A monumental carriage entrance in a discreet facade in the historical town centre leads into the property, which has surprising proportions. The townhouse was built in the 17th century and restored in line with high standards. It towers around a secret urban garden that has been masterfully landscaped. This garden adjoins a large, paved terrace, which forms an outdoor extension of the interior. On the left, there is a former workshop, which is now a garage. It adjoins a second separate construction, which is used for storage. The main house has a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor, as well as a tower. Several entrance doors lead into the main rooms of the ground floor. The most spectacular of the lounges has a French-style beamed ceiling at a height of seven metres. A large brick fireplace, herringbone parquet and original wooden panelling underline the room’s former purpose as a focal point of the edifice. Beside it, there is a dining room. It has Versailles parquet and two wall cupboards in an adjoining hallway, as well as wooden panelling with mouldings. On the lounge’s other side, there is a cosier living room that looks out at the inner court. It has a floor of solid oak, stucco works and a marble fireplace. The kitchen is spacious and contemporary. It leads straight out onto the terrace. A pantry, a utility room and a lavatory complete it. Up on the first floor, there are three bedrooms, each with their own antechamber and private shower room, which underline their comfort and independence. There is also a fourth bedroom up here. It is smaller. And there are many rooms that could be repurposed. A fifth bedroom lies up on the second floor, beside a multi-purpose room, which could be an office, reading room or cinema room. From the vast adjoining loft spaces, you can reach the tower, which looks down over the town. In the basement, there is a series of vaulted cellars with a well, technical installations and storage spaces. There is an extra wing too. It is not included in the sale but it could be added to the property. It has a separate entrance door on the street, as well as a lift. It houses eight rooms, which were once used as offices but could now become bedrooms. This wing could be incorporated into the house or be given a distinct purpose. It could even be split into two parts.

The townhouse

The townhouse evokes elegance refined by time and the charm of noteworthy dwellings of yesteryear. Its red-brick facade is a token of noble architecture from the 17th century. It is magnified with a square belfry that towers over the property. There is a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor. They fit together harmoniously and are punctuated with evenly positioned windows fitted with white shutters that stand out against the warm tone of the brickwork. The edifice’s classical symmetry is underlined with a door surround of carefully sculpted stone that bears witness to fine stonecutting. Beside the house, more modestly sized annexes have been incorporated over the centuries. They reflect the rich story of families who successively dwelt here.

The ground floor
Several entrance doors lead inside. One is in the facade and others can be reached once you have gone through the wrought-iron gate that takes you into the inner court. The most noble door among them leads into a hallway with white wooden panelling and a floor of cement tiles. This hall connects to the main rooms on the ground floor. There are two other doors as well: one leads to the kitchen and the other to a wooden hallway that looks out at the town square. You can reach the reception room straight from the street. It has a seven-metre ceiling height. It features a French-style beamed ceiling, a gallery and a monumental fireplace made of brick. Beside it there is a dining room with Versailles parquet in a cosier section. An adjoining corridor fitted with two old built-in cupboards subtly connects to service rooms. A second lounge faces the inner court. It has a marble fireplace, herringbone parquet, wooden panelling with mouldings and a golden ceiling rose. The contemporary kitchen, which leads out onto the terrace, is extended with a pantry and scullery. A lavatory, a utility room and a music room complete this level. From the corridor, a flight of stairs leads down to vaulted cellars, which offer 200m² of extra floor area with technical installations rooms and a former well.

The first floor
At the top of an oak staircase, a landing connects to three bedrooms. Each one has an antechamber and its own adjoining private bathroom. The high ceilings are underlined with cornices with mouldings. The rooms are adorned with solid wood-strip flooring, fireplaces and trumeau panels. The whole floor has kept many old decorative features, such as painted window frames, cast-iron radiators and plastered vaults in some corridors, as well as a remarkable high-relief stucco work bearing musical instruments and a large, white stucco medallion, set in a golden, sculpted circular frame, that depicts a child straddling an imaginary fish – a rare piece from a collection that has only two copies in the local region. This medallion hangs above an old fireplace made of carved wood with simple volutes and mouldings and a sculpted ribbon that runs up the legs. The hearth has a cast-iron plate and andirons. There are also several storerooms, which you can reach from the hallways and corridors: there are three storerooms of different sizes, as well as a several rooms with different purposes, for example a sewing room or a massage room.

The second floor
A central staircase leads up to the second floor, which is organised into five main rooms. A door of solid wood that has kept its original studs leads into a first large room, which today serves as an office and reading room. It is filled with natural light. It has a floor of old, rectangular terracotta tiles and walls that are plastered and painted almond green. Thick timber beams run across the ceiling. There are four small-paned windows. Two of them look out at the village church. These windows bring an abundance of natural light inside. Beside this reading room, there is a vast loft space that has not been converted. It has kept its brick walls, exposed roof beams and old terracotta floor tiles. The room is bathed in natural light from two windows. This space has a monumental fireplace and traces of previous designs. The whole floor is coherent in style, with old materials that have been well preserved and room sizes that have been respected. A storeroom that is almost the same size as the loft space has a simple structure with walls left bare and a floor of terracotta tiles. An extra bedroom and an adjoining office and bathroom complete this second floor.

The tower
You reach the square tower via one of the vast loft spaces. This tower is plain yet unique. It rises up above the rooftops and plain. It is built entirely of Toulouse brick and reflects the traditional architecture of southern France, discreetly playing with light and materials. Its narrow windows fitted with wooden shutters punctuate its facade and a cornice with mouldings underlines the crowning section. At the top, a gallery with an openwork brick guardrail evokes old lookouts or cocoon-drying rooms, which are typical of noble dwellings of the local Lauragais area. This tower is unusual, both in its height and refinement. It seems to have been designed less for defence and more for contemplation: to watch the sky and gaze out at the red and golden landscape of south-west France.