La Cressonnière: Floors

Here’s another mini-tour of La Cressonnière. Today, I’d like to show you the old stone floors and a the view down the pretty upstairs hallway.

old stone floor

La Cressonnière dates to the 17th century. And it was added to in the 18th century. From what we understand, the stone floor in the kitchen and living room are original to the 17th century building. Apparently, in the summers, these floors and the thick stone walls keep the house very cool. (In the winter, that means slippers make a lot of sense, so that little toes stay toasty.)

The photo above is actually of the floor in the hallway upstairs. But you can find photos of the living room and kitchen floors below.

la cressonniere hallway

la cressonniere painted door

But before we get back to floors, let’s talk about this hallway. When you walk up the stairs, this is your view at the entrance to the 2nd floor. And it’s probably my favorite view in the house. The light from the windows is wonderful.

See the pretty door? It’s hand-painted, of course. And there are 2 others just like it that you can’t see in the picture. One leads to Maude’s bedroom, one leads to Oscar & Betty’s bedroom, and one leads to a little tiny hallway with a bathroom and an entrance to Olive’s bedroom. Here’s a closer shot of a door:

la cressonniere painted door

The curtains in this hallway are stunning. There a two big windows and very high ceilings, which means long, long curtains. There’s something about the long length that makes them feel so luxurious.

la cressonniere hallway curtains

They start high…

la cressonniere hallway curtains

…keep going…

la cressonniere hallway curtains

Then puddle at the bottom. It took me 3 shots to capture their entire length. : ) Here’s a close up of the lacework — makes me want to touch it:

la cressonniere hallway curtains

Now back to floors. Below is a picture of the living room floor. It has large stone pieces around the outsides and hexagon shaped tiles in the middle. The room should feel cold, but there is an enormous area rug and working fireplace that cozy it right up.

la cressonniere living room floor

This is our first time living in a house with stone floors, and I didn’t know what to expect. But so far, so good. Upkeep of the floors seems to be pretty simple and I like the feeling that they’ve already survived for centuries and my kids can’t hurt them.

For Baby June, who is 9 months old but not the least bit interested in crawling, we have a little sheepskin rug that we move from room to room so she has a soft place to roll around.

old stone floor

These shots show the floor in the kitchen. No rug here, so this room is the coldest in the house. But because it’s a busy room — lots of cooking, cleaning and people moving around, it never feels too cold to me.

old stone floor la cressonniere kitchen

Have you ever lived in a house with old stone floors? What was your experience like?

43 thoughts on “La Cressonnière: Floors”

  1. we don’t have old stone, but we have terrazzo, which is concrete and marble. we refinished it during the renovation, and they are smooth and shiny. they do get slippery with very little water, and when the kids fall down you hear a splat. which is never good.
    I like that in the summer they help keep the house cool too, but in the winter (even in florida) it feels cold with these floors.
    But there’s no grout, and they’re indestructible, just like yours!

    1. I am so jealous of terrazzo floors. I think they are absolutely gorgeous! I don’t think our house could stand the weight of the pour (and I probably couldn’t afford it anyway) but I love the way terrazzo looks.

      1. these are old, poured in about 1960 before any of the interior walls went up. The people who refinished them said that nobody is installing floors like these anymore, except for malls, airports and supermarkets.
        I wasn’t a huge fan of terrazzo before, but I’m loving them now. And did I mention, there’s no grout! ! !

  2. Your children are going to love that you took so many pictures of where you’re living. My husband is an Army brat, and he and his sisters love to go through photos of the places they lived.

  3. This is so great. I never in a million years would have thought of moving my family across the ocean until I read your posts and your sister’s, and now I’m racking my brain trying to think of a way to pull it off. Thanks for the encouragement and the lovely house tour.

  4. it is stunning, and something about the age of the place feels impossible to even capture here in america. they talk about renovating a place before our country existed!
    i hope you’re sending a link to the owners so they can enjoy the tributes to their house/decor that you’re doing! they might be surprised how many of your readers want to rent it next year :-)

  5. Those curtains are SO gorgeous. I love floors that are easy to care for. We have a stone-topped kitchen table that I adore for the same reason.

  6. it really does look amazing. i agree, that view down the hall is breathtaking. your photo skills are great by the way. you captured it beautifully.

  7. Joyful morning, visiting in your home! I’m happy for the home to have such
    appreciative and happy residents–each and all
    You bring sunlight to our home!!

    Adore you all!

  8. This house gets more charming as the tours continue. Plus, I’m sure baby June will adapt well once she does start crawling, though I do love the calm of a baby before that much mobility. (Mine didn’t crawl until almost 13 months, and started walking at 16 months).

  9. Oh that door it’s gorgeous! and those floors, are you imagining all the many shoe’s and people who have walked across them? Do you all have cute slippers?

  10. Dear G,
    So, I’m just sitting here thinking how much I’m enjoying all of these posts about La Cressonniere… and also thinking what a fun voyage of discovery it is for you & yours! In some respects, living in this furnished & fitted “Old World” home seems like a real departure from your own personal style, which always looks so modern and streamlined (via blog photos, of course). I wonder how living in this design style for the next year will influence your personal tastes and preferences? Just curious musings… And another fun part of the voyage of discovery for you, I’m sure. :-)

    Thank you for taking the time to document and share. Simply loving it!
    Best,
    – C

  11. Wow! Stone floors upstairs! And from the 17th century to boot.
    No stone here – lots of hardwood and some congoleum (fake tile so it’s never cold). I wanted slate in the kitchen but the upkeep was more than I wanted to deal with. And I couldn’t afford in-floor heat. : )

  12. Oh how I love them, so beautifully worn! My in-laws bought their first home when my husband was a baby, and it was one “building” in a community of several that was a 13th century abbey, and it’s where they housed the cows! It’s absolutely beautiful and right on the water in Bretagne. My mother-in-law loves design and had a great eye when she bought the property!

  13. Oh those floors are gorgeous (love the hexagon ones!). And I love curtains…must get some for our windows someday.

    And my 8 month old shows not the slightest interest in crawling…nor in abandoning her swaddling. Sigh.

  14. We have stone floor and I love the fact that they are so forgiving and don’t need a mopping all the time, they just look lived in. They have been hard on the baby though. I always worry about the kids chipping a tooth and put rubber bumpers on the steps when they are crawling. We’ve broken quite a few dishes and glasses that may have “bounced” on a wood floor. Yours are just beautiful with character.

  15. I have never lived in a house with stone floors…but have always been enamored with them, in a little-girl romance kind of way. I always thought they looked so dreamy–all those Pottery Barn magazines I studied as a teenager with perfect light flowing through large, clear windows and a sisal rug (usually) underneath the bed set my heart aflutter. In reality, I think they’d be awfully cold, hard for little kids learning to walk (ouch, conk on the head) and drive your heating bill up. Thus I would want to cover them with rugs, and then what of the beautiful floors would I see? But I’m glad to see that I’m wrong for at least your lovely house!

  16. Are you worried about your children damaging anything? I’d be terrified one of my littles would do something disastrous like cut the curtains or take a sharpie to the old painted doors. It’s giving me heart palpitations just thinking about it! ;o)

  17. VERDIER Clothilde

    Dear Gabrielle,

    I need to ask you a favor.

    My parents have a wonderful house in Argentan and they are about to sell it. My mum is a bit sad of the idea of selling the house. I would like to offer her a photo album of the house with really nice pictures of the house.

    When you made all these pictures of La Cressonnière, did you hire someone from Argentan ? If so, do you mind giving his/her name and contact details. or did you do it yourself ?

    Thank you very much
    Clothilde

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