Greek mood

After 15 years living in Hydra, where she ran a gallery and interior design boutique, Véronique Bloch-Powell felt it was time to return to her roots in the Charente-Maritime in southwest France. Even though the area was close to her heart for its comfortable climate and unspoilt countryside, as well as her family ties, it was hard not to feel a little nostalgic for the island life she’d left behind in Greece.

But when she came across the old millhouse that is now her home, she quickly fell under its spell. Nestled in a grove of trees and surrounded by water, ‘just like an island,’ she says, ‘I took it as a sign.’ The property also presented her with the perfect renovation challenge. An interior decorator, antiques dealer and artist, Véronique is also passionate about old buildings and a seasoned renovator. ‘This is my twelfth personal renovation, in addition to lots of decorating projects,’ she says. ‘I love hunting down properties, still in their original state, and giving them a second life.’ During her time in Greece, she restored a number of houses with her son, Tom Powell, who is also an artist (@tom.powell) as well as a qualified carpenter. ‘We complement each other and work well together, without even having to talk to each other!’ she says.

The house had already been partly renovated by the previous owner, who only used it in the summer months. There were three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the top floor, and a living room, study and kitchen on the ground floor. ‘It wasn’t a ruin,’ she says, ‘but I remodelled everything, because the work that had been done was too modern for my taste!’

She began by removing a partition wall in the living room in order to enlarge the space and reveal the mill’s mechanism. All the bathrooms, although recently done up, were unmodernised; and in the kitchen, contemporary units were dismantled and replaced with simple open shelves, freestanding antique furniture and heavy, Mediterranean-style masonry worktops. ‘It’s less functional t