la calade

After we spent several years prospecting, our dream became true when we discovered this beautiful piece of ruin, some parts of which date back to 1787. By wedding together ancestral knowledge and contemporanean architecture, we brought “La Calade” back to life. An old wrought iron fence leads to the entrance of the house, lined with beautufil spaces strewn with trees whose shadows are favourable for rest. Behind the “calade” – the name designates the place that was initially conceived to thresh wheat – a cottage garden is surrounded by the different parts of the house. The place is ideal for a quiet stay in a picturesque setting.


‘La Calade’ comprises of two main buildings, the first one with the living-room, dining-room and kitchen downstairs, and the second one with the bedrooms upstairs. The two floors are now linked together by a glass patio visible from the outside. With its gigantic fireplace and antique stairs leading to the bedrooms and to the mezzanine - offering a wonderful view of the Luberon-, the patio is the collective space of the house.

On the groundfloor, an old restored tower stands for the entrance. The kitchen is a mixture of modern and functional furnishings and old buildings, and stands next to a panelled dining-room. In the basement, an old vault is used as a living-room.

Both the right and left wings on the first floor are dedicated to the bedrooms and their facilities. Another feature is the large terrasse, where you will enjoy having dinners away from the wind when spring is back. Set at a lower level than the two main buildings, two other floors have been converted :

The first one comprises of a hammam (4 to 6 people), a shower and restrooms. The other one comprises of a swimming pool (5X9 metres) and its pool house.

The right wing comprises of the ‘Giono’ double bedroom and of the ‘Pagnol’ single bedroom (with wardrobe), and of the ‘De La Tour’ double bedroom with a private terrasse.
The bathrooms have two washbasins, a shower, a bathtub dating back to the XIXth century (complying to security standards), and a restroom.
The left wing comprises of 3 spacious bedrooms, a bathroom, a shower room, and a restroom.

 

The Village of Bories de Gordes is a living testimony to 3000 years’ hardworking human activity that has been passed on over generations, with its sheep barns, wine vaults, wheat threshing areas, narrow streets, enclosures and surrounding walls. The origins of the Bories (“bories” initially designate drystone small houses) dates back to the Bronze Age and the most recent ones were built in the 18th century. The village was listed as an ancient monument in 1977 and is the most emblematic place where you can find such drystone houses in the region of Apt.
Overlooking the rest of the region and standing in the midst of deposits now extinguished, the village of Roussillon is fore and foremost like to a painter’s palette as well as a magical place where combinations of oxides endow ochre with a whole variety of shades that you will also find in the landscape, on the facades of the houses and in trompe-l’oeil paintings on gates.Thanks to the warm colours of the light, even off-season, one can enjoy the relaxed rhythm of life. The village hosts galleries and arts & crafts. Roussillon is also appreciated for its gastronomy.
 
© La Calade 2009