One of the important visions for the L’Amandier villas is the sense of openness; with the interior of the villa flowing out to the external surroundings and view, whilst still retaining privacy. All the villas are situated around the edge of the plateau, with the terraces facing out towards the spectacular views; whether north or south. In keeping with this, the doors from the kitchen, and the salon/dining room are floor to ceiling and when completely open, leave nothing to obstruct the view out onto the terrace and beyond.

The salon ‘doors’ onto the terrace…

They have been designed by our architect Nick and have caused a little head scratching this end. Firstly Philippe and I had to understand them clearly, even though they are in fact incredibly simple in their design and function.

(Nick goes beyond architectural plans to explain the design of the doors…)

Then it was the turn of our trusty builder Shérif, who had to, in turn, pass the design to a capable ironsmith. He rejected the first two artisans that he approached and finally the third ferronier provided him with the confidence that he was up to the challenge of something new.

We went to visit his workshop last week to see the working sample he had made up and the start of the real work. He had come up with some small snags and some good solutions. After some lengthy translations, long discussions, lots of photos, and the obligatory mint tea (which was exceptionally good, without too much sugar!), we left feeling happy that things are moving in the right direction.

A small scale working sample…

Reporting back to the UK team involved long descriptions with accompanying photos, but I think we are all now in the picture.  I have a feeling we will need to follow progress closely, so I will keep you posted….

A quick peek inside the workshop…

Related posts:

1. Starting the villa finishings
2. We are delighted to introduce a guest blogger…Maria Bazan
3. Team site visit Jan 13th