Villa la Tosca

Villa La Tosca is a beachfront house on the Bassin d'Arcachon, an hour from Bordeaux. The result keeps the original volumes and materials while adapting the interiors for guests. Pine forest and sand run to the water's edge, and the grounds cover 4,000 m². A natural spring feeds the ecological swimming pool, filtered by aquatic plants rather than chemicals. The tides here pull the water out to expose mudflats twice a day, a rhythm the house is built around. Nine rooms sleep up to twenty across the property, each furnished with objects gathered from the family's travels; five are open for individual stays when the villa is not booked for a retreat or seminar. Guests can walk straight from the garden onto the private beach. A semi-professional kitchen allows a chef to cook on-site, and the house has a wine cellar, library, sauna, and cold-water bath alongside spaces set aside for yoga and massage. Bicycles are available for the network of paths that circle the bay. Cleaning happens daily; bed linen is changed twice a week. It is a working retreat house first, a guest house second.