A home on France’s genteel Ile de Ré that pays homage to Tintin, elderly aunts and the seafaring past of this stunningly beautiful Atlantic island

Located off its west coast and linked to the mainland by a bridge, the Ile de Ré is one of France’s most sought-after seaside destinations. Renowned for its picture-perfect villages and 60 miles of sandy coastline, it has, over the years, attracted a well-heeled, essentially bourgeois crowd, as well as celebrities such as Vanessa Paradis, the late designer Christian Liaigre, Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry. Another fan is Virginie Deniot, who has managed her brother Jean-Louis’s Paris-based interior design firm for the past two decades.

Virginie still clearly recalls her first visit to the island in 2008.

“I fell in love with it,” she says. “The light is incredible and it has such charm. There are vineyards, tractors and fields, and at the same time ports, sailing boats and beaches.”

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