A house to reunite.
Flore and Willem met young, in Montpellier, fell in love in Utrecht, and then life kept them apart for thirty years. When they reunited in Paris, they swore never to part again, and to look for a place to live and share in happy reunion.
That house was waiting for them on the crest of a hill, between the medieval town of Bellême and La Perrière. Its south-facing terrace overlooks a plain with meadows and trees to the horizon. On the other side, the forest of Bellême is just a short walk away.
Roe deer and foxes cross the grounds at dawn, unhurried, quite at home. A couple of falcons float in the sky above. As the sun goes down, the sunset turns the façade of the house into a hue of golden pink.
A place of joy to disconnect, and to reconnect with those you love. Friends, sweethearts, and the Perche.
The cottage is let as a whole, for six guests, one hundred and twelve square metres, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The original terracotta tiles run through the ground floor, the fireplace waits for the first cold days, and the terrace takes the sun from noon until evening.
The kitchen garden supplies the house, the orchard gives its walnuts, apples, quinces and plums, and the hens go wherever they please across the six acres. Willem has mown a path down to the orchard, between two walls of greenery.
Three rooms are being finished under the beams of the old hayloft, opening in spring 2027. Breakfast will be served in the stable, beneath the stone manger that Flore and Willem insisted on keeping.
Three gentle rooms under old beams, where the bed linen is flowered and the silence of the countryside is the only neighbour.
Walls and ceiling painted the same soft green make a room Flore calls her cocoon box. The bed stands in front of a small window set with a wrought-iron cross.
A long room, with one wall of exposed stone and lime rising to a ceiling painted green. The furniture is antique, and coral and green answer each other. The bed faces a window over the hillside, under the skylight that shows the stars on clear nights.
Two rooms open one into the other. The first is a sitting room, with its daybed, its bookshelves and an old writing desk. The second, beyond it, sleeps under the slopes. The headboard is painted a deep terracotta that the beam above picks up, and the furniture follows the same tone. One window looks onto the hillside opposite, the other over the plain to the horizon.
The cottage is open. Write to us with your dates, or book on Airbnb.
Yes. The house takes one party at a time, up to six guests in three bedrooms, with a seventh possible in the suite for twenty-five euros more. No one else stays while you are there, and the grounds are yours, apart from the back of the farm, which Flore and Willem keep for themselves.
The ground-floor bedroom has its own bathroom and a separate WC. The two upstairs bedrooms share a second bathroom, with a walk-in shower and a bath under the skylight, along with a separate WC and washbasin. Both upstairs beds are 160 wide and separate into two singles.
At Les Palaines, in the commune of Belforêt-en-Perche, in the Orne, between Bellême and La Perrière, in the heart of the Perche regional park. The house stands on the crest of a hill at one hundred and eighty-eight metres, with private parking at the end of a shared lane. The Haras du Pin stud farm is forty-five minutes away, Paris two hours, and Mont-Saint-Michel two and a half.
Two nights, three on certain busy dates. Arrival is between 3pm and 10pm, departure before 11am, and the keys are handed over in person.
No, for two precise reasons: a dog, hens and sheep live here, and the grounds are not fenced on the road and forest sides.
The house is not suited to children under twelve. Flore and Willem will gladly point you towards places in the Perche that welcome them properly.
The forest of Bellême opens a few minutes away, and several walks start from the house itself: Flore and Willem will show you where. Golf, restaurants and a cinema are close by. All around lies the Perche regional park with its small preserved villages, a country of antique fairs and small producers.
Three rooms are being finished under the roof of the old hayloft, for an opening planned in spring 2027. Breakfast will be served in the stable, beneath the stone manger that has been kept.
