What Does 'Deux Clefs' Mean?
How an ancient French architecture style defined an American's lifestyle and state of mind
There’s an incredibly addicting website for French real estate listings called Green Acres where you can peruse chateaus, “character properties” (translation: massive estates that need new slate roofs), wine estates and mountain chalets. In reality the best way to find a house in France is to walk into a real estate office near where you want to live because listings are very competitive and usually in paper binders and not listed online. But we were scanning Green Acres for homes in Bayonne and daydreaming when we found the tallest, skinniest, weirdest house ever. We had to have it.
Deux Clefs is the very tall, very skinny, green and white house on the right. Bayonne, France. Photo By Regina Sinsky-Crosby.
The 1720’s house, located just under the red search pin where google maps proclaims the center of Bayonne, is six American-stories tall (five in French), one room wide and two rooms deep. At the center is the original oak staircase, dividing the house in half. This style of architecture, no longer built because it’s ridiculous, is called Deux Clefs or “Two Keys” because tenants, sharing the staircase and occupying a floor, would have two keys: one for the front room and one for the back.
After a six month adventure in French home buying we now call this Deux Clefs home and we call it Deux Clefs. 1 The “deux” really resonated with our family. The duality of living in France while being American, feeling like we are caught between two worlds, means living with two mental keys that open different cultures and languages.
Deux Clefs is special for three reasons: 1) It is one of the last in-tact, original Deux Clefs in Bayonne, 2) it is classified as a residence and not a commercial space in the heart of the town so we can live in it and 3) it was lovingly and gently remodeled by artist Christian Astuguevieille.
Deux Clefs walls are hand painted by artist Christian Astuguevieille. Bayonne, France. Photo By Regina Sinsky-Crosby.
Once you get over the shock of a six story staircase you are blown away by the hand-painted, india ink walls. They look like an alien kindergartener with a passion for abstract minimalism was given carte blanche to paint on white walls with a fat, juicy brush loaded with black paint. Many visitors will reach out and touch the walls with a reverence and disbelief. Our kids delight in finding faces in the scribbles.
Deux Clefs staircase, looking up to skylight. It’s really hard to capture this space with an iphone! Bayonne, France. Photo By Regina Sinsky-Crosby.
The other defining feature is rope; Astuguevieille’s signature material. “Give him enough rope, and he can furnish the whole house,” wrote the New York Times. Deux Clefs has rope furniture, mirrors, rope ceilings and even a rope chandelier. The methodically coiled rope and the tediously painted walls are a stark juxtaposition to the rest of the home which is simple, white and raw.
Deux Clefs ceilings with rope art between the beams by artist Christian Astuguevieille. Bayonne, France. Photo By Regina Sinsky-Crosby.
Deux Clefs chandelier by artist Christian Astuguevieille. Bayonne, France. Photo By Regina Sinsky-Crosby.
One of my favorite characters in our French adventure is a wonderful, Biarritz-based translator named Christi Bishop-Vergez who worked with Astuguevieille while he lived in Bayonne and helped facilitate our real estate transaction. She scheduled a chat with Astuguevieille and his partner, Fred, in which we talked about the home’s history, the remodel, the artwork and hopes for the home’s future (“please do not put protective plastic on the walls,” said Fred.). We learned about the “cow tail” flooring from ships (“probably pirate” joked Astuguevieille to the joy of our children) and about how the city wouldn’t let them change anything, not even the interior doors.
We didn’t take buying a home in Bayonne lightly. Pays Basque is experiencing a severe housing crisis. There is a shortage of affordable housing and an inundation of vacation rentals. Basque homes and land, the heart of Basque families and culture, are being bought and sold by outsiders, like us, for record prices. French home loans are being rejected at historic rates. If Deux Clefs were not our primary residence, and had not been sitting on the market for more than a year, it would be difficult to justify. Sometimes when a Basque visits I feel the need to apologize or, worse, make excuses for the Americans owning this piece of history. Kinda like I’m doing now…
But that’s part of the duality of Deux Clef. Despite all the black and white on the walls, we are living in a grey area. An American living in France. A homeowner living in someone else’s land. Feeling at home and sometimes homesick. Feeling a push and a pull even when rooted in a 1700’s foundation. This house is ridiculous and perfect. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Tall House” is a name already taken by another, semi-famous expat who goes by Design Mom. Shoutout to Gabrielle Blair for her visa advice and encouragement!