The front door is hand built and in oak and opens into the kitchen and a hallway that runs to the back door and back garden. The hallway is 11 metres long and has ceiling beams and exposed stonework. Just by the back door is a door that leads to the Lounge and an opening that enters the Study/Gym

The kitchen has always been a great place to spend time. A cup of coffee with a neighbour, preparing meals for invited guests or just sitting in a bright and cheerful room. The room measures 5.40 x 4.40 m at its widest part, 3.90m at the other end and the room is not quite square. The ceiling is 6m high and slopes slightly towards the front, with exposed beams. The light comes from a double glazed window on ground level, another at first floor level and two Vellux windows. The large back wall is exposed limestone with spot lighting. The exterior walls are insulated plaster boarding. The professionally fitted kitchen was made by a local company and has plenty of workspace, cupboards and draws with 'soft close.' There is a cooker made by Falcon with five ring hob and double ovens, a full-length fridge and dishwasher. Heating comes from a single radiator connected to the central heating and a 18KW wood burning stove, again professionally installed, sits on a stone heath and has an exposed flue that gives another 7KW of heat. The rising heat warms the upstairs and can be effectively controlled with a large bladed fan that sits on the ceiling. There is a double sink with power-wash tap. Nine electric sockets over the worktops and spotlights.

The lounge leads from the kitchen and has a door leading back out to the hallway. The room measures 6.9 x 5.0 m and has a tiled floor, exposed limestone walls and oak ceiling beams. There is a 18KW wood burning stove that sits on a stone hearth as well as two radiators from the central heating. Spotlights and wall lights give a choice of mood, six electric sockets and two sockets for the television. Typical of these properties is a stone sink and round window known as oeil-de-boeuf.

This room has been used in the past as a bedroom, as an office and as a gym. Tiled flooring, exposed beam and plasterboard ceiling with one exposed stone wall. A radiator heats the room. There is a double glazed window. A door leads into the downstairs bedroom. The room measures 4.95 x 3.02 m.

This is a lovely room with a rear garden, therefore sunny, aspect. A double glazed window looks out through the vine leaves to one of the garden ponds that used to be an oven providing the bread for the hamlet. The walls and ceiling are insulated. One exposed stone wall and wooded ceiling beams. A large radiator, 4 electric sockets and ceiling lights. A second door leads to a short corridor and a bathroom and toilet. The room measures 6.2 x 2.9m.

Large frosted tilt and open double glazed window. Radiator and heated toilet rack. Bathroom cabinet, sink unit, bath with shower attachment. Mirror with shaving point. Plumbing for washing machine.

A hand-built oak staircase rises from the lounge and into this bedroom. The room measures 6.17 x 5.98m and features a large oak beam in the center of the room. Chestnut floor, 2 Velux windows and two small recessed double glazed windows give plenty of light. Ceiling and walls are insulated. Dimmer switched ceiling lights and a programable electric radiator.

A 6 x 5.9m room with pine flooring, a Velux window and large double glazed window set in a small recess. Three built in wardrobes. Exposed oak beam. Six electric sockets and spot lighting. Walls and ceiling are insulated and roof space is boarded. Programable electric radiator.

The room is 3.8 x 5.78m with a sloping ceiling housing two Velux windows and a large double opening window. Wall lighting and 6 electric sockets and telephone point. Exposed black beams. A pine and chestnut floor, which looks over the kitchen. The bedroom leads to an ensuite, toilet, sink unit and large shower cubicle. This room is 2.87 x 2.45m and has a chestnut floor, electric towel rail and electric socket.

A large barn adjoins the house at ninety degrees and consists of one room housing the oil tank for the central heating and a staircase to the first floor. On the first floor is a large expanse that has been used for dining and as a games room. Oak flooring and beams, this room has lighting, electricity and water. Below this room, with a separate access is a large and workshop with power and lighting.

A room which houses the central heating boiler and shelving for storage, electric sockets and lighting.

Some more information... I thought it might be useful to add some background to the house and the area, so here goes. The house is in the hamlet of Bois Naudouin, which is 2 km south of the village of Loubillé. Bois Naudouin is pretty much traffic free and with a friendly bunch of neighbours. A French couple, Jimmy and Sandre have a house almost opposite. There are three Brits; a couple who have taken early retirement, and a woman who is a writer. The rest are French, really nice people. At the bottom of the photo below, is the next hamlet, La Rochonière. Loubillé is situated to the north of Bois Naudouin, so exit onto the D737 turning right and there is Loubillé or leave the house to the right, away from the D737 and the road also leads to Loubillé. A pleasant walk. The mayor of Loubillé is Gerard COLLET, a friendly man and his secretary is Karine. They are a good source of information and key in local life. There are a number of social events throughout the year. Country walks organised around a theme, usually food and wine; Bastille celebrations, 11 November, a cycle treasure hunt; L’Entrecote is a BBQ the last Sunday in July with many courses, a band and dance floor. In Loubillé you’ll also find a café/restaurant called L’Entre Pôte (between mates), which is run by Jean-Marc and Catherine. Food is excellent and a great place for morning coffee and a chat. Bernadette runs the Boulangerie, which also doubles as the post office. Patracia has the hairdressers and there is Bio fruit and veg sold on a Thursday in the square. A Butcher’s van also visits the same day.  There are a couple of bio farms who sell there produce from their farms. Chef Boutonne is the town, just 10 km away and has two supermarkets, two banks, a cinema, DIY shops, butchers, bakers, swimming pool, dentists, doctors, clothes shops, post office etc etc. There is a chateau at Javazzay which connects with Chef and there are number of functions there throughout the year. The house sits between the three big towns of Niort, Poitiers and Angouleme, all of which are less than an hour away. All of these have major hospitals and there is a casualty dept at the hospital of Ruffec, which is 20 mins from the house. There are local schools at Courture d’Argenson, and Villefagnan, 5 mins and 10 mins as well as at Chef Boutonne. The water company is SAUR, based at Melle; Electricity is SEOLIS at Niort. The house does have access to a well, which I have used to water the garden. Orange is the main provider for phone and internet although more recently, when I knew I was moving, I worked off the 4G on my mobile phone. There are two taxes to pay, taxe Fonciere and taxe d’Habitation although the latter is being phased out, it was halved this year and should be gone by next year. Taxe Foncière is around 900€ for the year and comes in November. I bought the house is 1993, as a holiday home and the perfect sanctuary as I was working in the police at the time on a firearms unit. I left the police in 2002 and moved here permanently and was the time when all the major renovations took place. In that time the central heating boiler has been replaced. All the roofs to the house and two barns were replaced and a waterproof liner added, which wasn’t customary in France at that time. I doubled the insulation in the roof space. The kitchen was fitted and the walls were insulated and plaster boarding with an overall of the electrics. Flooring was laid, stone walls exposed and landscaping of the garden with a pond being dug. The second small pond was originally an outdoor oven for the hamlet. The house is about 500 metres from the boarder with the Charente department and typical of the style there with large corner stones, a round window (Oeil de Boeuf) and stone sink used for washing and preparing food, and a cooking stove in stone recessed into the wall now converted to a cupboard or larder as the inside is kept cool from the stone. The house is warm in the winter and cool in the summer, the benefit of think stone walls. As described in the advert, the house is very much open plan, with a mezzanine overlooking the kitchen and the staircase which arrives into the bedroom. The thinking behind this was to use the heat from the wood burning stoves, wood being the cheapest fuel, to heat the whole house. I seldom use the central heating throughout the winter and little of the electric radiators upstairs, perhaps first thing in the mornings. I buy the wood from my neighbour, Jimmy. The second barn has an area for storing wood. The house was on the market last year and was under offer after just two months with Private Property Services. It needed the diagnostic technique d'assainissement, which it failed due to some changes in the regulations. Unfortunately the prospective buyers pulled out not wishing to undertake the work and I took the house off the market to allow time to organise this work before re-advertising.