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Construction
The building is of traditional construction with thick stone walls under a traditional tiled roof. The result of the thick walls is a natural coolness in summer and the low ceilings make the house cosy in winter. Original beams remain exposed throughout and the front of the house has recently been re-pointed with traditional lime mortar keeping true to the original and regional style. The roof has been substantially re-roofed, also in keeping with the original style and mostly using original tiles.
There are two large open working fireplaces, one in the kitchen and the other in the sitting room. A third, large fireplace, in the single bedroom remains intact but has been blocked up. We have never used it but it may be possible to get it back into working order.

There are two date stones from 1639 and 1646.

Looking from corner of Kitchen towards sitting room.
There is no door here so there is a great feeling of space with a big fireplace at either end.
(The kitchen fireplace being at this end behind the photographer.)

Kitchen
The front door of the House opens onto a large kitchen.We have two huge matching tables, one for eating and the other we use as additional workspace. We have also several antique pine wall cupboards as well as a dresser with drawers, all of which give us ample storage and workspace for a four bedroom house. Hot water is provided by an electric storage tank.

The kitchen is the hub of the house with doors to the front, sitting room, main double bedroom and scullery that is also the route to the outside eating area at the back of the house.

Sitting room
The sitting room has four doorways. We have left the doorway to the kitchen open with the effect of making the kitchen and sitting rooms flow together.

Bedrooms
There are three double and one single bedrooms. When we bought Les Assis 23 years ago there were only one single and one double here and to make more space we converted some of the old stables into 2 bedrooms and a “wet” shower room. The work was done by a highly regarded local builder and is very in keeping with the traditional French style. Apart from this the house is just as we found it but well maintained and repaired where necessary.

Looking along the passage towards the ‘end bedroom’.

View from an outside window across the passage towards a shower room.

Ancillary
Off the kitchen is what we call the scullery. It is a hall giving access to the outside of the back of the house and has been subdivided in the past, before our ownership. It now includes a WC, separate shower room and laundry as well as the hall which we use as a pantry/boot room. An additional bedroom could be converted from the attic above here.

In the “new” part of the house we have also made an internal wet room with shower, WC and wash hand basin.

Flexibility
The layout of the whole house offers a good level of flexibility.

Firstly, an interesting feature of the house is the working external doors to every room, sometimes to both front and back, that hark back to the original use and provide a cooling breeze in the summer. They also add to the natural flexibility of the house allowing everyone to come and go from any room quickly, and quietly!

Original hay lofts run the length of the house. These are currently accessed by outside ladders to dormer doors at the front. There is an additional loft above the vestibule to the rear of the property. We think altogether there is room for at least an additional 4 bedrooms plus shower rooms.