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A dramatic two-story window offers views of the nearby beach from the lofted upper level. “We carefully worked out the framing of the windows because we were particular about what we wanted to see,” says Olivier. “The views informed the lines of the house.”

Upstairs, three small bedrooms share a bathroom.

A walled patio with a sunken garden takes up fully half the ground floor. Open to the sky, it allows sun and rain to enter, while the walls offer protection from the area’s constant winds. “The home takes a piece of the site into its enclosure,” says Barache.

Simple oak furnishings from Habitat blend with the birch millwork and bamboo floor. The cabinetry, benches, and doors were built by Olivier, who studied design before becoming a filmmaker.

Grass-covered dunes dot the coast of Cayeux-sur-Mer, a rugged resort town in northern France where filmmaker Olivier Panchot and business consultant Marie Becker built their holiday home. A striped daybed in the living area provides a cozy perch for the couple’s teenage daughter, Lou, and the family’s Bengal cat, Kimiko.

In the living room, a new wall of glass connects the house to its landscape, while a family-heirlume Persian rug adds softness to the new ceramic tile floor.