Our Normandy farmhouse sold in July 2016, and now we’re going to be selling our little home in Provence. When we moved to Normandy, we held onto this house as a vacation home. When my allergies forced us back to Provence, we moved back in and welcomed our third baby. After being back for 1.5 years, we’ve realized that soon this house is going to be a bit tight for us. It’s almost time for our baby to move into her own room! This home is perfect for families needing three rooms and an office, plus we have an office downstairs in the cave. The cave can easily be converted into an apartment if you want to make income from having a rental.
When we bought this house, it was a fixer upper. Here are the before pictures. If you compare those pics with the ones at the bottom of this post, you’ll see that we’ve put much work into this house over the years. It’s now very comfortable and cozy, perfect for inviting a new family or welcoming vacationers.
Are you interested in moving to Provence? Let me give you a sneak peek of our little slice of paradise…
House Floor Plan
We converted the veranda into a dining room so I could expand the kitchen. The kitchen includes a large gas stove and built in nook, excellent for kids to have their morning cereal. Attached to the kitchen is a small bathroom with a shower. Through the kitchen, you turn to find the stairs leading up to the master bedroom and one other bedroom, both have closets. Past the stairs, you’ll reach the living room. The living room has a small built-in closet and two windows. After the living room is a large bedroom, which we currently use as a playroom. Attached to the playroom is a bedroom that we converted into my office/laundry room. There is a washer hookup in the cave, so this room can be used as a bedroom again. I added three large built-in bookshelves, however, those can be removed. Behind the bookshelves is a door that leads to the wood deck. I built the bookcases in front of it because we never used this door and doing this allowed me to use that full wall to my benefit.
Downstairs is a cave that expands the entire length of the house. One side you can enter through the large wooden doors. This is where I have my workshop and my husband built his office/recording studio. This room has been fully insulated. On the other side is a smaller door where you will find three rooms, one of which would be an ideal bathroom that already has water, electric, and toilet hookups. We use this entire side as a storage area. It’s excellent for storing clothes, Christmas decorations, gardening equipment, and everything else you’d normally place in a garage.
The yard is split onto two levels. The downstairs has a small gate where you can enter and is on the level of the cave (the cave is not actually underground). There is a stone stairway that leads you to the upstairs yard. The upstairs yard features an apple, pear, and fig tree. In addition, we have four large raspberry plants, grape vines, rosemary, and lavender plants. There’s also a large wood deck, which a portion is covered. The kid’s clubhouse could stay if the house is purchased before we move, otherwise, we’ll be taking it with us.
The house is attached on two sides to neighbors. We are separated from the neighbor on one side by a privacy wall, so you cannot see them unless you’re up in the kid’s clubhouse (our kids like to greet them when they come home). The other side is attached to the neighbor’s carport, leaving much distance between our actual houses. Our house is located on a side road that is only used by a few neighbors – there’s no through traffic! It’s a very quiet area with really sweet, friendly neighbors.
Community
Saumane only has a little more than 100 inhabitants. It’s calm and peaceful, yet surprisingly active! Neighbors invite each other for coffee or lunch, go on long walks, or hike into the hills. One of my neighbors showed me her impressive fossil collection from her hikes. The mayor is continuously investing into the community. He recently expanded the community center for local events, built a playground, and we host several parties throughout the year. There’s also a new bakery being built! I heard it’s going to feature artisan bread made like it was in the good old days. There’s also a bar/cafe in the center of town. I’ve found several trails and roads that are excellent for running, with spectacular views. Saumane is the ideal place to come home to and relax.
If you need anything, Banon is only 7 minutes away. You’ll find several cafés, restaurants, and shops over there. It even features the second largest bookstore in France! There’s a small grocery store, plus a market every Tuesday and Saturday (with the best fresh fish!). You’ll also find a bakery, butcher, post office, bank, and pharmacy. There’s a maternelle (preschool & kindergarten), elementary school, and middle school located right in the village.
Price & Viewing
We’re selling the house for 150,000 euros through Orpi Immobilier. If you speak French, you can schedule a visit through them. If you don’t feel comfortable with French, we could show you the house ourselves but they’ll handle the sale. We have an exclusivity agreement with them, which means we can’t sell it by owner for 3 months. Let me know if you have any questions about the house.
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