At the end of a golden day in September, the stone houses of Mortagne-au-Perche in Normandy, France, are bathed in the light of the setting sun, and antiques dealer Franck Montialoux is – for the first time – about to cross the threshold of the house that will steal his heart.
The building in question is an elegant old manoir in the heart of the village, built by the 19th-century novelist and playwright Charles Mérouvel, and cloistered behind thick stone walls. ‘I remember that first visit to the house,’ recalls Franck.
‘I was on my own that day as my husband Miguel had been held up, so I had to bring a tablet to film the visit for him.’ Despite its cluttered interior, and walls and floors that were in desperate need of restoration, both Franck and Miguel could immediately see the potential of the house and made an offer, which was accepted.
On moving in, they set about the monumental task of returning the house to its former glory. Despite all the work that needed to be done, the internal structure was sound and the floorplan worked well. ‘It’s a large house with lovely, spacious rooms, and we wanted to keep them just as they were,’ says Franck.
Since moving in, however, they have overhauled several rooms that were in dire need of TLC.
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‘So far we have renovated the two reception halls, the kitchen and one of the bedrooms,’ Franck explains. ‘We’ve also repainted almost all the interior, and the stairwell.’ He admits that there’s still plenty to do, but is wary of rushing into anything: ‘A house needs to be lived in for a while to be able to make the right choices in colours and materials.’
After their endeavours inside, the pair moved their focus to the garden, doubling the boxwood paths, and adding a gazebo to create a ‘kind of open-air lounge’. Those thick walls around the property give the space a secret, secluded quality, despite it being in the heart of the village, and Franck and Miguel have further enhanced this sense of the garden as a hidden paradise with serene, orderly planting schemes.
‘We imagined the garden as an extension of the house,’ explains Franck. ‘In both, we’ve demonstrated our love of symmetry in everything from box trees to columns and vases.’
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Franck and Miguel have well and truly placed their own stamp on the decor. The house is teeming with antique pieces that reflect their wide-ranging passions, from columns and busts in neoclassical style to 19th-century kitchenalia (including an impressive collection of vintage copper jelly moulds) and modern pieces by the likes of Jean Lurçat.
‘I have always had a weakness for the accumulation of objects,’ admits Franck. ‘For ceramics in the same colour, for Jean Lurçat pottery, and for the Transition and Louis XVI styles for chairs and armchairs. I love portrait galleries, too, which ties in to my work as an antiques dealer specialising in portraits.’
When he first began working in the antiques sector, Franck quickly realised that finding a focus would be important, and portraits were an obvious choice. ‘Paintings in general – and especially portraits – have always fascinated me. The portrait is a reflection of the soul, hiding within itself a psychological dimension, an emotion, and a story of the individual.’
The number of portraits on show in his home is testament to this passion, and moving here
was also the catalyst that enabled his antiques business to take off – the property’s size means
it is possible to store pieces that won’t fit into his nearby shop, Maison Mérouvel Antiquités. Thanks to these two buildings in this charming village, Franck is able to revel in his love of antiques every day. @franck_montialoux
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