Maison de maître

The Maison de Maître: the ultimate middle-class statement

These beautiful buildings are easily recognised by their square or rectangular structure executed in stone or brick, a spacious central living room with plenty of natural daylight, and an elegant staircase. If their walls could speak, they would tell of the glittering receptions and balls hosted in centuries past in the ground floor rooms of these magnificent residences, and the studious hours spent by the eponymous master of the house in his study. Upstairs is occupied chiefly by bedrooms and surmounted by the attic. Depending on region and owner’s specification, details may vary in terms of number of rooms, windows and fireplaces, ceiling mouldings, facade colour (darker in the north, lighter in the south) or the construction materials used, which may be stone or brick for the walls, tiles or stone for the roof, etc.

These mansions are also characteristic for the gardens that surround them, which may boast fountains or ponds, a lake or river, huge lime trees or century-old oaks.

A family home or a future guesthouse ?

The Maison de Maitre is a simultaneously historic and comfortable home, and undoubtedly qualifies as a ‘character property’. Sensitively renovated, it boasts gorgeous features such as period wood panelling and fireplaces, a staircase with wrought-iron banisters and ornamental ceilings.
Converting outbuildings and making use of their many rooms, these mansions make the perfect starting point for creating a boutique hotel or guesthouse.