Location
Set in the historic province of Centre-Val de Loire, in the Indre-et-Loire département — whose valley is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List — the house occupies a central position in the royal city of Amboise. The city, dominated by its celebrated château, is sought after for its vitality and quality of life. All services, shops and restaurants are within walking distance, as is the railway station, from which Paris is reached in 1 hour 50 minutes. The A10 motorway connects to the capital in 2 hours 30 minutes.
Description
The house
The ground floor
The timber street door opens onto a corridor with a stone-cabochon floor beneath a coffered ceiling. To either side, doors lead to the drawing room and to a bedroom with shower room and lavatory. The drawing room has two windows, chevron parquet floors and a moulded ceiling centred on a rose. The bedroom, with a single window, has terracotta tile floors. Beyond, the corridor continues past the staircase to the sitting room, where a carved wooden fireplace and dado panelling set the tone; glazed doors open directly onto the court-garden. A double glazed door connects to the kitchen. Here the floors are tiled and the beams, left exposed, are painted.
The first floor
The staircase gives onto a landing serving four bedrooms, one of which has a shower room and lavatory, together with a bathroom with lavatory. The floors are laid in straight-laid parquet, terracotta tiles or sisal. The bath and shower rooms are tiled. Marble and wooden fireplaces are installed in three of the bedrooms. Exposed beams feature in one of them.
The attic
With its exposed roof structure, the upper level is fitted out as a loft. Split levels divide it into distinct zones. The artist's studio occupies the upper platform. Below, the first sitting room faces a glazed door opening onto the south-facing terrace. The reading room is set to one side. A glazed roof light, roof windows and further glazed openings flood the whole level with light.
The basement
A staircase from the garage descends to a first room of approximately 50 m², leading through to a second of nearly 40 m² and a final room of around 7 m². The two larger rooms are built in tuffeau, vaulted and aerated by cellar vents.
The garden
The gravelled terrace extends directly from the sitting room into the court-garden, which rises slightly beyond and is densely planted. A small lean-to at the far end stores garden equipment.
Our opinion
The facade gives little away. Inside, period materials have been preserved throughout, and the house proves more various than its exterior suggests: reception rooms opening onto a walled court-garden, a converted upper level generous enough for a studio, a library or both, and two vaulted tuffeau cellars that add a further singular note. What makes it compelling is not any single feature but the coherence of the whole — and how readily it adapts to the life its occupants choose to live in it.
840 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 631673
| Land registry surface area | 247 m² |
| Main building floor area | 310 m² |
| Number of bedrooms | 5 |
French Energy Performance Diagnosis
NB: The above information is not only the result of our visit to the property; it is also based on information provided by the current owner. It is by no means comprehensive or strictly accurate especially where surface areas and construction dates are concerned. We cannot, therefore, be held liable for any misrepresentation.