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A 500-year-old house in the South of France, filled with English-inspired decoration
‘I always say that it’s an English country house in France,’ says Utah-based Kyong Millar when describing La Maison de Frédéric, her charming holiday home in the south of France. If the English influence seems unexpected for a couple from Salt Lake City, Kyong – founder of clothing boutique Koo De Ker – explains that years before buying their holiday home near Uzès, she and husband Donnie almost moved to the UK. In preparation, many trips were made to the Cotswolds, taking design notes from National Trust houses and poring over issues of House & Garden.
Their transatlantic move fell through, but the couple had already fallen in love with Europe, and Kyong in particular had discovered an affinity with traditional English decorating. She references those early lessons in room layout, arranging objects and layering patterns as being pivotal to her vision for La Maison de Frédéric.
Kyong and Donnie had holidayed in the south of France for a decade before their 2020 ‘now or never’ purchase. They loved the slow lifestyle, but the houses they rented always felt lacking in design or functionality, so the couple often mooted buying a place of their own. The fairytale villages of the Luberon didn’t appeal. ‘We wanted to learn to speak French in a working town where people actually live,’ says Kyong. Uzès, 40 kilometres west of Avignon, felt like such a community, and so it became the central point of their search.
La Maison de Frédéric wasn’t a spontaneous buy – they’d seen it before – but in the end, it took a global pandemic to give them the push they needed. ‘Like everybody, we were having an existential crisis during the first lockdown,’ Kyong explains. ‘I'm a busybody, but my store was closed, everybody was at home, and then it makes you question, is this my life? Is this it? And so we bought the house.’
The sale process took a year, but their dream was finally realised in the centre of a sleepy medieval village, a short drive from lavender fields and 15 minutes from some of their favourite cafés and antiques shops. The previous owners had modernised the 500-year-old house around 30 years ago, but aesthetically and practically, it still needed a lot of work, and so began four years of renovating. They had a bilingual site manager who lived locally, but during the most pivotal points, they were making the 10,000-mile round-trip from Utah every two months to keep progress on track.
They had initially planned to renovate the three-storey, four-bedroom house in stages, but post-pandemic, their original quotes for work and materials had gone up by 20-30 per cent, and it was only going to get worse. ‘We realised we had to put all our chips in and do it in one go, but it was so overwhelming and consuming,’ recalls Kyong. ‘The eight-hour time difference meant I was up at 4am every morning to be available on WhatsApp, because once the tradesmen were on site, if they didn’t have all the information they needed, they’d leave and not come back for another week. I was always tethered to my phone, answering questions,’ Kyong adds. ‘There were many points where I thought we’d made a mistake and we’d bitten off more than we could chew. I’d think, this is too hard, what are we doing?’ she recollects. ‘I’d always say that I could handle the elephants, it was the ants that got me. I could deal with the big things, but the minutiae can send you crazy.’
Kyong single-handedly designed the interiors; after running her boutique for 25 years, she’d honed her eye and knew what she liked. There are various nods to eccentric and informal old English houses, especially in the way she has used florals by the likes of Pierre Frey and House of Hackney, but never at the expense of the authentic character of the house. The result is a cohesive colour palette of gentle neutrals, with a harmonious mix of prints, and accents of soft blue – a colour that’s woven throughout the house. The rooms are layered and antique-filled, with multiple vignettes displaying collections of objects and art from local brocantes. ‘I'm not an interior designer, but I call myself a decorator – I love to decorate,’ Kyong clarifies. ‘I really felt the weight of it on my shoulders, and I wanted to do right by the house.’ It works, without a hint of pastiche and is testament to her dedication, taste, and appreciation of history.
The house already had good bones, ready to be emphasised by Kyong’s transformational changes and it is now astonishingly lovely. A double-fronted stone façade, complete with fragrant climbing jasmine and pale blue shutters, is ensconced inside fortress-like walls. The front (and only) garden is compact, but there’s enough space for a proper outdoor dining area, and the high stone walls conceal a small dipping pool from any passers-by. It’s kerb appeal in the extreme. Inside, the layout remains largely the same, but the bathrooms are larger and more luxurious, and what was once a former cave for livestock has been turned into a large boot room, with a huge time-worn carpenter’s table in the centre (one of Kyong’s favourite antique finds).
In the hallways, ‘hobbit-sized’ doorways were replaced with tall double-width doors to accommodate 21st-century heights and create long sight-lines, while custom bookshelves provide much-needed storage. Carefully chosen antiques in every room feel as though they’ve always been there, but the kitchen is the heart of this home, and that’s brand new. Dark cabinetry by DeVol sits beneath thick wooden beams, with a Lacanche stove for evenings enjoying the spoils of the farmers’ markets.
It was never the plan to run the house as a holiday rental, but they changed tack early in the process. Realising that, at this stage in life, they wouldn’t be able to spend as much time there as they’d like, they decided to open the home to bookings from fellow aesthetes. ‘I thought, this beautiful place can't stay empty,’ says Kyong. ‘I truly believe that a house has a soul and it’s meant to be lived in. It feels good when I go back there, and I can tell there’s been life in the house.’
Getting the house finished meant throwing everything they had, physically, financially, emotionally, at the job. ‘If this house was just going to be for us, we would never have done it to this level,’ Kyong acknowledges, matter-of-factly. ‘But once we decided to rent it out, it was the point of no return, and we knew we had to go all in.’ And so guests have everything at their disposal, from branded stationery to modern tech (and air conditioning), florist-arranged flowers, daily housekeeping and fresh pastries delivered to the door. ‘My husband and I joke that every single thing in here is nicer than our home in the US, right down to the cutlery,’ she laughs.
Reflecting on the house feeling complete after four years in the thick of it, Kyong says, ‘on our last two trips, we felt like, okay, this is finally a vacation. We had some of our best friends from the US with us for Easter, and we could actually enjoy the house, cook, go to the market, visit neighbouring towns and really live the life that I had always dreamed of.’
REBEKAH WESTOVER1/30La Maison de Frédéric, hidden behind gates and tall stone walls in the centre of a medieval village.
REBEKAH WESTOVER2/30The terracotta floors in the entry hall are original to the house. The blue door is painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Berrington Blue’ at 50 per cent – this one shade of blue has been used on the doors, windows and architraves throughout the house.
REBEKAH WESTOVER3/30There was no expense spared in creating the couple’s dream country kitchen, which still retains its original terracotta floor and thick ceiling beams. The kitchen is by DeVol, painted in the brand’s ‘Pantry Blue’. The cooker is by Lacanche, and the light fittings are also DeVol.
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REBEKAH WESTOVER7/30The boot-cum-utility room is the space most dramatically transformed by Kyong and Donnie, as it was originally designed to hold livestock and wasn’t previously usable. The cabinetry in here is also by DeVol, and the carpenter’s table is antique and one of Kyong’s favourite pieces in the house. The terracotta flooring is new, and the vintage rug was bought in nearby Uzès.
REBEKAH WESTOVER8/30‘Pantry Blue’ by DeVol continues through to the utility room. The painted vase in the bottom left corner is by French maker Ini Ceramiques. The rechargeable lamp is from Mrs Alice.
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REBEKAH WESTOVER10/30In the salon, the vintage rug was bought from the US-based brand Frances Loom. Almost everything else in here was sourced from French antique dealers or brocantes, including the mirror, tapestry and chandelier. The gingham sofa was a vintage find, reupholstered by Fabienne Roustan in Schumacher Fabric.
REBEKAH WESTOVER11/30The glazed cabinet in the salon came from a dealer in Normandy. The armchairs are vintage, reupholstered in a Pindler fabric. The parquet flooring was newly laid to replace and brighten a previously dark tiled floor.
REBEKAH WESTOVER12/30The painting here – as with all the art throughout the house – is antique. Most of the art was slowly collected from flea markets over three years. The antique sconces are topped with Pooky lampshades, and the chaise is antique, reupholstered in Schumacher fabric. The blue velvet sofa was from Neptune.
REBEKAH WESTOVER13/30The large fireplace is original to the house, and an elegant feature at the centre of the salon. The pair of floral chairs are by Neptune. Buscot Manor in the Cotswolds was a key source of inspiration for furniture layout in this large room, making it feel cosy with different seating areas.
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REBEKAH WESTOVER17/30This bathroom was previously two smaller rooms, which were combined to make a space large enough for a bath and a separate shower. The floor tiles were antique, installed atop underfloor heating. The bath and plumbing fixtures are all from Burlington, and the wallpaper is House of Hackney.
REBEKAH WESTOVER18/30The tiles in this bedroom are original to the house. The bed skirt was custom-made by Fabienne Roustan, and the canopy bed was made in Aix-en-Provence using Pindler fabric. Everything else in the room – furniture and wall art – is antique, collected by Kyong throughout the renovation.
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REBEKAH WESTOVER20/30In the main bedroom, the king-sized custom-made canopy bed combines fabrics by Pierre Frey and Pindler for a romantic, boutique hotel feeling.
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REBEKAH WESTOVER22/30The couple carved out space for a cosy TV snug separate from the main salon. The velvet sofa is from BHV in Paris, and the wallpaper is by Pierre Frey. The TV (not pictured) is large enough for proper film nights if so desired. Modern tech is well concealed, but it wasn’t sacrificed when considering what guests might want from their home away from home.
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REBEKAH WESTOVER25/30The second bathroom also features House of Hackney wallpaper and a basin unit from Burlington. All lighting in the bathrooms is by Jim Lawrence.
REBEKAH WESTOVER26/30The twin bedroom features custom-made headboards by Fabienne Roustan, covered in Pierre Frey fabric. This room is equally suited to adults and children, as the beds are full-sized. The antique bedside lamp is finished with a striped shade by Alice Palmer.
REBEKAH WESTOVER27/30The third bathroom features another Burlington basin unit, House of Hackney wallpaper and mirrors from Neptune. Kyong has used fabrics and wallpapers from a limited number of design houses to keep a cohesive feel throughout.
REBEKAH WESTOVER28/30Kyong Millar pictured outside La Maison de Frédéric.
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REBEKAH WESTOVER30/30The newly added dipping pool in the front garden. It is not big enough to swim in, but it is ideal for cooling off on summer days. This is cleverly hidden from view by the surrounding towering stone walls. When the couple bought the house, the garden was completely overgrown. The charming planting and sun-bathing areas were redesigned to maximise every inch of their outside space.
