Chez Jallot French Country Manor House

Hallway and Landings

We wanted the entrance hall to be light and welcoming so we opted for large glass panels in the back and front doors with another panel above. The stained glass in the front door catches the morning sun and casts a beautiful warm glow across the entrance to the bottom of the stairs.

The first landing has French doors leading out onto the balcony which offers excellent views across the surrounding countryside.

Doug built the stairs - all three of them - himself, and the results are stunning. Some luxurious carpet runners are soon to be laid on both landings and the stairs.

The design on the stained glass in the front door has been taken from existing features around the house. The centre of the panel represents the motif on the front gates and the four corners are taken from the tops of the railings surrounding the front garden. The colours beautifully match the paintwork we have used on the doors and railings.

Chez Jallot faces South East, so the morning sun shines through the glass, casting a warming glow across the hall floor. These panels have made an amazing difference to the overall feel of the entrance.

A longer shot of the entrance hall showing our under stairs cupboard. Originally we were going to disguise the door, but then decided, why not make a feature out of it? We have retained the stone on one side of the hall, to feature the sparkling local granite. By plastering and painting the other wall, the hall remains light and inviting.

The cats are an unpredictable aspect of the decor, but at least this time these Siamese kittens are on their way out, not returning with a trophy from a hunting expedition.

The first landing has three bedrooms - the Master bedroom and the Aubusson and Forest rooms. The French doors at the far end lead onto the balcony over the front door from which there are wonderful views down the valley and across to the wooded hills.

Again we have opted for stone on one side of the landing and a smooth painted finish on the other.

The balcony has been decorated with window boxes which add a nice touch of colour to the front of the house. This end of the landing is about 2.5m wide and 3m long so it is possible to either take a chair on to the balcony and enjoy the sunshine, or sit in centrally heated comfort and enjoy the winter sun coming in through the glass.

The deep colour of the solid wood floors was achieved by using a teak stain and then a mat varnish to finish with. This gives a warmth to the wood and the appearance of time worn floor boards.

The second floor has two bedrooms, the Family and the Hummingbird suites. The internal walls on this level needed rebuilding and it was impossible to retain any stone features, but the bright colour of the paintwork makes it an attractive space.

The final staircase leads up to the attic where we have the gym and our apartment, with the best view of all from the dormer windows. With a solid slate roof and 30cm of insulation we keep the heat inside in winter and outside in summer.

Finally on this page, our intrepid photographer, Deni, at work, trying to capture that interesting shot.

This picture was taken from the balcony, through the glass of the French doors, We know the house well but still had trouble trying to work out what all the reflections are.

Denise & Doug
Chez Jallot
23250 Vidaillat
France
Tel: +33 (0)5 55 64 50 77
email:info@chezJallot.com