At the top of a steep street that winds its way through the residential town of Les Angles, a contemporary metal gate and its two concrete pilasters proudly display the villa’s auspicious name: “The Horizon”, which is anything but hyperbole.
Once open, the gate reveals a fantastical horizon, made up of some of the most famous mountain ranges in Provence, which provide a breath-taking backdrop for Avignon’s architectural gem: the Papal Palace, while these splendid views can be enjoyed from both inside and outside this three-storey edifice designed with a brutalist and, yet, playful and humorous style.
From the property’s western entrance, the building presents visitors not with a monumental exterior, but a painted wooden garage door next to a small wood and wrought-iron door typical of the 1960s: a clever ruse that might lead one to believe that this property only contains a simple cottage.
However, the majority of the dwelling is concealed on its garden side, amidst the splendour of the rising sun, where its exterior features a much more explicit modernist style. This is one of those small “California-style” villas that flourished in Provence in the 1960s, specifically along the Mediterranean coast, and of which very few examples still remain today.
A quintessential specimen of modest 20th-century housing, often unfairly criticised, these villas have now become iconic with their generally simple, sunny, minimalist and chic-looking architecture, ideal for a cosy family home, while the different shades of their wooden details, combined with bright white plaster and concrete, often sculpted into rock-like shapes and highlighted by painted lines, reflect the dazzling sunlight, which is, in turn, showcased by the breath-taking natural landscapes that these edifices so often face. That is certainly the case here, to the delight of all who set foot on this property.

The "Californian-Style" Villa

Built to compensate for the series of changes in the property’s elevation, which sculpt this residential hillside, the villa, designed as a parallelepiped structure placed perpendicular to the slope, is anything but ordinary.
Indeed, this is a dwelling in which one descends as they advance through the building rather than ascend, while its understated front door, next to the garage, does not open on to a cottage, but a landing that provides access to the garage as well as a staircase, which descends to the sun-drenched lower level, whose main rooms gradually come into view as one’s eye become accustomed to the dazzling luminescence.
Although none of the three bedrooms on the villa’s two lower floors are necessarily large, they give off an impression of plenty of space, undoubtedly due to the fact that they are extended by exterior patios, whereas the dwelling’s two bathrooms have been deftly adapted to contemporary standards of comfort.

The ground floor
The dwelling’s front door opens on to a simple landing that provides access to a one-car garage, extending over most of the ground floor, via an interior door, as well as a staircase that descends towards the dwelling’s main level. As for this floor’s remaining space, it consists of a vast open area over the lower floor’s living room, providing soaring floor-to-ceiling heights and plenty of insulation for this level.
Lower Level 1
As the dwelling’s main level, this floor features a living area, with walls primarily clad in polished precious wood panelling, which opens, via wide picture windows, on to a panoramic terrace, flanking either side of a fireplace designed out of concrete and, yet, sculpted to resemble trompe-l’oeil stones, highlighted by painted faux cement, providing an eye-catching centrepiece for the room.
In addition, this level also boasts a pleasant architectural surprise: that of a sloping “chalet-type” ceiling, whose revisited mountain aesthetic is showcased, with a touch of humour, by the living room’s fireplace, while its impeccable black and white, chequered travertine tile floors are speckled with bits of quartz, very typical of the dwelling’s era of construction.
From the living room, a small corridor provides access to the kitchen and bedroom-study, which, along with the bathroom, occupies a portion of the space below the garage, whereas the fitted kitchen, less whimsical in style, has been renovated in shades of green, cream and oak and opens on to its own patio, facing south, which is shaded by a tall neighbouring pine tree.
As for the bedroom-study, it boasts a wall of built-in cupboards, as was custom in all bedrooms during the 1960s, as well as a mahogany writing desk concealed inside one of these very cupboards.
The garden-level floor
The villa’s second lower level, with polished oak parquet floors, restored to their original condition, is the only floor that opens directly on to the garden and includes two bedrooms, one of which comes with a wraparound terrace, facing southeast. A bathroom, which is shared by these two bedrooms, is also accessible independently from a cleverly designed landing, while on the villa’s western side, specifically under the rockfill, a boiler room and an immense cellar complete the dwelling’s parallelepiped structure.