Tuscany, detached property for sale in Lunigiana

A wide walkway along the side of the house, with an old stone wall to one side leads you to the gardens and a large impressive tiled and railed terrace. Through a pretty arched doorway is the living room/kitchen with a corridor leading to two good sized bedrooms and the bathroom. One of the bedrooms has a window overlooking the large pool and waterfall and another window the smaller pool. The second bedroom and the sitting room windows look out over the smaller pool and the surrounding woodland also a window in the sitting room overlooks the garden. As this was once a mill there are some unusual features, which include double doors, opening off the corridor. On opening the doors I found myself looking down on the walkway at the side of the house but because there is the beautiful old stone wall alongside the walkway, facing the house, I immediately decided that here I would install a bridge to connect the upper part of the house to the raised garden opposite that is edged by the wall. On returning to the terrace I found that a gap in the ornate railings would enable me install another bridge enhancing the overall attractiveness of the walkway. The terrace looks out over the large garden, interestingly on different levels, and down on yet another small railed terrace overlooking the small pool. Definitely my type of garden. Spacious and interesting, surrounded by but not overhung with trees the possibilities are limitless. Steps from the terrace lead down to a grassed area that I immediately identified as an ideal lawn leading to the perfect spot for a swimming pool. Being a keen gardener my imagination was feasting on the limitless possibilities the garden offered. However, for those less keen the garden would still be attractive with its abundance of grassed areas on various levels. After exploring the cantinas, the taverna and kitchen on the ground floor level my head was buzzing with schemes for the house. The taverna is wonderful. Large enough to be a dining room/family room, with a beautiful terracotta coloured tiled floor, I could imagine furnishing it with traditional antique furniture to complement the house. A hatchway from the taverna opens into a kitchen containing a magnificent brick built oven and a pretty terracotta coloured floor. Used in the past to cook bread the oven looked large enough to roast an ox. Trying to be practical and putting aside all thoughts of living off homemade bread and roast ox I decided I would probably remove the oven and open up the room, to provide a spacious kitchen. It wasn’t difficult to imagine it furnished with traditional furniture and shelves filled with gaily-decorated china. I decided, however, that a doorway to the taverna rather than the hatchway would be more practical. However, I hadn’t finished there was still more to come. Above the walkway, on the same level as the first floor of the main house, but set well back I found a charming but small building. With its own entrance, gardens and terrace of ancient stone it has already been restored. The large airy room has the most fantastic open fireplace and I immediately decided it would certainly stay. The floor of multicoloured large marble tiles, not my taste at all, would definitely be changed. Because of the height of the building and the size of the room, a mezzanine floor for a bedroom and bathroom would be possible turning it into another holiday let or more guest accommodation. However, very little would need to be done to the existing room to make a delightful bed /sitting room for guests, allowing them space and privacy. I found myself as excited about the possibilities of this little dwelling as I was about the main house. This is one of the most exciting properties I’ve ever seen. With endless possibilities I would be able to live there comfortably while deciding exactly what I wanted to do and how quickly but I would definitely live in the house for some time before making any decisions. This property could eventually provide an income from one or two holiday lets or simply become a large luxurious dwelling surrounded by fabulous gardens and breathtaking woodland and I couldn’t decide which excited me the most, the spacious house, the wonderful garden or the little dwelling. Certainly the magical grotto was enough to make me want to live there and never leave. box@casealsole.

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