House M.
Vallauris, France
Private
Architect: WILMOTTE & ASSOCIÉS
Furniture design: Wilmotte & Industries
450 sqm
2023
Restructuring, contemporary extension, and interior design of a Provençal villa
For a couple of art enthusiasts, Wilmotte & Associés transformed a traditional Provençal house into a contemporary, comfortable, and luxurious residence. Built on an exceptional site, the house enjoys a stunning 180-degree view of the Mediterranean.
The layout of the house has been completely rethought. On the garden level, generous reception areas accommodate two living rooms, a dining room, and a kitchen. Upstairs, the new master bedroom opens onto the Mediterranean through a monumental square bow window, while a large terrace extends the villa’s bedrooms.
The façades now adopt a contemporary architectural language — large glazed openings, a roof terrace, glass balustrades, and sharp, taut lines — softened by vernacular materials such as dry stone and light-colored render, in keeping with the local architecture.
Outdoors, the lap pool, bordered by Sahara stone slabs with grass joints, blends subtly into the landscape. Its floor features a kinetic artwork in Briare enamels by Carlos Cruz-Diez, one of the final creations of the master and friend of the villa’s Venezuelan owner.
On the garden level, along the side of the house, the architects designed an outdoor kitchen extending the terrace.
The interlocking composition of three staircases of different typologies gives a sculptural character to the house’s vertical circulation. Between the ground floor and the first floor, a light metal staircase rests on a stone slab — the first step — forming the initial quarter turn that continues into a suspended wooden staircase with an exposed sawtooth stringer. Within the stairwell leading to the lobby on the garden level, the final staircase can be glimpsed.
