With their striking façades, eye-catching windows and rooflines, ornate balconies, intricate masonry, turrets, and corner quoins, these French-inspired estates across the country have a certain je ne sais quoi that makes them irresistible and utterly desirable.
Greenwich Grandeur
Greenwich, Connecticut | Joseph Barbieri, Sotheby’s International Realty – Greenwich Brokerage
This stately 9,411-square-foot residence in Greenwich’s Field Point Circle association is filled with rich details, modern amenities, and superb spaces for elegant entertaining. Highlights include a spacious family room with two limestone fireplaces, a covered patio, a home theater, a sophisticated living room, a formal dining room, and a light-flooded kitchen with every top-tier appointment and appliance. Columns, arches, Palladian windows, coffered ceilings, classical molding and paneling, and a fountain amid the lush gardens create an undeniable Old World ambience.
Wine Country Château
Sonoma, California | Carol Sebastiani, Sotheby’s International Realty – Wine Country – East Napa Street Brokerage
This 3,900-square-foot home near the historic Sonoma Plaza combines relaxed wine country elegance with French country inspiration and views of neighboring vineyards. It offers four restful bedrooms, three full baths, and ideal spaces for entertaining, including formal living and dining rooms, a media room, and a generous chef’s kitchen and family room opening to outdoor areas reminiscent of Provence. The home is sited on approximately a four-acre estate site that also features a pool, an outdoor kitchen, garden beds, and an olive orchard.
French Country Inspiration
Houston, Texas | Jay Monroe, Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty – Central Houston Brokerage
A unique gem in the Lone Star State, this refined manor near the River Oaks Country Club and Memorial Park in Houston was modeled after the quintessential estates of Provence. Balancing French country design with a dedication to modern comfort and convenience, it boasts a stately limestone façade, five bedrooms, nine luxurious baths, top-tier appliances, an elevator, and welcome storage. In the secluded backyard, an inviting pool with deck jets is surrounded by an emerald lawn, mature oaks, and a whimsical pergola.
Idyllic Midcountry Greenwich Villa
Greenwich, Connecticut | Martha Z Jeffrey, Sotheby’s International Realty – Greenwich Brokerage
Recalling a serene retreat in the French countryside, this six-bedroom home on 2.25 bucolic midcountry acres was crafted with exceptional materials and impressive attention to detail. Highlights include beamed ceilings, eye-catching parquetry, extensive use of stone and wood, elegant fireplaces, a library with custom bookshelves, and a spectacular kitchen with an oversized steel-clad island and a Lacanche range. The grounds—which feature a pool, a pool house, boxwoods, perennial walks, and a croquet field—are enveloped by protected Greenwich Land Trust meadows and woodlands.
French Country Elegance in the Hamptons
Bridgehamtpton, New York | Dana Trotter & Jon Barton, Sotheby’s International Realty – Bridgehampton Brokerage
Minutes from the ocean in one of Bridgehampton’s most coveted locations, this refined six-bedroom residence is filled with Old World inspiration. A shingled roof, corner turrets, earthy terra-cotta tile, oeil-de-boeuf windows, decorative quoins, transom windows, ornate fireplaces, a subdued but sophisticated palette, and walls of French doors with crémone bolts contribute to the alluring French country ambience. The lush manicured acreage also includes a heated saltwater pool, a detached three-car garage, and space for the addition of tennis courts.
Normandy on the Lake
Sugar Land, Texas | Patti Prasher, Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty – Central Houston Brokerage
Old World glamor distinguishes this six-bedroom manor designed by Houston architect Robert Dame. Sited to capture views of Alkire Lake, it immediately impresses with its timeless turrets and mansard roofline and is filled with carefully selected and crafted details, including arched doors and windows, distinctive ceiling treatments, and rich millwork. Among its unique highlights are an acoustically attuned “opera room,” a wine cellar with a Segreto mural, a two-story circular library with mahogany shelves, and a covered patio with a stalwart stone fireplace.
