Modern home with pool, garden and parking

A Rare Beast: Architect-Designed 1970s Gem Near Agen

Five bedrooms – Salt water pool – Covered terrace – Annex potential – Ten minutes from Agen and the TGV

Built in 1970 to the sort of exacting standards that rarely survive the decade, this super stylish architect-designed house proves that the seventies got a lot right. Ignore the flares and the fondue sets; look instead at the full-height ceilings, the generous proportions and the confident lines. Half a century on, it still looks the part.

Behind electric gates, the stone and rendered façade makes a quietly handsome first impression. The large covered terrace is where you’ll want to be: relaxing, dining al fresco, or simply pretending to read a book while doing nothing at all. Expect to lose several hours here without noticing.

First Floor

The open-plan living space is the heart of the house, warmed in cooler months by a Godin log-burning stove and flooded with light from large glass doors opening onto the rear terrace and pool beyond. A mezzanine study area offers a place to work from home, or at least look as though you are. The stylish modern kitchen comes with built-in appliances, and the whole floor is decorated tastefully and presented in immaculate condition. The rooms are well proportioned, as you’d hope from the period, and there are stylish modern bathrooms and cosy bedrooms, with air conditioning on this level, double glazing throughout and oil-fired central heating.

Lower Ground Floor

The large basement is currently home to storage, a gym, a guest bedroom, a workshop, a utility room and a garage, which is to say it has been working very hard. It could easily be converted into a separate annex should the need arise, whether for guests, family or a very well-appointed teenager.

Outside

This is where the magic really happens. A salt water swimming pool sits within a travertine terrace, the sort of setting that makes a Tuesday feel like a holiday. Established gardens surround the house, there is ample off-road parking behind the electric gates, and a chicken house is ready for the residents of your choosing (fresh eggs, minimal effort, considerable smugness).

Location

Just a ten-minute drive from the bustling small city of Agen, with its markets, restaurants and excellent TGV service to Paris in just over three hours, this is a very special corner of south-west France. It offers the best of both worlds: countryside calm on your doorstep, and city life when you fancy it.

There is nothing left to do here but the unpacking.