Existing in harmony with its natural surroundings, this beachfront holiday home in southwestern France is an invitation to contemplate the changing horizon of the ocean through craftsmanship, intimacy, and function.
Located in Lège-Cap-Ferret — a chic seafront area near Bordeaux, where casual bars and al fresco seafood restaurants edge quiet roads and quaint ports used for oyster farming — this private and tranquil home honours the architectural style of the region with an added, Bohemian touch.
Theresa Obermoser, founder of London and Vienna-based studio, TO Interior Design, transformed the interior spaces and sought to include these Bohemian aspects in a calm, coastal atmosphere.
‘The client got in touch with me in the middle of the pandemic while I was in lockdown in my hometown of Kitzbuehel, in the Austrian Alps,’ says Obermoser. ‘I was immediately intrigued as I had never been to the area before. After having run a couple of projects on the Balearic islands, I was ready for a new challenge: my first project in France.’
The architecture of this beachfront holiday home is inspired by the Prairie School, a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style represented by Frank Lloyd Wright, based on the ideals of reliable craftsmanship and accentuating the home’s relationship to nature. This home effortlessly blends into the topography of its terrain, while further emphasising common Prairie School principles of minimally-pitched rooflines with overhanging eaves and an exterior defined by horizontal, flat lines. These homes are usually built with materials rooted in the natural world such as wood, stucco, stone and rustic brick. Although, this house was actually built in concrete, even though it looks like it’s made of wood, to make it perfect for all seasons.
‘We kept a lot of original features like the old fireplace, the bookshelf and the timber ceiling,’ says Obermoser. ‘The client wanted to introduce some bohemian features that he had seen in my previous projects but he also wanted to keep it elegant.’ Natural materials, textures and fibres like wood, linen and ceramic were used throughout to achieve a beach house feel, while still staying grounded and comfortable.
The home’s palette is neutral with earthy tones, especially in the bedrooms and in the living area, where the sofa and cushions seem to blend together. On the other hand, the basement, which features a private cinema, a bar and a fully-equipped game room, leans toward darker colours, mixing tropical wallpaper and green marble with wood panels and metal accents for a more intimate ambience. The gym plays with reflections, consisting of four big mirrors that face the window to reflect the soft undulations of the ocean, beach and sky.
The objective was to create a modern take on a traditional family vacation house with an abundance of chairs and sofas to invite family and friends to sit down, create memories and enjoy the views. The rooms and the open-plan dining- and living room are all oriented toward the exterior to make the most of the scenic surroundings. The space can be fully opened onto the garden and the swimming pool, with terraces on both sides that invite the sun and the ocean breeze to flow through, establishing this home as a tour de force of coastal living.
Photos: Vigo Jansons (Instagram @vigojansons)
Interior Design: Theresa Obermoser, founder of TO Interior Design https://tointeriordesign.com/
Instagram: @t.o.interiordesign and @theresaobermoser
Words by Shai Rama
