Before Tracy Rutherfurd and Nic Holland had even set eyes on the romantic, Belle Époque townhouse that would become their French home, they had a passion for French antiques. The couple – who are originally from New Zealand, and still spend the winter months there – had been travelling to France every summer to scour the antiques shops, brocantes and vide-greniers of the Poitou-Charente area.
It was here they would buy the stock for their New Zealand-based French antiques business, Romantique, which they would ship back home in a container. ‘Antiques are not as common in New Zealand, and the variety and style of French antiques was so exciting to us,’ says Tracy.
‘We were both potters when we met 25 years ago, and we both have a passion for French provincial pottery and also for Art Nouveau pieces.’
at auction. The sofa is from Ikea, while the rest of the furniture was picked up during sourcing for their antiques business - -
When they first started sourcing in France about 10 years ago, they would rent a house for the season. But they soon realised how affordable property in rural France was, offering the possibility of a more permanent base and a chance to indulge their French-living dream.
When they couldn’t find anything suitable in Poitou-Charente, they looked further afield, and on a French website came across a photo of a floating, spiral, Art Nouveau staircase, surrounded by richly patterned wall frescoes, in a four-bedroom house in Lot-et-Garonne. It stopped them in their tracks.
Unsure whether to believe this staircase was actually in the house – ‘We thought it must be a picture of the town museum,’ says Tracy – they jumped in the car and drove five hours to a region they didn’t know in order to go and have a look.
When the estate agent opened the door and switched on her torch (there was no power), there indeed was the staircase and many more startling features besides. ‘We just gazed in awe at the antique encaustic floor tiles, the fireplaces, the frescoes and the huge ornate mirrors, and knew it was the one,’ says Tracy.
Built in 1883 for a wealthy local businessman and his wife, the house in Villeneuve-sur-Lot had clearly been one of the grandest in town. The façade is decorated with elaborate stone carving and swirly ironwork balconies. Inside, in addition to the showpiece staircase, all of the main rooms feature dramatic panelling, ornate ceilings and mouldings, plus grand fireplaces topped with built-in mirrors and extravagantly carved surrounds.
The grandeur shone through, but the house was in a bad way. While this would have put many off, the couple knew, with their creative instincts and Nic’s builder and handyman skills, they could bring the house back to life, and over the next eight years they completely renovated it.
Despite the neglect, most of the original features were intact and needed no more than ‘a good dusting’. Even the wallpaper, put up by the first owners, was in good condition in most of the rooms.
Keen to preserve and showcase the original interiors as far as possible, Nic and Tracy took a light touch to the decorating, mostly just oiling the oak floorboards and touching up paintwork. The water damage in the stairwell was largely hidden by a collection of strategically placed mirrors, which also made it brighter.
In the living room, which only gets light from one set of French doors out to the courtyard, and
has dark walls, Tracy gave the room a lift by painting the panelling in much lighter tones. They purchased a new sofa from Ikea, which they covered with a piece of linen.
The enormous gilt, Italian wall mirror was bought at auction, and the rest of the space filled with their beloved French antiques, found during their daily rounds of sourcing for the business. ‘We were on a budget, so that meant affordability was important,’ says Tracy. ‘But we knew that if a piece didn’t work, we could sell it.’
Upstairs, the bedrooms ooze old French glamour and are filled with gilt mirrors, embellished commodes, luxurious Persian rugs and upholstered beds and chairs in a Rococo style. ‘We try to purchase items sensitive to the style of the house that create a feeling of opulence and comfort,’ says Tracy.
Tracy and Nic have filled this home with the fruits of their treasure hunting through Lot-et-Garonne and sometimes beyond. ‘We have bought every single item of furniture, ornament and lighting,’ says Tracy. ‘Every time I come back and wake up in this house, I have to pinch myself. We hear the church bells toll and know we are back in our French life.’ romantique.co.nz