Mouguerre, Aquitaine 64990

There are houses that let themselves be looked at, and others that let themselves be lived in. La Croix du Sud belongs to the second category. Built in 1982 by Bayonne architect Courtois, it plays on a deliberate contrast: on the street side, a façade that echoes the pattern of Basque half-timbering, almost like a negative image on the garden side, a much freer style. The moment you step through the door, a bull's-eye window and an interior planter catch the eye, before a monumental staircase reveals the full scale of the living room a surprise effect that few houses can still deliver. The whole, including the house and the separate studio, spans over 290 sqm of living space, with four bedrooms. The studio, fully independent with its own kitchen and shower room, allows guests to be received without ever compromising the privacy of the main house. An underground garage provides two sheltered parking spaces. The terrace, facing due south, extends the living room toward a large south-facing swimming pool. Around it, over 1.6 hectares of carefully maintained grounds unfold on a gentle slope, planted with fruit trees and dominated, at the back of the plot, by an imposing oak tree. The neighborhood, made up of well-kept primary residences, places the property in a stable rather than isolated setting quiet, with no noise or visual disturbance, despite a motorway four minutes away by car that is entirely imperceptible from the house. In Mouguerre, an architect-designed property this distinctive, this well maintained, and set on such grounds, does not come along twice. La Croix du Sud is for those seeking not a real estate product, but an already-accomplished place to move into without delay. Fees payable by the seller.