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STORY
Quintessential French Townhouse
Uzès, France
In a picturesque, southern French town a four-story medieval townhouse, once home to a cardinal of the pope, conceals a creative retreat. A British couple with a talent for textile design and furniture production have brought this 13th century building into the 21st century and made it their private home.
Meet the family
Native Londoners, Lone and Chris had spent many vacations in Uzès, when they decided to exchange their family summer house outside the town with a this 350 m2 four-story townhouse in 2014. A thorough transformation was needed before Lone and Chris could call it a home.
Clash of the Centuries
The couple used their professions as furniture maker and graphic designer to decorate their home. Filled to the brim with design objects ranging from Bauhaus to Danish mid-century modernism fused with contemporary cabinetmakers, this vast collection also presents pieces from Chris’ own company Isokon Plus.
Scandinavian Standard
Two Spanish chairs by Børge Mogensen are positioned as wingmen on the red-tiled floor next to one of Chris’ homemade guitars.
Layers of history
Each room in the residence measures four meters from floor to ceiling, which is adorned with original wooden beams. Mantlepieces, doors and decorative ornaments date back to the 18th century while the stone floor and fireplaces are boasting 700-years.
Architectural attributes
Behind the door hides an impressive stairwell connecting the four floors and cellar. The cellar holds the original well while a characteristic Uzès vault construction hides a cache where residents sought refuge during the crusades and second world war.
Hôtel Particulier
The building is a so called ‘Hôtel Particulier’, the French term for a large, one family house in the heart of the town. Once home to a cardinal of the pope, this townhouse is still highly admired by the local tour guide
