Many old houses, some with adjoining towers, edge the narrow streets of the quaint village. The grand 18th-century house stands in the village’s lower area, opposite the church. A wall that encloses the property gives the home absolute privacy. Two large stone pillars flank a double gate with spiked railings that leads into an inner court where a few vehicles can be parked. A pedestrian door beside this double gate opens onto a stone path that leads to a double flight of front steps in the middle of the main facade. This double flight of front steps leads up to the grand house’s main entrance. The edifice has a ground floor, a first floor, a second floor and a loft. It is crowned with a hipped roof of flat Burgundy tiles that has been renovated. This roof is punctuated with hipped dormers. Two finials rise up from it. The elevations are lime-rendered in a way that leaves their stonework slightly exposed. On the first and second floors, two windows in the facade and rear elevation are positioned symmetrically around a central bay made up of an entrance door on the first floor and French windows on the second floor that open onto a small balcony with a finely crafted balustrade. The big windows with large panes are fitted with wooden shutters. A building that is lower in height adjoins the main house. This building has a ground floor, a first floor and a loft and it is made of the same materials as the main house. It is punctuated with many windows, which herald a bright interior. Like the main house, it is crowned with a hipped roof of flat Burgundy tiles that has been renovated. At the front, this roof has three wall dormers. At the back, it has three hipped dormers. Tall horse chestnuts tower in the middle of the court, which features two wells in working order and a majestic walnut tree that is several centuries old. Behind the grand house, there are walled grounds dotted with trees. In the middle of this parkland there are several benches where you can sit to admire the natural surroundings. Medici vases also adorn the grounds. And there is a third well in working order, hidden among box shrubs. Like its age-old trees, this property has a long history and a unique story. Indeed, Jules Jaluzot once lived here. Jules Jaluzot was a remarkable man and a charismatic socialite. He was a larger-than-life figure of the late 19th century and early 20th century. Jaluzot was at once a businessman, a politician and a press baron. He was self-taught in many fields. Above all, he is known for having founded the famous French department store ‘Printemps’ in Paris. Furthermore, Jaluzot was married to an actress who was a member of the Comédie-Française, France’s prestigious theatre company. The couple would frequent Parisian salons.

The grand house

A solid double flight of stone steps in a horseshoe shape leads up to the main entrance door, which stands beneath a glazed fanlight. This door is made of wood and is painted. The double flight of front steps is remarkable. On the ground floor, in the middle of the facade and nestled between the front steps and their wrought-iron balustrades, a door leads to two cellars and a corridor that takes you to the grounds behind the house. A wing extends the edifice rightwards. The rear elevation faces the garden. It features a second double flight of stone steps. This double flight of steps is symmetrical and straight and it leads up to a glazed entrance door in the middle of it. This door is made of wood and is painted. Like the front entrance door, it stands beneath a fanlight of two large panes.

The ground floor
The ground floor is made up of two vaulted cellars, each offering a floor area of around 15m². They lie on either side of a passageway, which leads from the door that is framed in the double flight of front steps all the way to the grounds on the other side. Double doors painted white take you into these cellars from a corridor that stands out for its terracotta paving laid in a herringbone pattern.

The first floor
The main entrance hall houses a staircase with two quarter turns, wooden steps and a finely crafted wrought-iron balustrade. The first step is made of stone and rounded. The bare Burgundy stone slabs of the floor mirror the dressed Burgundy stone blocks of the hall walls. At the end of this hallway, a small passage with in-built cupboards leads out to the garden via a glazed double door with double glazing. On one side, the hallway connects to a fitted kitchen with painted wooden cupboards. The windows that look out at the inner court fill the kitchen with natural light, which brings out the ceiling mouldings. A coloured wall section brings out the black range cooker and hood that stand against it. A wooden door with mouldings leads to a dining room, which has a ceiling embellished with beaded mouldings and, like all the rooms on this level, a floor of Burgundy stone slabs. This dining room looks out at the natural surroundings. A tall oak cupboard built into a wall provides much useful storage space. On the other side of the hallway there is a bright lounge with an open-hearth Louis XV style fireplace made of natural stone and terracotta. From here, a door leads straight into the house’s second section: the right-hand wing.

The second floor
French windows that lead out onto a balcony offer a sweeping view of the village and its church belltower, which dates back to the same period as the dwelling does. The natural light that floods in through these French windows brings out oak herringbone parquet and a wooden door with mouldings that leads up to a dual-aspect loft that is entirely insulated and could be converted. The landing connects to a corridor fitted with cupboards. This corridor leads to two spacious bedrooms. One of these bedrooms looks down at the inner court on the village side. The other one looks out at the lush grounds. The bedroom floors are also adorned with herringbone parquet and their ceilings are embellished with mouldings. At the end of the corridor, there is a tiled lavatory and, beside it, a bathroom with dark blue tones. This bathroom has a bath with water jets. The bathroom is filled with natural light from French windows that lead out onto a rear balcony. On the other side of the landing, there is a third bedroom with similar parquet and the same door colour. A marble bathroom adjoins it. This bathroom is entirely tiled and fitted with storage spaces. It also has a bath with water jets. A separate lavatory lies beside this bathroom. A door in this third bedroom leads up to a second insulated loft. This second loft, which could also be converted, has double-glazed windows. It could serve as a games room or be turned into a self-contained apartment thanks to a staircase that leads straight down to the first floor of the right-hand wing.

The right-hand wing

On the first floor, a balcony with a wrought-iron balustrade stands out on the facade. The garden side features a first-floor balcony with a painted wooden lattice balustrade and broad wooden floorboards. Three stone doric columns support this balcony. Also on the first floor, a bull’s-eye window lets in natural light. To the left of the wooden balcony, there is a twin pair of tall French windows with glazed fanlights in arched openings. They lead out onto a second balcony, which has a wrought-iron balustrade. Stone corbels support this balcony. Four glazed doors, two of which are twinned, lead into the ground floor beneath these two balconies.

The ground floor
On the ground floor of the right-hand wing, there is a room for technical installations. This room houses a boiler, a water softener and a cistern that contains a huge supply of water. Beyond it there is a large room with an open hearth that could serve as a summer kitchen. A stone staircase leads upstairs. A wall separates two other rooms. These two rooms look out at the grounds and need to be renovated. If this wall were knocked down, an apartment could be created in the large space that would result from this demolition. Some authentic architectural features remain. These include an old stone sink and exposed beams. If the ground floor were restored, these authentic architectural features could be preserved.

The upstairs
From the lounge of the main house, a door leads to a second hallway, which connects to the right-hand wing. This hallway has two oak doors with mouldings. One door connects to a guest lavatory. The other door takes you to a staircase that leads up to a loft. Yellow-and-white-striped wallpaper brings out a floor of Burgundy stone slabs. Next, there is a first bedroom, which is spacious. This bedroom has three windows, including French windows that lead straight out onto the wooden balcony. Beside it there is a corridor with a stone staircase that leads straight down to the ground-floor rooms that need to be renovated. This corridor also connects to two other bedrooms filled with natural light. One of these other two bedrooms leads out onto a second balcony, which has a wrought-iron balustrade. Lastly, there is a bathroom that has been entirely renovated. It has a walk-in shower and a washbasin. All the windows are double-glazed and have Cremona bolts.