Come August, the French tradition is to close up shop, put a fermé sign in the window, and retreat en vacances—often out of the hot cities and to the country, where the days are slower and life can take a little pause.
A month off is an unrealistic luxury for most, but there are lessons to be learned from this annual practice of prioritizing rest. Today’s house tour, in the commune of Saint-Julien-le-Petit, Haute-Vienne, France, explores the spirit of the archetypical country house. Built for a private client, and with influences ranging from Japan to modernist Californian architecture, French studio Ciguë created a stripped-back escape, “a place in which you live carefree and unconfined, in direct contact with the landscape, surrounded by bare necessities.” A place of rest.
Come see.
Photography by Maris Mezulis, courtesy of Ciguë.
![\2\20;this wooden house scrupulously chooses its land, its exposure, its 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/st-julien-le-petit-house-cigue-exterior-2-733x489.jpg)
![the studio kept the material palette intentionally simple: the structure is mad 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/st-julien-le-petit-house-cigue-exterior-1-733x489.jpg)
![an essential element of the country house: a wide wooden porch. 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/st-julien-le-petit-house-cigue-deck-733x1099.jpg)
![the 88 square meter (947 square foot) interiors were kept exceedingly simple. t 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/st-julien-le-petit-house-cigue-interior-3-733x489.jpg)
![large windows keep the focus on the ever changing landscape outside. 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/st-julien-le-petit-house-cigue-interior-4-733x1099.jpg)
![a corner of the simple kitchen. note the drawer pull cut outs in the spruce cab 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/st-julien-le-petit-house-cigue-interior-5-1-733x1099.jpg)
![the house has a camp like feel, complete with a camp cot for summer afternoon n 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/st-julien-le-petit-house-cigue-interior-1-733x1099.jpg)
![the cloud like bedroom, all in white. 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/st-julien-le-petit-house-cigue-interior-2-1-733x489.jpg)
![basic yellow folding chairs somehow look considered on the front porch. 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/st-julien-le-petit-house-cigue-exterior-3-733x489.jpg)
In Progress
![the team installs the oversized windows. the house is equipped with blown in ce 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/st-julien-le-petit-house-cigue-in-progress-733x1303.jpg)
![the walls going up. 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/st-julien-le-petit-house-cigue-in-progress-2-733x489.jpg)
Voila: an unplugged, quiet place to retreat.
Take a look at more minimal escapes we love:
- The Outermost House: A Norwegian Island Retreat
- Two London Creatives Shore Up a Tiny Beach House, Ikea Hack Kitchen Included
- Designers on Holiday: Modern, Minimalist Tents, Cabins, Guest Houses, and More
Have a Question or Comment About This Post?
Join the conversation