Until this week, things were clipping along at a good pace. But then, well, the world was turned upside down, wasn’t it. Like most places, France is on lockdown. I’m not going to complain about things being delayed on the house, because there are much worse things to be worried about. Hopefully, work can resume soon.

In the meantime, since we are housebound, I have no excuse for not posting a thorough update on how things are at the house. Grab a cup of something hot and read on.

The exterior.

It’s looking pretty great, with the new clay tile roof, refurbished chimneys, two new dormer windows, and new front door and windows. The rest of the windows will be installed soon. At least I sure hope so. The shutters will be replaced too, and even though the old ones were varnished wood, the powers-that-be have informed us that we now must have painted wood shutters, so they will be the same color as the door and windows, a medium grey. The exterior walls will be redone last, as it’s a project that will take about two months. It’s not just a matter of patching and painting, like it would be in the USA. In this world, they carefully pick off the old plaster, exposing the old stones, and then apply a new surface. No paint involved. We will have that work done after we’ve moved in.

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I wish we could have saved the old doors and windows, but most of them were literally disintegrating, and there was nothing we could do but replace them.

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The kitchen is shaping up.

Before, it was a mess. With a toilet.

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Now, the drywall and electrical are in place and it will be ready for kitchen cabinets soon.

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The plasterer worked his magic between the ceiling beams.

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The pantry / laundry room.

Before, the space was dark, a bit wet, and pretty spooky. There was room to stand, but not much more.

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First, the floor level was lowered by several feet to match the level of the adjoining kitchen.

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Now that space will be bright and functional. It’s hard to believe this is the same space, isn’t it? At this end will be the laundry room. We put a dividing wall at the far end to make space for a small powder room off the living room on the other side of the house.

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The room was up three giant cement steps from the kitchen (you can see the steps in a photo of the kitchen above). With the steps removed and the floor level lowered, it will be roomier and more practical as a pantry.

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At this end will be my dream pantry with a back-up refrigerator, sink, and loads of shelves.

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The master bedroom.

We wanted a ground floor bedroom. Who knows, someday we may need new French knees. Our guests will have to deal with the stairs. The master bedroom will have double doors (they don’t seem to call them French doors in France) that open out onto a wisteria-covered patio, and a courtyard with a view of the château.

New construction here is done with cement blocks. Because of the rules of the exterior design, the pitch of the roof is high, meaning the bedroom will have 12 ft. ceilings. The size of the room was governed by the rules which dictate that we can only add a certain percentage of the original square footage of the house. So the room is a bit smaller than we had hoped, because it also contains the bathroom and closet. We spent quite a bit of time in this space with tape measures and lots of head-scratching, trying to fit it all in there in the most efficient way.

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The final decision was to put a small bathroom on the left side. Because it is against the old rock wall outside, the bathroom will not have any windows, but will get some natural light from a large light tube through the roof. The closet will be behind the bed, separated by a free-standing wall with pocket doors at each end. The closet wall has yet to be built.

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The toilet frame is there – we’re going to have fancy toilets that don’t touch the ground. Yay. To the right will be the shower.

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The living / dining room.

When we decided to switch the kitchen and the living room, it meant the living room area would be shared with the dining area. It will be a cozy room (that’s realtor-speak for small), with a wood-burning stove and windows that look out to the narrow road. Because that room is actually a little below ground level, those windows will give curious nosy people a peek into our house as they walk up the road toward the château.

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Before, this area was a hodgepodge of surface treatments, and the beams had been smothered with glossy dark brown paint.

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Now the gorgeous old ceiling beams and stone walls are breathing again. The ceiling has been replastered. The floor will be travertine tiles, and there will be a powder room through the new opening on the left.

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On this side of the room, we had no idea there was such a beautiful fireplace hiding behind that wall.

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The fireplace will get a mantle, possibly made from one of the very old beams that had to be replaced somewhere else in the house.

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The stairway.

Boxed-in and dark, the stairway was not very appealing. This is right inside the front door, so it will be the first impression of the house.

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The closet and separating wall were removed, and the walls will be left as partially-exposed stone (the wall on the right is finished; the wall on the left will look the same way when it’s done). The oak stairs are in pretty good shape so we will keep them. The railings will be replaced.

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Upstairs.

At the top of the stairs was the only full bathroom in the house (there was also that little toilet room next to the kitchen). It’s hard to understand how 13 people managed in this house with one small bathroom.

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It’s been gutted, but nothing else is happening there yet, except that the doorway into the bathroom will be moved away from the top of the stairs and into the guest room.

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The first guest room.

Before, it was more painted beams, linoleum, and wallpaper.

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The fireplace has been exposed and cleaned up and most of the walls have been drywalled. The beams have been cleaned up. The ceiling has yet to be replastered.

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We decided to move the entrance to the bathroom into the guest room in order to make the most efficient use of the bathroom space. I wanted a larger shower in there for our guests. Lo and behold, when they removed the plaster in the bedroom, it exposed a very old (and very low) doorway to the bathroom, right where we had decided to put it.

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The lounge.

This room was used as the bedroom for 11 children. It had been divided into two rooms by a very thin wall.

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Again, when we decided we wanted to have access to the upper level of the storage area at the back of the house (the 2nd level of the pantry on the ground floor), we were delighted to find that there was a beautiful old arched doorway right where we wanted an entrance. I feel like this house must be so happy to be in the process of being restored to its original glory.

The old tomette floor has been carefully removed and power washed, and is being used as the flooring in the attic bedroom.

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The attic bedroom.

This is the room that is undergoing the biggest transformation. Before, it was a typical attic space. Dark, cobwebby, and dusty.

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It’s been completely rebuilt. All those wonderful old beams had to be replaced because the new roof, made from heavy insulated panels, had to have appropriate support.

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As the new roof was being put in place, two dormer windows were installed, and the work began inside.

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The old tomette floor tiles were pulled up and the floor was leveled using stuff that I was sure was really cat litter. Then a sturdy floor base was put down.

This end of the attic will be the bedroom space. The tomettes will be installed here soon.

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At the other end of the attic, the tomettes are in place, ready for grouting. At this end, there will be a bathroom and closet.

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So, there you have it.

We’re hanging out at home now, hoping this viral crisis is resolved soon, although it doesn’t look like it will be. We’re doing our part by following the rules and staying home. We do feel pretty lucky to be housebound in a beautiful old house with a sunny garden.

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