History of Mas Joyeux...

A dream home, the house of my dreams!

Do you like true stories? If so, then I invite you to read these few chapters in which I will lift the curtain slightly to let you in, in part, behind the scenes at Mas Joyeux.

One night in January 2004, while I was living in Nîmes with my children, I dreamt of a very pretty house built entirely of exposed stone. It had no shutters, the windows were small-paned, and their sills were made of large, old red bricks. To the right of the house, I could see a swimming pool where the sun reflected on crystal-clear water, without waves or ripples, and that's when I woke up.

Let me tell you that, for a very long time, I had been looking to acquire a house and visited them regularly, but each time the doors closed for various reasons.

About three weeks after that dream, another visit awaited me. In the meantime,I had learned, through a contact, that a young owner in Marseille was selling his house in the Cévennes. So I got in touch with him to arrange a viewing. He gave me a meeting point at a roundabout in the small village of Les Mages. As I followed him in my car, I kept thinking to myself: "Can't you see this is the house of my dreams? No, you idiot...just keep driving."

The House of Dreams...

Arriving in St Florent-sur-Auzonnet, we drove through half the village before the owner signaled his left turn. The entrance to the property was narrow, and the road, rutted by the heavy rains of the Cévennes region, had deep ruts; and before my eyes, what a surprise it was to see the house of my dreams, standing there, exactly as I'd imagined... but without the swimming pool.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Pinch me, I must be dreaming! I got out of my vehicle and walked over to the owner without saying a word. The house looked abandoned, and he simply showed me in.I pushed open the door, without even turning the key. Inside, I was charmed by the beautiful wooden beams on the ceiling, the fireplace; as well as a south-facing room with a view of the mountains.

Once the visit was over, we met up to see the site. Wow! A real junkyard: an old caravan half-dismantled, car accessories, engines, oil cans, worn tires, batteries, tools... and much more.

I thought the tour was over when the owner drew my attention to an old ruined farmhouse, topped with half a roof, ideal for sleeping under the stars.

Single file, we climb the stone steps to reach the heights of the Mas.

"Be careful," he told me, "the remaining tiles and the framework could fall."

I climbed over piles of rubble to glimpse dilapidated walls without gables, pieces of windows flapping in the wind and sometimes held by a single hinge, semblances of doors creaking at the slightest opening, floors of beaten earth and, in some rooms, a smell of mold that irritates your nose.

In short, there was every reason to run for your life and flee at full speed, without even looking back, but that was not my case.

On the contrary, I envisioned myself in this ruined farmhouse, seeing all its potential once renovated.

Purchase and renovation of the Mas

Before signing the notarial deed, and after many twists and turns, it took me eighteen months of perseverance to stay on course until the final signing.

Then, I dedicated myself to the task for years, working through countless hours and sweating buckets. Spending sleepless nights like Gepetto, not drawing Pinocchio, but sketching plans on graph paper.

I suffered a muscle tear while carrying a forty-kilo bag of plaster on my right shoulder, which stopped me dead in my tracks, like a hunting dog.

I endured fatigue and exhaustion installing doors, windows, and Siporex partitions, chipping away at the walls with a chisel to repoint them using traditional methods... removing 21 tons of rubble, distributed among 3 seven-ton trucks, to reinforce the Pôle Mécanique circuit in Alès...

You'll easily understand that it's impossible for me to recount in a few words all the years I spent restoring the Mas, the tenacity and faith I had to summon just to buy this property penniless. How is that possible, you might ask? And yet! If one day you wish to come and stay here, or are simply curious to know what happened next, I'd be happy to tell you how a bank was able to lend me €130,000, with no income or down payment.

Since its renovation, Mas Joyeux has welcomed dozens of people, many of whom, men and women alike, had tears in their eyes or heavy hearts on the day of their departure, finding it difficult to leave this place truly imbued with a supernatural peace.

As a side note about the name of the Mas dating back to the 17th century, I discovered while searching in the Archives of Nîmes that it belonged to a family bearing the name Joyeux!

A jumble of photos illustrating the fascinating before/after.