Daydreaming Villas in the French Riviera

For the architecture (and art) lovers

Welcome to Giselle daydreams! Today I decided to write about daydreaming villas in the French Riviera which are aesthetically pleasing, full of history, art and beauty.

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is a stunning historic mansion located in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Built in the early 20th century by Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild, a member of the famous Rothschild banking family, the villa is renowned for its luxurious architecture and magnificent gardens à la française among others.

The villa's design blends Italian Renaissance and Belle Époque styles. It features lavish interiors with antique furniture, fine art, and rare porcelain collected by the Baroness during her travels.

One of the main attractions of the villa is its nine meticulously landscaped themed gardens. These include a French formal garden, a Japanese garden, a Spanish garden, and a rose garden, among others. The nine themed gardens surrounding the villa are a fundamental part of its architecture. The French garden with its grand fountains is positioned directly in front of the villa, aligning with its symmetrical layout, almost like an extension of the building itself. The gardens are beautifully set with fountains and offer spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild combines Italian Renaissance and Belle Époque architectural styles, making it one of the most beautiful and daydreaming villas on the French Riviera. The villa's overall form is inspired by Renaissance palazzos, particularly from Italy. Its pale pink façade, symmetrical layout, and loggias (arched open galleries) are typical of this period's architecture. The Belle Époque influence is seen in the graceful, ornate detailing. This period celebrated lavish, highly decorative aesthetics, and the villa’s intricate balconies, balustrades, and windows embody this grandeur. The villa is designed to maximise views of the Mediterranean Sea. Its layout takes full advantage of the peninsula on which it is located, offering panoramic vistas from almost every angle.

The interiors are as opulent as the exterior, featuring high ceilings, large windows, and exquisite decorations. Many rooms, such as the Salon Louis XV, feature period furniture, fine art, and luxurious drapery. The walls, ceilings, and floors are often adorned with Renaissance and Classical motifs, including frescoes, gilded decorations, and elaborate moulding. The villa also houses a vast collection of art pieces, including porcelain, paintings, tapestries, and furniture from various European periods.

Several rooms open up onto loggias and terraces, where arches frame stunning sea views. These outdoor spaces offer a blend of indoor luxury and the Mediterranean climate, typical of grand Italian villas.

The villa’s floor plan is designed with an axial symmetry, creating a sense of balance and harmony. This is reflected in the alignment of rooms, terraces, and gardens. The entrance hall acts as a central pivot, allowing vistas to both the front and rear gardens.

Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild bequeathed the property to the Académie des Beaux-Arts upon her death in 1934. The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is a masterpiece of architectural design, reflecting the tastes of its time, the wealth of the Rothschild family, and the aesthetic sensibilities of Baroness Béatrice, who commissioned it. The villa offers visitors a glimpse into the opulence of the early 20th-century French aristocracy. Today, it operates as a museum open to the public, showcasing her extensive art collection and splendid garden designs.

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Villa Kerylos

The Villa Kérylos is a historical villa located in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. It was built between 1902 and 1908 by Théodore Reinach, a French archaeologist and scholar, as a tribute to ancient Greek civilisation. The villa is a faithful reconstruction of a luxurious Ancient Greek home and blends the elegance of Greek antiquity with modern conveniences of the early 20th century.

Villa Kérylos is modelled after noble houses from Delos, a Greek island that was once a major centre of Greek civilisation. It combines elements from Greek classical architecture with contemporary 20th-century innovations. The villa uses authentic materials from antiquity, such as marble, stucco, and exotic woods, combined with modern building techniques. Many of the decorative elements are direct reproductions of Greek motifs, with attention to detail in columns, frescoes, and mosaics. The villa maintains a harmonious balance in its proportions, drawing from the Greek ideals of symmetry and aesthetic harmony. The structure includes Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns.

The villa is organised around an open courtyard (peristyle), as was typical in ancient Greek homes, with rooms surrounding this central space. Key rooms include the andron, a men's banquet hall, and the triclinium, a formal dining room. Inside, the Villa Kérylos is richly decorated with mosaics, frescoes, and fine reproductions of ancient Greek furniture, designed by Reinach and his team to emulate the aesthetics of the era. The villa also features intricate bronze fittings, Greek vases, and sculptures.

The villa is perched on a rocky promontory overlooking the Mediterranean, offering spectacular views of the Baie des Fourmis and the surrounding coastline. Its location enhances the villa's serene, timeless atmosphere, as it is set against the blue backdrop of the sea and sky, much like ancient Greek homes were.

While the villa is designed to resemble a residence from ancient Greece, it incorporates modern features from the early 1900s, such as electricity, heating, and plumbing, making it a unique blend of ancient design and modern luxury.

Villa Kérylos is located near Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and is often compared with this latter. However, both villas present different architectural inspirations. Villa Kérylos is focused on Greek antiquity, while Ephrussi de Rothschild is more of an eclectic mix of Italian Renaissance and Belle Époque styles. Both villas are known for their beautiful architecture, gardens, and cultural significance, but Villa Kérylos uniquely captures the spirit of ancient Greece in a modern setting.

Villa Kérylos is now a museum, operated by the Institut de France, and is open to the public. It represents an idealised vision of classical Greek culture, combining scholarly accuracy with the aesthetic tastes of the early 20th century. The villa was a social and intellectual gathering place for many of Reinach’s friends and contemporaries, including famous artists and writers of the time.

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Villa E-1027

Villa E-1027 is a fine example of the Minimalist design, emphasising clean lines, geometric forms, and open, flowing spaces. It was designed to blend with the rocky, coastal environment rather than dominate it.

Every aspect of the villa was designed with a focus on functionality. The layout, furniture, and even built-in elements reflect Gray’s meticulous attention to detail, ensuring everything in the villa serves a purpose. The villa features an open-plan layout, a hallmark of modernist design, with flexible spaces that maximise light and airflow. Large, horizontal windows allow natural light to flood the interior and offer spectacular views of the Mediterranean.

Gray designed much of the furniture for the villa, including her famous adjustable E-1027 table, which became iconic in modernist design. She created furniture that was not only aesthetically pleasing but also practical, with an emphasis on adaptability and comfort. Villa E-1027 also includes built-in furniture, such as shelves and storage units, which are seamlessly integrated into the architecture. This reflects Gray’s holistic approach to design, where the boundaries between architecture and interior design are blurred. Gray designed the villa with the idea that the interior should be personalised to meet the specific needs and lifestyle of its inhabitants. For instance, the bedroom features a rotating dressing table and mirrors that adapt to changing light conditions.

The villa is carefully positioned on a steep hillside above the Mediterranean Sea, allowing for dramatic views while also preserving privacy. The design integrates natural elements, such as rocks and vegetation, with its modernist aesthetic. The villa includes terraces and balconies that extend the living space outdoors, in keeping with modernist ideals of merging indoor and outdoor environments.

While the exterior is predominantly white, Gray used colour inside the villa to differentiate spaces and create moods. Soft blues and greys were used for restful areas, while bright reds and yellows were used to create contrast in certain rooms. In the late 1930s, Le Corbusier, a renowned modernist architect, painted murals inside the villa without Gray's permission. This caused some controversy, as Gray believed that his murals clashed with the minimalist aesthetic of the space. Furthermore, Le Corbusier, who admired the villa, built his Cabanon, a small personal retreat, near Villa E-1027. The complex relationship between Gray and Le Corbusier has added layers of intrigue to the history of the villa.

The villa suffered neglect and vandalism in the years following Gray’s death but has since undergone extensive restoration. It is now a protected historical site and has been restored to its original condition to showcase Gray's vision.

Villa E-1027 is considered a milestone in Modernist architecture and is praised for its innovation in design, particularly with regard to its user-centric focus and the blending of form and function. Villa E-1027 remains a testament to Eileen Gray’s revolutionary approach to architecture and design. It is celebrated not just for its aesthetic beauty but also for its human-centred design philosophy, where the form follows the needs of the inhabitant. The villa is a key piece in the study of modernist architecture and a lasting tribute to Gray's visionary creativity.

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Le Cabanon

Le Cabanon is a minimalist, small seaside cabin designed by the renowned modernist architect Le Corbusier in 1951. Located in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, near Monaco, Le Cabanon was created as Le Corbusier’s personal retreat. Despite its modest size and simple construction, the cabin is a significant work of modernist architecture, embodying Le Corbusier’s principles of functional design and harmony with nature.

Le Cabanon measures just 3.66 by 3.66 metres (about 13 square metres or 140 square feet), yet it was carefully designed to include everything Le Corbusier needed. The small space contains a bedroom, a writing desk, built-in furniture, and a compact kitchen, all organised to maximise functionality. The dimensions of Le Cabanon are based on Le Corbusier’s Modulor system, a scale of proportions derived from human measurements. The Modulor was used to create harmonious proportions that would suit human needs while promoting well-being and comfort. The cabin is made primarily of wood, with an interior finished in plywood. It was constructed with basic materials, reflecting Le Corbusier’s belief in using simple, natural materials to create efficient, beautiful spaces.

The interior of Le Cabanon is extremely minimal, emphasising functionality over ornamentation. Le Corbusier believed that good design should serve the user’s essential needs, and the cabin exemplifies this philosophy. Despite the small space, it includes built-in shelves, benches, and storage to avoid clutter. Every inch of the cabin is meticulously planned. The built-in furniture is multi-functional, and the arrangement allows for practical living without excess. This reflects Le Corbusier’s vision of minimalist living, where less is more.

Although small in scale, Le Cabanon is a key example of modernist architecture, showcasing Le Corbusier’s ideas about modular design, minimalism, and the relationship between architecture and nature. It also anticipated later trends in tiny homes and minimalist living, where efficiency and simplicity are prioritised.

Le Cabanon is perched on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by nature. The placement of the cabin offers stunning views of the sea and coastline. Large windows bring natural light into the space and frame the natural landscape, creating a close connection between the interior and the environment.

Le Corbusier wanted to create a space that was at one with nature. The cabin’s modest design and use of natural materials reflect a desire for simplicity and self-sufficiency, allowing Le Corbusier to retreat from urban life and focus on contemplation and creativity. Le Cabanon was not designed as a showpiece or public project; it was built for Le Corbusier’s personal use as a summer retreat. It became a place where he could work, relax, and reflect in solitude.

Le Cabanon is located next to Villa E-1027 (discussed just above), a modernist villa designed by Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici. Le Corbusier had a complicated history with Villa E-1027, and he painted controversial murals on its walls, which led to tension with Gray. The proximity of Le Cabanon to Villa E-1027 has added a layer of intrigue to both buildings.

Le Cabanon, along with other works by Le Corbusier, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. This designation recognises the architectural and cultural significance of Le Corbusier’s contribution to modern architecture.

Le Cabanon is an embodiment of Le Corbusier’s architectural philosophy, where simplicity, functionality, and harmony with nature are central. Despite its modest size and unassuming appearance, the cabin remains an important symbol of modernist design, illustrating the power of architecture to create meaningful and efficient spaces in harmony with their environment.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and feel inspired to visit these villas.

Giselle xx