Les Domaines de Chabran redefines the Provençal summer house

France’s annual grandes vacances begin as the working population of the European superpower shifts south for the whole of August. Summer residences in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur remain the most desirable destinations: handsome bourgeois châteaux, perhaps a coolly refined bastide – a country house of grand status – with landscaped gardens and vineyard adjacency; or a time-worn, sensitively renovated 17th- and 18th-century mas – as local farmhouses are known – integrated into the rural Provençal landscape.

The partnership of Alain Meylan of Geneva-based Atelier K Architects and interior designer Liliana Atilova is elevating France’s traditional Provençal summer experience to dazzling effect, introducing 21st-century aesthetics and luxurious facilities to the country’s storied houses while respecting the fabric, character, and materials of the original structures – cleverly avoiding any vacation-villa clichés.

The duo’s Les Domaines de Chabran collection of properties, in the Alpilles mountains between Luberon and Camargue, now numbers seven mas et bastides, including La Bastide de Fléchon, Le Mas Estello, Respelido and Le Mas de Castillone – all restored and skilfully staged by the architect-and-designer founders. Contemporary artworks and Italian design pieces occupy centuries-old rooms.

Tour Le Mas de Chabran

At Le Mas de Chabran, one of Meylan and Atilova’s first projects, the former 18th-century olive plantation house now features a heated swimming pool, a languorous and fragrant jardin à la française (with a touch of English country-garden disorder at its borders), a modern breakfast kitchen, a gym, a sauna, and a cinema room, all fully air-conditioned. Downstairs, the wooden wheel of the old horse-driven olive press remains the centrepiece of a spectacular cellar/drawing-room conversion.

Meylan was captivated at his first viewing back in 2010: ‘How can you resist the magic of the morning light bathing the large vaulted rooms? The power that emerges from these heavy stones steeped in history, this monumental architecture with its majestic staircase, its lofty ceilings, its vast open lounges overlooking the garden... the beauty of these natural materials is raw and noble at the same time.’

Now, 15 years on, the 280-year-old vaulted walls are rendered in the rich earthy browns of Matteo Brioni clay, while classical French furniture and ceramics are sourced from the nearby antiques town of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Fabrics are by Pierre Frey and Élitis, while the grand marble entrance hall staircase is illuminated by a Murano crystal chandelier. Dining takes place at a huge oval table by Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez.

Keen-eyed, globe-trotting eclecticism is thematic here. The house’s thresholds are framed by 17th- and 18th-century doors from India, while kilim carpets sourced by Liliana Atilova in Turkey provide warmth and texture. The collections of artworks – by French talents including Florence Bamberger, Florence Lucchini (ceramics), Elsa Lenthal (lavender sculptures), and Christian Manoury (paintings) – are subject to re-curation at the interior designer’s will.

‘This is very much a space that lives with its guests,’ explains Atilova. ‘The collections of art and beautiful objects change often, like friends or visitors who come and stay for a while and then say their goodbyes. It is a place that keeps on surprising.’

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