In a secluded garden by an old limestone quarry, in a town in northwestern France, Isabelle and Patrice Girard-Donnat built a humble wooden house with a fantastical metal roof. Designed by architect Jean-Baptiste Barache of Arba-, the 1,200-square-foot home floats above the ground, respectful of the nature surrounding it.
The serene interior, composed of pale woods and coated hemp bricks, has a grid layout, with the public rooms in a cross at the center and the bedrooms and bath in the corners. Connection to the garden was paramount for the couple and their two daughters, who moved from Paris to Caen in search of a more bucolic life. Léontine, 17, sits with one of the family’s three cats in her bedroom, which has a glass door that opens to the exterior.
“We tried to reduce the boundaries as much as possible,” says Barache.
