The Cote d’Azur is home to a throng of jaw-dropping mansions and listed houses, which, being set in acre upon acre of impressive regal grounds and containing so many huge rooms with imposingly high ceilings, you are frightened that if you don’t keep up with the house’s guide you may get lost, for the majority of us humble mortals, a guided-tour around these mansions are the best we can hope for.

Whilst for most, the prospect of owning our own grade-listed mansion on the Cote d’Azur is almost second to none, there are certain design steps we can take to create a house that is resonant of a Cote d’Azur manor – Here’s how!

Balance the contemporary with rustic

According to a recent report in the Globe and Mail, Canadian expatriates, Max and Trudy bought a villa recently on the French Riviera. What the couple liked most about the villa was that, despite being 200 years old, situated in the ancient stone hills above Provence, it combined a charming mix of contemporary and rustic.

This ‘Cote d’Azur look’ can be achieved even if your home isn’t 200 years old, has six or more bedrooms and is located above Provence. Placing things like false wooden beams on the ceilings with give a room a ‘rustic’ character and make it look considerably older.

Likewise replacing a modern electric fire with a wood-burning stove will go a long way in creating the character and traditionalism many of the houses on the Cote d’Azur possess, which due to the Cote d’Azur’s cool spring evenings, wood-burners are a prevalent feature.

For a contemporary ‘Cote d’Azur’ twist, placing a pergola outside a property, not only defines an area but provides shade from the sun in the warm summer weather – A definite trait of the Cote d’Azur’s most exquisite and grandest properties.

Tiled ceramic flooring is another common characteristic of old and rustic manors on the French Riviera, which, as ceramic tiles can be quite cool on the feet, placing Persian rugs over the floors can bring a house warmth and ‘contemporariness’ .

For another contemporary twist to mimic the mansions of the Cote d’Azur, furnishings should be low-slung, with soft edges and be warm or pastel shades.

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