The House of Time Regained by Atelier FCA
The House of Time Regained sits in rural France, where Atelier FCA reworks an old winemaker’s residence into a generous holiday house. Set within the Burgundian village of Deux Rivières, the project turns a compact bedroom layout and expansive communal rooms into a shared homecoming for a Franco-Irish family. The result ties local heritage to contemporary life without losing the quiet rhythm of the village around it.
Morning light washes over natural oak and old brick, catching on the preserved timber trusses that crown the former attic. Below, compact bedrooms and broad communal rooms keep the house tuned to both quiet mornings and long dinners.
In this restored Burgundian house in Deux Rivières, Atelier FCA reshapes a historic winemaker’s dwelling into a contemporary holiday residence for a Franco-Irish couple. The project focuses on domestic life and shared rituals, using a restrained palette to hold together past and present. Material choices and tailored carpentry guide how rooms feel and function, from the open kitchen hub to the tall, intimate volumes under the roof.
Shaping Rooms For Convivial Life
The house is planned as a place for gatherings, dinners, and extended stays rather than a strictly private retreat. Bedrooms remain deliberately compact so that the ground floor can open up into a large living area with lounge, dining room, and open kitchen wrapped around a sizeable central counter. That counter acts as the anchor of domestic life, where cooking, drinking, and conversation fold into one informal stage. Permeable, multifunctional rooms let work, leisure, and socializing move easily across the plan.
Recasting The Former Attic
Above, the first floor grows out of what was once a storage attic, now turned into the more private heart of the house. Here, Atelier FCA arranges two bedrooms, a bathroom, a TV lounge, and a master suite with its own bath under monumental six-meter heights. Original wooden trusses remain exposed, kept as a strong visual and structural presence rather than concealed behind new surfaces. The tall volume gives long views across beams and rooms, unusual for a domestic interior yet made natural through measured proportions.
Timber, Brick, And Quiet Color
Material expression stays intentionally restrained: natural oak, exposed brick walls, and plastered planes define a warm but precise atmosphere. These elements tie the refurbished interior back to the rural character of the original winemaker’s house, while their clean detailing keeps the rooms current. Color enters sparingly as a way to balance and connect, not to dominate, so transitions between levels and functions feel steady and calm. Under the timber trusses, this palette tempers the vertical reach of the rooms and keeps them firmly domestic.
Carpentry As Spatial Tool
Achieving intimacy within such generous heights depends on careful carpentry rather than heavy partitioning. Bespoke woodwork calibrates the relationship between beams, walls, and intermediate elements to restore a sense of human scale. These insertions sit discreetly but decisively, framing views, defining thresholds, and opening unexpected sightlines across the interior. Initial client skepticism toward preserving the full height gives way to appreciation once these crafted pieces reconcile lofty volume with everyday routines.
Phased Renewal Of House And Barn
The project unfolds over several years, matching the owners’ own journeys between continents. A first phase in 2015 renovates the ground floor and completely reworks the roof, securing the shell. A second phase in 2023 concentrates on the upper level and the more intimate rooms, aligning them with the family’s return from the USA to Europe. A final phase planned for 2026 will extend the same quiet material logic to the independent barn and outdoor areas.
By working through subtraction and balance rather than overt contrast, the house settles back into the small village of Deux Rivières. Natural oak, brick, and plaster continue the rural story while setting the stage for new gatherings under timeworn beams. Evening light on the trusses now meets the glow of dinners below, linking older craft to contemporary holiday rhythms.
Photography by Juan Jerez
Visit Atelier FCA
