Maison Charentaise

Charentaise houses are traditional Poitou Charentes stone-made properties. These houses are located in one of the sunniest regions of France, easily reachable from the UK from one of the 3 regional airports (La Rochelle, Angouleme and Poitiers).

Charentaise houses generally come with a cellar and a piece of land. Although they vary in size, they are very similar to bastide-style properties in terms of practical layouts and square features. They however rarely have archways.

A Charentaise House.

Charentaise houses are of rectangular shape, organized on one or two storeys, seldom three. Wood is largely used inside the house, notably for the stairs. One or several stonemade chimneys are to be found at each end of the house or in the sitting and dining room.

The fireplace was originally the favourite spot for the family to gather during winter evenings or in mourning times. The gently sloping roof has the traditional red tiles of the Poitou Charentes region.

Some of these properties are to renovate as one chooses, but you can also move in some others straight away since they are in a perfectly sound condition.

The pieces of furniture coming with the house are obviously made of wood and reinforce its traditional aspect. This does not mean that these Poitou Charentes properties are not fitted with the latest modern features for it is mostly the case.

Ties in the facade of a typical Charente House.

In front of the traditional Charentaise house is a courtyard, closed in most cases; and several outbuildings in their original state (oven, barn) or converted into a garage for example. It is also not rare to find a well in the garden.

On the façade of Charentaise houses, steel ties can be seen. Their original purpose was to reinforce the structure of the wall, they are now part of the decoration and are really typical of Poitou Charentes houses.

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• Summary of Poitou Charentes Architecture