Under €1M: Provençal Village Home with Pool and Walled Garden
Tucked away in one of the rare hill-foot villages beneath Mont Ventoux, this three-storey 185 sq m (≈1,991 sq ft) residence quietly blends 18th-century architecture with poetic restraint—and it’s now on the market for €995,000 with Patrice Besse Immobilier.
The home, which also includes a 35 sq m (≈377 sq ft) guest house, an 800 sq m (≈8,611 sq ft) walled garden, and a spring-fed washhouse and pool, was lovingly restored by Belgian creatives Muriel Gregoir and Frédéric Vankeijmeulen. Coming out of lockdown, the couple was inspired to seek a slower rhythm. After spotting the listing online—with several showings already scheduled—they bought the property sight unseen, sending trusted friends to visit on their behalf. They were drawn to what they described as “the alliance of pristine and abundant nature with the culture of the surrounding towns.”
Once a bourgeois village manor—and reputedly a former host to the Marquis de Sade—the home had belonged for decades to a writer and a visual artist. But it was Muriel and Frédéric who brought it back to life with a careful, reverent touch. “We immersed ourselves in the soul of this house,” they told Sabato. “We wanted to treat it with great respect... keeping what was original, removing anything that betrayed its character.”
They preserved the terracotta tile, painted wood floors, Tholonet marble fireplace, and monumental stone staircase while introducing a palette of whites and naturals that served as a backdrop for carefully sourced vintage finds. Working with local artisans and scouring the flea markets of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Avignon, and Carpentras, the couple curated an interior rooted in the raw, the imperfect, and the quietly poetic. “This house calls for furniture that is subtle enough to let the space speak,” Frédéric said in Milk Decoration, “but with a presence that can’t be ignored.”
The layout is functional but soulful: a winding staircase with wrought iron balustrade leads to four bedrooms across two upper levels, while a cool stone pantry and open kitchen-dining area fill the ground floor. The annex, which sits between the main house and the pool, is nearly complete—ideal as a guest suite, studio, or seasonal rental.
The garden unfolds like a series of outdoor rooms: vine-covered arbours, fig trees, jasmine, magnolia, and climbing roses surround a swimming pool flanked by four-meter-tall cypress hedges. A spring-fed washhouse—shaded by a wrought iron pergola—supplies irrigation and serenity in equal measure. It’s a space designed not for show, but for the rhythm of everyday Provençal life.
The Provençal Rhythm
This part of the northern Vaucluse moves to its own tempo. Just 15 minutes away, Vaison-la-Romaine offers Roman ruins, Provençal markets, and a thriving cultural scene. Olive groves, lavender fields, and wine estates stretch in every direction. And yet, with the TGV from Avignon less than an hour away, Paris is under three hours door to door. Marseille-Provence airport is just 90 minutes by car.
This is the kind of property that doesn’t just perform for the camera—it quietly impresses in person. More than a house, it’s an anchor for a different pace of living.
All photos belong to the listing agency.
