On the little island of Saint-Cado in South Brittany, a previous fisherman’s home has been revamped as a set of pared-back holiday rentals. The project, called Sardineta, is the work of Charly Derouet, a photographer from Normandy, and Ceris Harris, originally from Wales, who left Paris looking for a more rural life and found themselves, by chance, in a town of historical stone houses with ties to both France and Wales.
The house itself predates modern-day records, appearing on the Napoleonic cadastre and believed to date to consumed least the mid-19th century. It formerly functioned as residence and a carpenter’s workshop; like much of the island, it brings traces of Saint-Cado’s sardine fishing market. When the couple bought it, the structure was intact but compromised by wet– a common condition in the area’s older structures. Their method to the renovation was self-directed, informed by earlier work restoring a cabin in Normandy, and concentrated on dealing with existing problems while preserving its character.
To that end, they reworked the walls using a breathable insulation system: a 5-6 cm layer of hemp and hydraulic lime, left to dry over numerous months before being completed with aerial lime. The result is a set of interiors with enhanced thermal efficiency, well balanced humidity, and better acoustics. Across the two 43-square meter houses– each created for two visitors– the owners construct much of the furnishings themselves, supplementing it with sourced pieces from flea markets and Leboncoin. Materials are simple and durable: waxed concrete floorings, oak cabinets, raw stainless-steel, and a blend of practical and one-off elements that reflect the structure’s working past.
Photography by Charly Derouet.
Above: The outside is completed in lime, sand, and water mixed and used by a regional mason. While checking out Saint-Cado, Ceri started to see traces of her Welsh home: Location Glamorgan, a Welsh flag in the chapel. Further examination exposed that Saint Cado– likewise known as Cadoc or Catwg in Welsh– was born in Glamorgan and is the same figure who gave Ceri’s hometown of Cadoxton its name. 
Above: A little seating location in the shared guest courtyard. The outside table is the Fli Outdoor Coffee Table from Noo.ma. The owners had to consult Les Architectes des Bâtiments de Franceon the color of shutters– along with renovating the joints and changing the doors and windows– who supervise renovations in locations surrounding historical monuments. Sardineta is within the boundary of the Saint-Cado chapel dating back to the 11th century. “In some places, the color scheme allowed is quite restricted, however we were fortunate. The color here is mixed by a regional paint store.” 
Above:”For the partition walls and headboards, we sourced plywood from a regional provider who got’second-grade sheets’– pieces that would generally be discarded to small defects. It made good sense to use completely great materials that would otherwise go to squander,” the owners describe. The painting is a sailor’s portrait sourced from a flea market.
“Your house was not uninhabitable– but it was far from comfortable,” states Charly. “Like most old homes here, damp was the primary problem. The previous owners had actually just utilized it as a summertime home, and there were pots of clay powder dotted around your home to absorb wetness.”
He goes on: “The problems were most likely triggered by renovations performed in the 1970s and again in the 90s. As prevailed at the time, the participates the stone walls were redone with concrete. This was seen as a modern-day solution back then, however it in fact traps wetness inside the walls. We understood that if we didn’t deal with the root problem, we ‘d be handling instead of dealing with the wetness. So we tore everything down to its bare walls and roofing system and redid the electrics and plumbing. The advantage to all this was that we might rebuild it however we desired.”