Eco-friendly gîte in the natural park Millevaches in Limousin

Rental description

Anna and Andrew, originally from Great Britain, fell in love with the quietness and untouched nature of the Millevaches plateau, located in the Limousin region.

They bought and renovated themselves an old barn in 2012 and since then have been thoughtfully converting it from a cow shed to their home and a “gîte” (guesthouse).
The spacious gîte nestles in one end of their beautifully converted granite barn, offering double height open plan living space, kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. This place is flooded with light. Bi-fold doors open directly onto the west-facing terrace (35 m²), which overlooks the fields and woods to the hills beyond.
Th landscape of the natural park with its forests, rivers and lakes are a complete antidote to busy lives.

Sustainability criteria

The couple is running an environment-friendly life and so its aim was to convert the barn as sympathetically as possible, keeping as much of its character and originality. They thus have saved a beautiful part of the heritage of the French agricultural history. They have used traditional materials wherever possible, combined with some use of modern technical materials to reduce the long term impact they have on the environment.

The granite and old oak from the barn has been re-purposed and locally sourced green oak used for all the new structural work. Like the original builders they have utilised lime-based materials for the floors, the internal walls and for all the joints. An ancient method using hemp and lime mixture provides insulation as this ‘breathes’ and lets moisture move in and out of the walls and floors.

Besides this, the place is as environmentally friendly as possible. The barn is south facing and partially subterranean. This conserves heat in the winter and maintains a cooler environment in summer. No need of air conditioning! Insulation is optimal thanks to doubleglazing throughout and triple glazing on the Veluxes. Solar panels and a huge wood boiler power the heating and hot water. The logs for this come from their own woods.

For the interiors, the owners also conducted an environmental friendly policy such as: bathroom taps with flow limiters, LED bulbs, fixtures and fittings made in Europe and of high quality, second hand furniture, A or A+ rated appliances, etc.

Their ‘potager’ and polytunnel provide them with seasonal vegetables all year round. Everything biodegradable is composted. They recycle and use eco-friendly products where possible. The delicious un-chlorinated water comes straight from the local spring.

CO₂ emissions and CO₂ Emissions calculation of Atmosfair

compensate CO₂ footprint

• CO₂ emissions per night / per person 5 kg
• CO₂ emissions at full capacity 60 kg
• Amount of compensation per night / person 1,12 €
• Amount of compensation at full capacity 2,38 €