Gerberoy, Picardie 60380

In the village of Gerberoy, 1.5 hours outside of Paris, a 19th-century home and its flower garden. In the middle of this mostly pedestrian village, the property is hidden behind a fence covered in ivy, rose bushes and irises. Completely enclosed and hidden from prying eyes, a double iron gate opens onto a small brick pathway arranged in staggered rows. On the left, a small stone staircase leads to the lawn and the end of the garden straight ahead, at the end of the pathway is the entrance to the house. The archives mention that the house was built in 1821, but the building is, undoubtedly, the result of successive extensions added onto the original building. Like a lesson in contrasts, it presents two opposing faces, with, on one side, a brick construction topped with a slate roof and, on the other, a half-timbered cob structure with a roof made of small local tiles. However, the whole remains coherent thanks to the patina of time and the identical size of all the large-pane windows protected by louvred shutters. The main entrance provides a discreet note of elegance. The top two-thirds of the door is glazed and crowned with a fanlight decorated in the antique style. Behind the house, a grassy paved courtyard leads to a garage and stables. For many years, the property was the calm oasis for Jean Tardieu who would frequently invite his writer friends here to reinvent the world.