South Of France Chic

Sylvie’s home has plenty of ooh la la, with an elegant yet relaxed family vibe and a glamorous mix of natural textures, designer buys and high-street finds.

- Fiona McCarthy

  ‘Every day is a holiday,’ says interior designer Sylvie Langaud of the house she has designed and shares with her husband Alain, her parents and twentysomething children Bastien and Laura, who regularly visit from Bordeaux. Everything about the house, from its Atlantic coast location to its seaside fisherman-hut vibe, complete with clapperboard façade, whitewashed interiors and pops of deep-sea blue, resonates with the mood of les vacances.   ‘When we first visited, the real attraction wasn’t the house – an old, haçienda-style building of no interest and too rundown to renovate – but the location,’ says Sylvie. ‘We walked into the garden and realised that because the house sits on top of a dune, we couldn’t see anyone else around,’ adds Alain. ‘It was very exciting.’ The couple have built or renovated more than eight houses over the years. ‘Each time, we’ve sold the furniture too, because it suited the space so well,’ says Alain, giving Sylvie (who works for interior design company Paule-M) the opportunity to start anew. With this house, she took its seaside location as her aesthetic inspiration.