Downstairs is a guest house that is in perfect harmony with the surrounding nature

New luxury for the holidays? Take your summer vacation in a charming guest house. With just a few rooms (maximum five), often located in bucolic locations, furnished and decorated with care by hosts who put their whole soul into it, they are the guarantee of a quiet, unique, unforgettable vacation. They can also become a source of inspiration in terms of interior architecture. A roundup of our favorite addresses, with a sixth stop at La Grande Maison des Campaux in Varmes-les-Mimosas and a meeting with its owner, Joyce Naveau.

La Grande Maison des Campaux, a guesthouse resurrected and recreated with a warm and simple spirit in the heart of a family garden.

History of the place

“Since 1934, my family has been running the Campaux wine estate in Bormes-les-Mimosas. My great-grandfather, my grandfather, and my father succeeded one another in its leadership for ninety years. Five years ago, when my father died, I inherited this property. I don’t know much about wines, so I have a team of professionals around me. On the other hand, I have a passion for decoration, passed on by my mother, who has owned a decoration shop in Saint-Tropez for twenty years. There is a large building on the property, where monks from neighboring Chartres de la Verne used to come to rest in the distant past. My mother had turned it into a living room. He also hosted catalog shoots there. When my parents separated, the adventure stopped. When I took over the business, the idea of ​​relaunching this guest house came up. We are 20 minutes from Saint-Tropez, but the atmosphere is not the same. We are far from shining. the countryside is magnificent, wild. The atmosphere evokes simplicity. And of course I asked my mother to join me. It was obvious to me to combine our knowledge. He with his knowledge of products, furniture and I who studied at the school of decorative painting in Paris and practiced lime concrete. Today I work more with natural clay. I also used these materials in the restoration works of the house. »

Works

“The house was left abandoned and it didn’t look like anything anymore. It was very difficult to rebuild it because the walls are huge. So we set out to transform, update and modernize the place. And that’s not a ” work in progress “. We haven’t finished all our projects. The first floor is completely finished as this is where we did the most work taking it apart. We opened up the kitchen and put in an island so people could gather around it. The kitchen is truly the centerpiece of the guest house. To make it warmer, we replaced the Salernes tiles with rectangular terracotta tiles. There is also this huge fireplace downstairs which is very welcoming. On the ground floor there are two suites, blue and yellow, for parents and children, each with its own bathroom. We wanted to keep the magnificent volumes and they are almost 40 m². on the 2nd^e level, we have furnished three simpler rooms, but also with beautiful volumes. They have their own bathrooms, very comfortable, but still not what I imagine them to be. »

Decorative options

“We’re in a country house, and for me it’s in harmony with natural materials. So I preferred thick linen, cotton and raw materials. With this in mind, we have also worked hard on the bed linen and carpets. Each room has its own color: blue, yellow, green, peach, pink, and eventually the bathrooms will be in the same shades. I love contrasts. In general, I’m not a fan of flat and expected. I like to combine things that we wouldn’t automatically associate, like antique furniture found in Belgium, with something very modern. But be careful, I don’t want to shock you. Above all, I want our visitors to feel good. And that they are inspired by our choices. So I’m in the process of creating a little boutique space inside the house where we can buy our sheets, our dishes…”.

Favorite brands, objects, furniture

“I’m passionate about dishes. I am sure that the lunch at our place, under the chestnut trees, will be unforgettable. I had sets made for us in Colombia. I chose baskets decorated with small fruits, beautiful words were embroidered on napkins. Every detail is taken care of.”

To hunt for treasures

“We’ve just received some display units that were bought from a used dealer in South Africa. We have a friend who specializes in exclusive vintage pieces and as soon as he sees something that suits us, he offers it. It’s great because we have access to furniture, objects that we would never see if it wasn’t there. »

Tips for decorating

“I work with clay on the walls. I also did some experiments on the ceilings and realized that the effect is really exceptional, especially when there are old beams. Contrasts again. – they are magnificent with wood.

La Grande Maison des Campaux, 6987 route du Dom, 83230, Bormes-les-Mimosas. lagrandemaisondescampaux.fr: