Dating back to the late 1800?s/early 1900?s, Le Mourier Farm is a fantastic property with an interesting history.Once an old paper mill, the property is bursting at the seams with character and style – every aspect of the house, from the design and layout to the décor and furnishing, has been planned with meticulous attention to detail. The owners, David and Keeley Rault, found the property by chance and purchased it in November 2004: ?It was definitely a fateful meeting with the house. We had bought a copy of the JEP to see photos of our old house, which was on the market, and happened to see pictures of Le Mourier Farm. We woke up the next morning feeling we needed to go and take a look, which we did.?
The couple fell in love with the property and the location instantly: ?The initial draw to this property was the peace and tranquillity and we have always compared it to the south of France. The coastal walks are some of the best in Jersey and you can walk out of the back of the house, down to the reservoir and watch the trout jumping. On a sunny evening nothing beats it.?
Although immediately taken with the house, it hadn?t been lived in for some time so David and Keeley definitely had a challenge on their hands. However, with the existing building, stables and surrounding land, the property had enormous potential.Once the sale had gone through, David and Keeley had six months before they had to move in. Work began on the house on day one and the couple have spent almost four years renovating the entire property.
?The basement, which is now our kitchen, had been bordered up for over fifty years. It had a dirt floor and remnants of old jersey range cookers at either end of the room, which were both unfortunately too rusty to be saved, but we both knew it could make a fantastic kitchen eventually! When we moved in we had no kitchen, just a Bbq outside in the front garden, and no bathroom to speak of, just a very old bathtub and WC which had both seen better days!?
As well as opening up the old basement to create a brand new kitchen, the old bread oven in the adjoining room has been converted into a wine cellar ? these are two of the couple?s favourite rooms! ?Everyone loves to be in the wine cellar room, it has a really special atmosphere, and nothing beats the smell of a chicken cooking in the wood burning stove.?
The original part of the house has been designed and styled in keeping with the period of the property. Above the kitchen and wine cellar there is a cosy snug room and a study, furnished with both traditional and unusual pieces, such as an ancient type writer and a huge old, dusty book. On the top floor there are two spacious and airy guest bedrooms along with a large bathroom, all decorated in a similar charming, old fashioned manner.
The new part of the house, which was once a barn and stables, has been linked to the original side by a striking glass orangery which scales the full height of the building and features an overhead bridge that joins the upper floors together.
Once in the new section of the property, the décor and design becomes distinctly more modern; it consists of a sprawling but minimalistic living room, a further en-suite guest bedroom and the superb en-suite master bedroom, complete with a grand four poster bed and glass double doors at the foot of the bed, providing picturesque views of the surroundings. ?We love the view from our master bedroom ? you can wake up and just take in the beauty of the valley.?
One of the first things you will notice in the house the wonderful and unusual furnishings which compliment the style of the property perfectly. ?As it has taken us four years to complete, we have had time to collect things along the way. You never know what you are going to come across wherever you are. We have often been known to fill up our car with ?bits? on a day trip to France! We also like to look around at the local auctions.? A fascinating example of this is an extremely old suitcase which David found at a demolition site he was working on. It has rare stickers on it from around the world and sits proudly in the hallway near the master bedroom.
The renovation work didn?t stop at the interior of the property. The gardens, which were very ?jungle-like?, have been landscaped and a luxurious swimming pool has been added. During the process of landscaping, the couple discovered the granite remains of an old barn which had been demolished years before they bought the property. This granite was utilised in and around the house, most of it being used to construct a wall around the old well which has now become an attractive water feature at the entrance to the house.
So, after all that hard work, time, money and stress being poured into creating the house of your dreams, why on earth would anyone want to sell up? The simple answer is that the couple have decided to relocate to the USA, as David previously lived out there for ten years and has always wanted to return. The decision certainly wasn?t an easy one though: ?Keeley was very apprehensive about having to leave the house but if we wanted to pursue our plans of moving to America then selling up was inevitable. It?s just a shame we can?t uproot the whole house and take it with us! We will really miss living here.?
Le Mourier Farm is being marketed by Savills. All Enquiries to 01534 722227
