Sampler Chateau

Bavent, France.  Glimpsing this elaborately patterned house as we drove by en route to our nearby hotel, my immediate impression was there was something quite Disneyesque about it.  The next morning we returned to investigate further.  Walking from the parking lot, the closer we got, the more enchanted we became.

The clay-rich Bavent area had attracted many small potters since at least the 15th Century.  This firm, Poterie du Mesnil de Bavent, established in 1842, specialized in decorative roof finials, roof ridge tiles and various flat tiles. The house was built in the mid-1800s to showcase the pottery's capabilities and products.

The pottery's roof finial modules come in just about every size, color and shape.  You can mix the elements to create the perfect roof decoration.  Dominique, the owner, whose artist-mother saved the pottery in 1987, said the correct size for a roof finial is 10% of the height of the building.

We saw parts of the inside of the house as decorators were preparing the house for a wedding.

At the back of the property, baa-ing black sheep, colorful chickens, a dove, a goat on a bench and peacocks entertained us.

I love the textures and patterns on the walls and roof of this barn...

...as well as the more ornate designs on this small shed.

Remember I though the house had a Disney quality about it?  We heard a story while we were in Normandy that the Disney family name was originally d'Isigny ("from Isigny," a nearby canton in the Normandy region of France) that was misspelled when Walt Disney's ancestors moved to the USA.  It's easy to see how Uncle Walt could have found inspiration from such a fantasy place.

For more information on the Poterie du Mesnil de Bavent, visit their website HERE.  It's only in French as of this writing but you can translate it with Google Translate.