Winner of France's Prestigeous 'Archetecture and Heritage' Award in 2025

Property Description

Summary
In the autumn of 2025 the property was the winner of France's most prestigious 'Architecture and Heritage award'. Each year a jury of 15 professionals from the assocation 'Maison Paysannes de France' (equivalent to the UK's 'National Trust') select a handful of properties from the whole of France which best exemplify the association's ‘raison d’etre’: to promote the restoration and preservation of rural buildings that have a significant history and to encourage the employment of traditional craftsman, techniques and materials that allow these buildings to survive.

There were 11 winners of the completion and 'La Maison du Faiencier' was the only property selected from the Var (the largest county in France) and the owner, the only non-french to be honoured with the award in it's 40 year history.

This impressive stone house which dominates the main (pedestrian precinct) Place of the village was built over four hundred years ago and completed on "The last day of March 1609". We can be sure of the date as during the renovation we discovered a stone commemorative plaque buried in a wall under layers of plaster which bore the date and also the initials of the two main builders. MA and FP were probably members of the 'Companions de Devoir' an organisation of craftsmen and artisans dating from the Middle Ages.

Location
The village of Varages (population of 1200 with a hand full of non-French) is an hour's drive east of Aix-en-Provence the cultural centre of Provence.

Exceptionally for this part of France the village is fully functional all year round. Within 5 minutes walk of the house there is a baker, butcher, grocery store, post office, pharmacy and restaurant and bar. Opposite the house is the village Museum dedicated to it's historic faience (fine china) industry and behind it is a vast park with tennis, boules and a dedicated children’s play area.

The famous 'Gorge du Veron' (said to be Europe's Grand Canyon) with its 25 kilometers of rivers and lakes is 25 minutes north and the sophisticated Cote D'Azur of the Mediteranian an hour south.

Access
The village is an hours drive from Marseille airport and TGV and 20 minutes drive from the A8 motorway. Nice airport can be reached in just under two hours.

Interior
The property was fully renovated in 2002/2003 during a 10 month period employing 73 builders and craftsmen, to bring it up to modern-day levels of luxury, comfort and efficiency. It has ...
# an eleven meter long entrance hall with vaulted ceiling and 400 year old flagstone flooring
# gas central heating thought the house with 27 radiators and full-height towel units, all with individual thermostats
# six double bedrooms each with walk-in power showers, solid brass taps and shower units (from Barber Wilsons in the UK) air conditioning in the top floor bedrooms, velux windows with tailor-made water proof surrounds, solar powered blinds and solar powered automatic closure if it rains
# a semi-professional kitchen with two stone sinks, 10 meters of granite work surface and a 'Lacanche' piano gas oven
# a salon of 80sqm with a ceiling 3.20 meters high, 7 meter long cherry-tree beams, red tommette flooring, open wood-burning fire, internal shutters with espagnolette.
# a vaulted stone 70m2 basement with lighting gantry, custom built air/light well.

Gite
Renovation was carried out with (what is now a successful) 'Gite' business in mind. The property can be easily 'divided' into two with the locking of two doors. This gives the clients 3/4 of the house plus the garden and pool and the owners a completely independent appartment of 100m2 with a salon, corner kitchen, double bedroom, shower and separate stair case to the ground floor.

Exterior
The front of the house looks on to the village 'Place' which is a pedestrian precinct containing the village fountain and the terrace belonging to the recently refurbished village bar.

At the back of the house is a secluded walled garden (one of the walls is 6 meters high and 22 meters long) with fig, apricot, cherry and mulberry trees, vines, lawn, and two terraces.

The swimming pool is 7m x 4m with a depth of 1,5m. It is cement built and cleaned by chlorine.

Additional Details
The property was run as a 'Gite' (self-catering holiday home), for more than 20 years and so it has a substantial data base of previous international clients. The present owner is taking a break from receiving summer guests.