THE ART OF LIVING

Vintage finds, bold prints and natural materials furnish the sunshine-filled Provence home of Lorraine and Patrick Frey

- Judy Diamond

DETAILS

What An old French country house

Where Provence

Looking out from the terrace across his garden, Patrick Frey has a vision of paradise. Thyme, lavender and rosemary fill the air with their perfume, white butterflies dance around the fragrant roses, and the only sound is the contented buzzing of bees. Even here in the shade of a gnarled pine tree, the morning is already heating up, sunshine warming the old stone of the house. After breakfast Patrick and his wife Lorraine will head out to browse the local antiques market, pick up freshly baked bread and then return for a long lunch in the garden. It's paradise, yes, but for the Freys it's also just a typical day in Provence.

Lorraine spends large chunks of the year here and Patrick joins her as often as he can. As the head of the revered French fabric house Pierre Frey, work keeps him in Paris where the couple have their main home. But whenever he has the chance to escape, he jumps on the fast train south.

The garden is glorious, of course, but it's the house – an old farmhouse known as a bastide – that's the big draw. “It's not very sophisticated but that's part of its charm,” Patrick says of it. “The rooms are small and the walls are made of thick stone to keep it warm or cool, depending on the season. It's a typical Provençal house and we just fell in love with it.”