REMINISCENT

A CREATIVE COUPLE COMBINED IMAGINATION, SIMPLICITY AND A GOOD DOSE OF ENERGY TO TRANSFORM THIS FRENCH FARMHOUSE AND ITS OUTBUILDINGS INTO A HOME THAT REMINDS THEM OF CAPE TOWN.

- LAURENCE DOUGIER

"WE HAVE LONG DREAMT OF A HOME WITH A VIEW OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, of wild landscapes that remind us of Cape Town," says journalist and interior stylist Laurence Dougier. She and husband Frédéric Couderc lived in South Africa's southernmost city for four years, and have returned every year for the past 25.

The tip of the world you see on these pages is Pointe du Raz in Brittany on France's Atlantic coast.

"These untamed and majestic lands are very similar to the Cape of Good Hope," says Laurence, "so the Bay of Audierne was an obvious choice of place to settle."

Laurence and Frédéric, a writer, landed in this part of Brittany during lockdown, and were lucky enough to come across an old farm with three buildings on the property. At first glance, they seemed rather mismatched.

The 19th-century farmhouse had been uninhabited for over 50 years; adjoining it was an untouched 1960s house, and a barn in its original state. "Everything had to be re-laid out and rethought," says Laurence.