became one huge area that contained the sitting room, dining room and kitchen with a small utility/toilet.

Upstairs were four small bedrooms and no bathroom. The ceiling was also fairly low. We wanted to make this area into 1 master en-suite, 2 bedrooms and a shared bathroom and open the ceiling to the rafters to gain height and space.

Ground Floor Renovation

Downstairs

The priorities were to knock down two supporting walls and insert RSJ’s that were concealed by the original beams to open the garage to the rest of the house and open up the 5 existing rooms into one large one. These were significant works including all the plumbing and drainage. We wanted to maintain as much of the original features worth keeping too. So we kept original beam work in the walls, a beautiful carved wall cupboard and the original fireplace that would later house a double-sided woodburner.

There would be a large opening towards the west terrace from the sitting room, the existing garage door would become two low, tall windows and the dining area would have double doors to the south terrace.

Upstairs

We decided to open the small staircase so that it felt suspended and allowed space. The landing became smaller but as we pulled out the ceilings to reveal the eves we also inserted a large velux into the roof to give plenty of sunlight. We exposed all the oak beams and built the three bedrooms and the two bathrooms around them, giving a cottagey feel yet light and airy. The original farmhouse had been constructed with a “ledge” forming the circumference of the house. We kept this as much as we could and it became a shelf in many of the rooms. We also added two dorma windows for a bedroom and bathroom.

We used every available space, incorporating the boiler into a cupboard and creating bookshelves out of lost space. We also hid a small office area off the master bedroom and added a large velux here too giving plenty of natural light.

This project took 18 months to complete of which there were significant groundworks, as always dependent on the weather. I spent several months sourcing the furnishings from local artisans and craftsmen to give a unique feel to the cottage. I think you will agree that the results were stunning and the cosy, cottage feel and living outdoors indoors were 100% achieved!

Are you looking for help to renovate a property? Contact Julia to book a free consultation to chat about your property needs.