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put in long hours and tiring commutes. Peter and Mark had always set their sights on and made a pact that when they turned 40 they would make their dream a reality. It had been their intention from the start to run a B&B as Mark, who hails from Cheshire, had worked in the hotel industry for many years. “Setting up a chambres d’hôtes was our sole purpose,” says Peter. “We’d long worked for other people and driven thousands of miles and we just wanted to do something completely different for ourselves. We often joke with guests now that our biggest say it has a very English feel due decision of the day is how many to the two large bay windows croissants to buy. I swapped a at the front. The couple bought the commute around the M25 for a property in 2005 and spent the 500-metre walk to the pâtisserie.” next four years slowly renovating Peter and Mark initially thought the villa and transforming it into a that the property, which dates from luxury chambres d’hôtes which 1934, didn’t need much work aside opened for business in May 2009. from putting in extra bathrooms While the renovations were taking and rewiring, but once they started place, Peter and Mark continued to the renovations they realised the work in the UK flying out on whole house needed re-plumbing Friday evenings and cramming in a adding an extra €45,000/£37,920 weekend of hard graft before to their building costs. heading back to their hectic jobs. Part of the appeal of property Peter, who is originally from was that, unusually for France, it Cornwall, was in digital had a large number of bedrooms development prior to the move and that were already en suite making the transformation from home to business easier. Original features Peter and Mark’s French bolt-hole such as the Art Deco-style so when they came across a vast bathroom fittings and the beautiful property in the town of , marble fireplaces that feature in Viva la villa in Tarn, that also happened to be a each bedroom were kept and add rather beautiful Art Deco-style villa, to the period feel of the property. it ticked all the boxes and more. Peter, who enlisted the help of a Mazamet’s history is in the stylish friend to help create the Peter Friend and Mark Barber brought this beautiful Art Deco-style wool industry and consequently interiors, sums up the style of the villa back to life and fulfilled their lifelong dream of running a luxury there are many beautiful properties villa as calm luxury: “A friend of in the surrounding area which were mine is an interior designer for a chambres d’hôtes in the heart of rural France owned by mill workers. On big hotel company so she gave us WORDS: ANNA MCKITTRICK returning from working overseas lots of ideas and we came up with the mill workers built houses in one theme for a bedroom and ith its imposing back at square one with their styles inspired from their travels stuck to the colour palette for all facade complete property search. Rather than abroad giving the properties in the the bedrooms just mixing in Clockwise from with red shutters getting downhearted, it actually area a multi-cultural feel. different fabrics.” top left: the villa flanking its vast proved to be the best thing that “Each house in the area that we Peter and Mark used Farrow & looks even more W impressive at windows, it’s easy to see why this could have happened to the couple live in is unique. Some are Grecian Ball and Fired Earth paints in dusk; guests can stunning villa in Tarn appealed to whose aim was to set up a B&B. style, some are typical French understated shades of cream and enjoy dinner in the Peter Friend and Mark Barber. But “We realised it would’ve been a period and some look like they’re pale green, adding texture to the tables d’hôtes you could say that it was chance very short season in Brittany from South America,” says Peter. bedrooms and living areas by restaurant; the marble fireplaces that the couple ended up in south- because of the climate so then we The couple’s villa, which sits on a introducing sumptuous textiles. Far take centre stage west France. Peter and Mark did a big road trip and looked at protected quarter of land, was from creating a B&B lacking in in the bedrooms; initially settled on Brittany and had six different properties in four listed among the town’s most personality, the couple has put Mark and Peter even got as far as buying a house different areas,” says Peter. Space architecturally important buildings their own stamp on the property love their new life when it fell through and they were was one of the main criteria for and Peter says a of the locals by sourcing second-hand pieces

54 Living France May 2011 www.livingfrance.com www.livingfrance.com May 2011 Living France 55 property has eight bedrooms, five of which are en suite guest rooms, but the couple are in the process of converting the attic into a two- bedroom apartment to give themselves more of their own space and also somewhere for family and friends to stay. “It’s surprising when you move to France how many of your old friends find you,” laughs Peter. The couple had initially wanted to create spa facilities in the villa but due to budget restrictions, they had to put it on hold until the end of the first season, which proved very fruitful and enabled them to convert the basement. The couple has added an extra string to their bow by introducing the spa area which includes a sauna and Jacuzzi and they can also arrange massages from a local masseuse. La Villa de Mazamet offers guests evening meals in their tables d’hôtes restaurant, serving a four- course menu six nights a week with Peter in charge of the cooking while Mark looks after front of house. Being in the kitchen has allowed Peter to indulge in his love of food: “It’s come from more of a passion and lots of practice rather than being a connoisseur. Before we moved to France we practised by doing dinner parties for large groups of friends and the first night that we opened we did dinner for 16 people three nights running. It was a baptism of fire.” Peter focuses on creating regional dishes and enjoys going to and incorporating them into the “We wanted to buy arts and crafts style the local markets to source fresh design. Peter says: “For the last seasonal produce which he says not two years before we moved, we furniture and mix in some old pieces only ensures you get the best spent every weekend going to originally from the 1930s and 1940s ingredients but is also a good way brocantes in France and antique with modern things like big comfy beds” of settling into life in rural France: shops in the UK. We wanted to “One of the important things is to buy arts and crafts style furniture, were lucky picking up some make sure you use local suppliers – mostly oak to go with the oak pieces and we still do. We picked be it the pâtisserie or the markets – parquet flooring, and we wanted to up a new bookcase just yesterday. and that’s paid dividends for us.” mix in some old pieces that were We’re always seeing things that we The couple are now in their originally from the 1930s and can tweak in the house and when third year of business and their 1940s with modern things like big you see something you think, ‘yes This page, combination of relaxed and comfy beds.” that’ll work well in the lounge or clockwise from luxurious surroundings mixed with Peter says they love going to in room three’”. top left: unwind in exceptional service is proving to be flea markets in France even though Rather than hanging up their the spa area; soak a hit with guests. Last year La Villa up the rays and they can be a bit hit and miss at tool belts once the guest rooms and de Mazamet was rated the number then cool down in times: “You go to brocantes and lounge areas had been renovated, the villa’s pool; roll one chambres d’hôtes in France they are sometimes very much like Peter and Mark are constantly top baths in the based on reviews from the site junk shops and others which are thinking of ways to evolve the deluxe bathroom Tripadvisor so it’s clear that Peter add to the luxury very expensive. But there are lots business and the villa to work for and Mark are on to a winner. LF feel of the villa of brocantes in the area and we both them and their guests. The www.villademazamet.com

56 Living France May 2011 www.livingfrance.com