After 17 months (78 weeks and 6 days, but who’s counting) we have moved into the house. We could easily go another week as there are still many things not finished, but we’re tired of waiting, and decided we’d just go for it. I will post some pictures, but there are so many bits here and there yet to be done, these aren’t glamorous photos of the final outcome. For instance, this was the living room the day we moved in.

• 

Seriously. What crazy people would move into a house looking like that? Well, the answer is people who have been waiting 5 months longer than the original plan, who visited the site every single day and eagerly watched it all unfold. People who are tired of living in a rental house and then having to move into the house of some friends for the past month because the rental house had a new tenant moving in. People who just want to GET ON WITH IT NOW. That’s who.

Power to the people.

• 

Let’s back up a few days when I arrived at the house and saw a very welcome sight. The EDF truck was there, and our electricity was about to be turned on. It didn’t actually happen until the next day when the electrician had to return to do something, but we now have (almost) all our electrical things working. Not surprisingly, there are some light fixtures that don’t work, and there is one light under the entry stairs that stays on. This was discovered yesterday when we put a bulb in it and could not find a light switch to turn off the light. The electricians were there, so we asked them to investigate, and they were perplexed. It seems they wired the light, but somehow didn’t put in a switch. So, the options offered were: 1) put a switch way back under the stairs just for that little light, which is only there to illuminate the coat rack we will hide there; 2) install a sensor so that when we walk under the stairs the light will go on. We’ll take option number two, please.

Speaking of lights.

I’ve had a lot of fun shopping for light fixtures. A while ago I discovered a UK company called Industville that ships free to France. Their industrial look works well in our old house, so I chose several fixtures from their Brooklyn line. These are in the kitchen and dining area. I think the copper lining looks so nice with the rock walls, and they cast a beautiful warm glow.

• 

Everywhere I look I see things that still need to be finished, like that space between the wall and the countertop in the above photo. They will fix it soon.

The kitchen of my dreams.

This kitchen. I think it’s simple and beautiful. We chose not to have upper cabinets to allow the stone walls to shine. It’s nothing fancy (well, maybe that giant 6 burner, 2 oven cooker), but the old beams, the Silestone countertops, and the large stainless sink all complement each other in such a nice way. All those dishes piled on the counter will soon be on open shelves just above there. And once the panty is completed (you can see a peek of it through the doorway), the microwave and other small appliances will be moved in there so the kitchen counters can be uncluttered.

• 

• 

• 

• 

The living room.

The living room is looking good, but we’re not sure of the furniture layout. Our sofa is just a few inches too long to go on the back wall the way we had wanted. It fits there, but we have some end tables yet to be put in place, and they won’t fit back there with the sofa. We’ll try this for a while and see what we think. We love the woodburner and have used it every night since we moved in.

More lights.

There’s so much more of the house to show you but that will have to wait until more boxes are unpacked and things are in order. In the meantime, here’s a teaser of some of the fun light fixtures.

• 

• 

• 

• 

À bientôt.

I’ll post more soon, in the meantime, please stay home and stay safe.