After seeing what we nicknamed the Village House, we gave ourselves a few days to ponder if this was what we really wanted. While we looked at a couple more houses, our thoughts kept swirling around this house and the potential it held. We returned to the house a few times more, once with an architect who was miraculously available at short notice and drove 90 minutes the very next day to meet with us and go through the house, and another visit with a local builder whom we would most likely be using for the much-needed renovations. Both of these professionals gave the house a big thumbs-up and were not fazed by the amount of work it needed. We talked about building an annex on the side, adding a master bedroom, bath and closet.

As it stands now, the house has just two bedrooms and a tiny bath on the upper floor. But it has several surprises. The first is an unfinished space just off the kitchen that could become a pantry, laundry room, and/or bathroom. It’s pretty rough looking, but quite intriguing (use your imagination, with the appropriate finishing, it could be something great). From the kitchen, through that door in the back, is the space we’re calling the cave.

Another diamond-in-the-rough is the attic space. The creaky and cobwebbed stairs are in place to get up there, but it is apparent the space has never been used for anything. My thoughts immediately turned it into a beautiful guest suite, with a spacious open-beamed bedroom, bath and sitting room spanning the entire top floor:

One more great feature of the property is the numerous outbuildings. In addition to the chicken and rabbit coops (which we wouldn’t use), there are several other storage spaces. One could be expanded a little and made into a single garage, another contains a big surprise that made me squeal with delight when I saw it:

A huge old apple press! I don’t think we could use it, but it sure is great looking. There is also a nice collection of old tools.

One week after our first visit to the house, we made arrangements with the owners to meet again to discuss a offer. This time we were met by 7 of the 11 owners. We had a little speech prepared and with the helpful translation services of our friend Connie, we carefully presented our offer, assuring them that this was to be a full-time home for us, not a holiday house, and we would take good care of their family homestead. They seemed to like that, and a price was agreed upon. We shook hands all around, and that was it, the very first step of our next chapter. A few days later we went to the notaire’s office (a notaire is a real estate lawyer, and the only way you can buy a house in France) to fill out the first of the forms involved. We’re slightly terrified of what we’re getting ourselves into, but ready for the challenges and eager to get going. Wish us luck!