Maison Prouvé 58, A Living Dream in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
By Titina Penzini & Louis Voltaire
At the end of summer, while we were still enjoying the South of France, our dear friend Mathilde Daufresne de la Chevalerie from Fondation CAB sent us a message.
“You have to come and see what we are doing.”
We did not need much convincing.
Earlier in the spring, we had already experienced Jean Prouvé in perhaps the most intimate way possible, by staying in the Fondation CAB’s Maison Démontable 6 x 6 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. It was much more than visiting an important piece of architecture. We actually lived inside it. We woke up there, had coffee there, read, worked and experienced firsthand Prouvé’s extraordinary ability to make something radical feel completely natural.
This time, Mathilde wanted us to discover the next chapter.
Before its official vernissage on October 10, she invited us for a private preview of Maison Prouvé 58, now installed within another extraordinary property created by Fondation CAB founder Hubert Bonnet in the hills of Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
And this is where the story becomes particularly interesting.
The experience is not simply about a Jean Prouvé house. It is about how architecture from different periods, Provençal heritage, modernist furniture, contemporary art and the landscape of the Côte d’Azur can all exist together without any element trying to dominate the others.
At the center of it all is Le Clos du Père François, a beautiful Provençal property surrounded by Mediterranean gardens.
The original house keeps the soul of a true maison provençale. Stone, greenery, terraces and the particular light of the South of France remain essential to the experience, while the interiors have been reconsidered for contemporary life.
Everything is comfortable, elegant and completely functional, but nothing feels overdone.
That is one of the things we loved most.
Then there is the furniture.
Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and other great names of twentieth century design appear throughout the property, alongside contemporary pieces and works of art selected with Hubert Bonnet’s very personal eye.
Nothing feels like a showroom.
You are surrounded by extraordinary things, but you can still sit on the sofa, leave a book on the table, have coffee in the kitchen or spend the afternoon by the pool.
There is no feeling that you have entered a museum where everything must be admired from a safe distance.
Outside, the atmosphere becomes even more cinematic.
The garden opens onto a beautiful swimming pool that somehow made us think of the easy glamour of Chateau Marmont transported to Provence.
Facing it, a monumental work by Claudia Comte brings contemporary art directly into the landscape.
And then, among the pines and olive trees, there is Maison Prouvé 58.
Designed in 1958 by Jean Prouvé together with his son Claude, the house has been carefully restored and returned to life.
This is not Prouvé preserved behind glass.
It is Prouvé alive.
You can cook, sleep, read, work, invite friends and simply inhabit the space.
And that changes everything.
Walking through the house, we kept discovering those details that make Prouvé so extraordinary. The intelligence of the structure, the simplicity of the materials, the proportions, the light and the absence of anything unnecessary.
It feels vintage without ever feeling old.
At one point, I found what immediately became my corner.
A beautiful desk facing the landscape and the valley of Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
I could already imagine myself working there remotely in the morning, laptop open, surrounded by this incredible piece of architecture but still completely connected to everyday life.
Titina, meanwhile, could find another corner to draw.
Friends could be elsewhere around the property. Someone could be cooking. Others could be outside by the pool.
Everyone could have their own space while still sharing the same place.
This, to us, is luxury today.
Not endless rooms. Not exaggerated spaces created simply to impress.
Something much more difficult to achieve.
Simplicity at an elevated level.
The pleasure of being surrounded by things that have meaning, history and beauty, while still feeling completely free to live.
And then there is Saint-Paul-de-Vence itself.
This extraordinary medieval village in the hills above the Mediterranean has been connected to artists, writers and designers for generations.
Fondation CAB is nearby.
So is the legendary Fondation Maeght.
And, of course, there is La Colombe d’Or, one of our absolute favorite places in the South of France.
Even if you are not staying there, lunch or dinner at La Colombe d’Or remains almost obligatory. Its extraordinary collection of twentieth century art, accumulated through decades of friendships with artists who stayed and ate there, makes the experience unlike almost anywhere else.
Then you can return to the entrance of the village, sit at the Café de la Place, order a pastis and watch people play pétanque beneath the plane trees.
That Saint-Paul still exists.
And perhaps this is why Maison Prouvé 58 feels so right here.
Nothing is trying to erase what came before.
The Provençal house remains Provençal. Prouvé remains Prouvé. Contemporary art remains contemporary. The old village remains alive.
Everything simply belongs.
We often hear today that architecture, art and design should be “in dialogue.” It has almost become an obligatory expression.
Here, however, it does not even feel like a dialogue.
It feels more natural than that.
Objects and buildings created decades or even centuries apart simply coexist because they share something more important than a period or a style.
They share quality, proportion, intelligence and beauty.
There is no conflict between heritage and modernity because neither one is pretending to be the other.
That is the magic of the place.
For people who love art, architecture and design, but who also want to live comfortably and without ceremony, this new Fondation CAB experience feels almost like a dream made real.
A place where you can wake up inside a Jean Prouvé house, work overlooking the valley, spend the afternoon by a pool surrounded by contemporary art, have a pastis in the village and finish the evening over dinner at La Colombe d’Or.
No spectacle is required.
Everything extraordinary is already there.
The official vernissage of the new Fondation CAB houses in Saint-Paul-de-Vence will take place on October 10, 2026.
We were lucky enough to discover Maison Prouvé 58 and Le Clos du Père François in preview with our dear friend Mathilde, before the doors officially open.
And when the new season begins, our advice is simple.
Book the property.
Bring the people you love.
And live the dream.
Special Thanks
Our warmest thanks to our dear friend Mathilde Daufresne de la Chevalerie for inviting us to discover this very special project in preview, and to Hubert Bonnet, founder of Fondation CAB, for continuing to create places where architecture, art, design and everyday life coexist so naturally.
Fondation CAB
Fondation CAB Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Instagram: @fondation_cab
Website: fondationcab.com
5766 chemin des Trious
06570 Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
spv@fondationcab.com
+33 4 92 11 24 49Staying at Le Clos du Père François and Maison Prouvé 58
The complete property brings together three distinct living experiences.
Le Clos du Père François includes the main nineteenth century Provençal mas with three bedrooms, together with an independent two bedroom mazet.
Maison Prouvé 58 adds another two bedrooms within Jean and Claude Prouvé’s restored 1958 house.
Together, the complete property offers seven bedrooms and accommodates up to fourteen guests.
Le Clos du Père François may be reserved independently. Maison Prouvé 58 is available only together with Le Clos du Père François.
Les Maisons CAB
Instagram: @lesmaisonscab
Website: lesmaisonscab.com
Reservations and information: contact@lesmaisonscab.com
Tel. +32 475 70 40 20Availability and reservation requests can also be made directly through the Les Maisons CAB website.
Our Saint-Paul-de-Vence Addresses
La Colombe d’Or
1 Place du Général de Gaulle
06570 Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
Website: la-colombe-dor.comCafé de la Place
Place du Général de Gaulle
06570 Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
Instagram: @cafedelaplace06Fondation Maeght
623 Chemin des Gardettes
06570 Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
Website: fondation-maeght.com