La Bluette, Art Nouveau cottage in Hermanville-sur-Mer, France.
La Bluette is an Art Nouveau cottage in Hermanville-sur-Mer on the Normandy coast, built with a limestone and pebble facade, curved timber framing, and seashell decorations. It stands in a residential street very close to the shoreline and is listed as a historic monument.
The house was designed in 1899 by architect Hector Guimard for a Parisian lawyer and is the only known collective holiday residence from his early period. In the 1920s, a garage and an extra bedroom were added without changing the overall appearance of the building.
The blue-painted woodwork and seashell motifs on the facade reflect how the Normandy coast became a fashionable retreat for Parisian families in the late 1800s. Walking past the house today, visitors can read that seaside spirit directly in the decoration.
The cottage is in a quiet residential area and easy to reach on foot from the beach nearby. Since it is private property, viewing from the street is the only option, and the facade is fully visible from the pavement.
La Bluette was not built as a private home but as a shared holiday rental where several tenants could stay at the same time. This explains the floor plan, which features common areas that do not appear in most other works by Guimard.
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