Your own private ocean: luxury villa in Cap Martin

Few locations are as exclusive as the Cap Martin – a luxuriant peninsula dotted with grand houses dating from the early part of the 20th century to the east of Monaco. The first person to take up residence there was France’s last empress, Eugénie. Coco Chanel, meanwhile, owned the Villa Pausa, where Winston Churchill was a regular guest. “There’s a great architectural heritage and a romantic atmosphere that transports you back to another era,” notes French interior designer Damien Langlois-Meurinne, who has featured several times in AD France’s list of the world’s top 100 decorators. 

The exquisite Villa White 

One of the Cap’s most exceptional properties is the 1,170 sq m, seven bedroom Villa White, which was built around 1905 and is one of only a handful of residences located directly on the Mediterranean. Its renovation by Langlois-Meurinne included the installation of a grand staircase to link all four floors and the reconfiguration of the upper floors, most notably to create a luxurious 150 sq m primary suite. He also integrated a whole host of new functions, from a wine cellar and billiard room to a home cinema and gym, as well as a seven metre deep underground garage with a pair of elevators to transport cars up and down. 

Belle Époque design 

Langlois-Meurinne’s goal for the interiors was to keep them fresh and light. He also wanted to respect the Belle Époque style of the house. “I worked in references to the early part of the 20th century”, he explains. Take the black and white primary bathroom, which is an elegant homage to the Art Deco period. Particular attention was placed on linking the house to its spectacular surroundings too. As soon as you step inside the front door, you are met by a stunning vista of the sea through the living room. To magnify its effect, Langlois-Meurinne added pocket French doors onto the terrace. The decoration also provides numerous nods to the nautical world. Among them, the custom dining table with its wave-like edge and the rug in the living room, whose motif replicates an image of sun rays reverberating on the surface of water. 

Outdoors, the black-edged swimming pool exudes classical old-school glamour, while the nearly one acre grounds, which tumble down to the sea, are densely planted with both pines and a magnificent cactus garden. “You feel really protected by the vegetation and you can hear the Mediterranean from everywhere in the house,” says Langlois-Meurinne. “There really is an incredible proximity to the water.” 

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