4 bedrooms house, 165 m²

Pornassio, Imperia (province)

Wisteria House
A description of my home:
The Wisteria /Antique Rose House is essentially an independent, three story double house, in the sunniest part of the hamlet of Ponti of the town of Pornassio.
When I started to renovate this large 17th century stone structure, I wanted to preserve as much as possible the natural materials which composed it, while rethinking the entire organization of the three floors of its ample spaces. The original building had been used for drying chestnuts. Therefore it had large south facing exposures that lent themselves to the floor to ceiling, double glass windows. It had also been used for housing sheep and a cow. I gutted the entire interior and recast the floors, rebuilt the roof, resituated the stairs, replastered all the wall surfaces and installed plumbing, heating and electricity. Therefore it is essentially a nearly new house created from the original sturdy stone exterior shell. It consists of the main house, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms, and the adjacent ‘mother-in-law’ apartment with its own entrance bedroom bathroom and terrace.
Approaching the building, its size is not immediately apparent, as its three levels are staggered, built against the hillside. Therefore it does not have a classical ‘façade.’ A flourishing Wisteria vine welcomes the visitor, flanked by a productive persimmon tree.
The entrance is large, and has a curved staircase leading up to the kitchen and dining room that seats eight. This room looks out onto the main terrace.
To the right is my double height study/bedroom, that also opens onto the terrace.
To the left is the main bathroom, and four steps up the double height living room with its central fireplace. Another eight steps up is the master bedroom with its own en-suite bathroom. This room looks out on the entire valley and the full moon.
Returning to the ground floor is the third bedroom with an adjoing utility bathroom, and an sunporch for citrus plants. This room and the living room each lead out to the adjoining gardens, with fruit trees and roses.
On the other side of the house is the smaller apartment, Antique Rose, essentially a mini-loft, with a kitchen area and bathroom on the ground floor, a sitting area on the intermediate level a bedroom four steps up and a stair way leading to its panoramic terrace.
The property also has two solar heating systems, one for hot water and one for its custom-made copper radiators. These are connected respectively in series to a gas heater and a pellet furnace for backup in the coldest Winter months.
The terraced land surrounding the house has fruits trees, and a dozen olive trees. It faces full south overlooking the valley and is irrigated with its own reservoir. A  hundred meter private road and driveway was created in the back of the house so that a small or medium size car can reach the back door of the home from the village road.