Tucked away on the banks of the Loiret river sits a storybook Swiss chalet that was built in 1862 by the Swiss Delegation as a representation of traditional carpentry. The building was presented at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889 where it was bought by a wealthy merchant who dismantled the chalet and reassembled it in the Olivet region of the Loire Valley. In 2007, French model and cook Alice Moireau’s mother received a postcard from a friend with a historic image of the chalet on the front and a note that it was located in Olivet where the family lived. She set out to find it and happened to see it while walking along the river. The chalet was for sale and, enchanted with the charming details of the building, she bought the property as a painting studio and workplace.
Fifteen years later, Alice and her brother, Emile Moireau, reimagined the chalet as a rental property with interiors recalling their bucolic childhood: “a life by the river, green and peaceful.” After eight months of work refinishing, painting, and sourcing antiques from the various flea markets and fairs of the region, the sister-brother duo opened Le Chalet Olivet in the spring of 2023.
Photography from Le Chalet Olivet.
Alice and Emile took on the project armed with an inherited design sensibility (their was a designer for Faïenceries de Gien, Paola Navone, and Designers Guild) and DIY attitude. They demo-ed, cut stone by hand, refinished, painted, laid tile, and renovated the garden with the help of friends, local craftspeople, and Monika Klink, an architect friend who offered advice and sourcing throughout.
Tableware is a passion of Alice’s who studied design at the Estienne art school, worked in New York as a food stylist and in Los Angeles of the set of a cooking show. After publishing a book of recipes by Éditions La Martinière, Alice launched Table, a line of playful tableware and home goods, alongside textile and clothing designer Caroline Perdrix.
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Located about an hour from Paris by train and a little under two hours by car, Le Chalet Olivet is available for day or week-long rentals, for private events, or photoshoots. Contact the Moireau duo for more information.
For more vacation rentals throughout France see our posts:
- A Glamorous Farmhouse in Southwest France by Studio Maclean
- Vintage French Style You Can Rent: Madame de la Maison in Paris
- D’une Île: A Rustic Retreat in Normandy with Cottages to Rent
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