When it came time to downsize, interior designer Lorraine Goble worked wonders on a townhouse in St-Rémy
It was 2020, the year of Covid, with the whole world in turmoil wondering what the future had in store and how we would move forward. It was also the year when people every where were making changes, re-evaluating their work and home life. We decided it was time to downsize – look for a smaller place with a smaller garden, after all it’s just the two of us. We were fortunate in that our house sold quickly to a young family moving out of Paris.
It was a sad move for us as we had enjoyed completely renovating the house and garden, but on the flipside, it was comforting to sell to a family who would take the property to another level and enjoy it. It was time for our heads to rule our hearts.
FINDING THE HOUSE
This proved more difficult than we first thought. Homes in St-Rémy-de-Provence, whatever their size, enjoy a lively property market, due to its good commuting network of trains and planes and its lively year-round atmosphere, with a Wednesday market that people come to visit from miles away. Plus, of course, it’s Provence and who doesn’t dream of living in Provence?
The weeks flew by and despite registering with local estate agents and spreading the word among friends, we couldn’t find anything suitable – it was either the right property in the wrong location or the wrong property in the right location. We thought about renting until the suitable property to buy came up, but as St-Rémy is so popular with tourists in the summer, this was another nightmare.
We then heard, via a friend, about a townhouse coming up for sale just 500 metres out of town. It wasn’t quite what we were looking for, but it made economic sense as we weren’t sure how long we would need to be in a rental property before we found our ideal place with a small garden and swimming pool in this wonderful town.
We didn’t hesitate viewing the property and had our offer accepted. Having stayed in the development many times previously while visiting friends, we were familiar with it and therefore it was a nobrainer. The conveyancing was wrapped up in approximately six weeks and we moved in.
MOVING IN
The property is about 16 years old, less than half the size of our last house and needed refurbishing throughout. Being an in
