Although we’ve been living in the house for over a month now, we’re not alone except on the weekends. We still have a crew of 3-5 men here every day. At first, they were handling big jobs like installing appliances and wall tiles. Then entire days were spent putting in light fixtures and internal doors. Now with the big tasks mostly finished, it’s come down to the smaller jobs. Toilet paper holders, hooks in bathroom walls for robes, kitchen drawers adjusted to glide more smoothly, and the garbage disposal was installed in the kitchen sink. This last one is a puzzler for those unfamiliar with the gadget. Our builder had never seen one before. But we are so happy to hear that whirring sound again. By the way, for anyone interested in how I found such an American gadget in France, it was pretty easy. I ordered it from amazon.fr.
Finding just the right thing for that spot.
We found this wonderful old row of hooks at a brocante. We were told it is from
And this cheerful old metal bouquet light fixture is now in the attic bedroom. The previous light fixture just didn’t work for us so I traded with a friend for a mirror she didn’t need. Win-win.
We had to rethink a sink.
We got creative with the sink for the ensuite guest bathroom on the first floor. Once the bathroom door opening had been moved from the hallway to the bedroom, and the small space had been reconfigured for the toilet and a good-sized shower, it was clear there was no room left for a sink. We decided we needed to find a piece of furniture to hold the sink just outside the bathroom. Because the area brocantes are not happening, I’d been looking on Facebook Marketplace, where individuals sell an item from their home (much like Craigslist in the U.S.) and found just the right thing being sold by someone about an hour away. Once in place, a piece of leftover kitchen countertop was cut for the top and a small backsplash. Then the mirror was hung, and it was finished. I think it looks really good.
While we’re in this room, take a moment and notice the old wonky bathroom doorway. It’s wonderfully crooked and charming, but we’re trying to figure out how to fit a door into that spot. Even if they could manage to construct a door frame to fit the space, how would the door work? There’s not enough space for the door to swing in, and if it swings out it will either cover the light switch or interfere with access from the sink area. Maybe two narrow doors instead? Or just a curtain? We might even end up with no door at all. Would that be so bad? The pondering continues.
This guest bedroom is now our favorite room in the house. The beautiful beams, ancient walls, and the old stone fireplace make it cozy and comfortable. We are looking forward to having guests enjoy it someday. In the meantime, we’re staying in that room because our bedroom downstairs isn’t ready yet.
An armoire alteration.
Another Facebook Marketplace find, this beautiful old armoire was listed for just 50 euros ($61). We enlisted the help of some friends with a trailer and set off to pick it up.
It took some effort to get it outside – the giant thing wouldn’t fit through the door so we had to send it out the window. No easy task, but we got it home and left it in the hands of our work crew to put into place.
That’s when we discovered that the dimensions given in the ad had not included the large top molding and the feet which extended past the sides. Unfortunately, it could not fit in the tight spot we had planned for it. Since there was no other place to put this large piece in the house, we had to get creative. I remembered something we had seen done in a house for sale back when we were looking, so I suggested that we cut off the front frame and modify the top molding and feet. I think the guys thought I was nuts, but they got to work. I did feel a little guilty when I saw the rest of it discarded in the yard, but a few hours later, it was done, and it looks great.
This old beauty was given a new life, and unless you open the doors you would never know it had been so radically modified.
It’s now deeper than the original piece, so we have more space to store our shoes. We’re calling it our
An old cupboard back in place.
One of the things I loved most about the original living room was this beautiful old cupboard. We knew we wanted to keep it, so it was carefully removed and stored during construction.
Recently, it was time to put it back into place. Once it was there, we had to sacrifice some of the interior space for the electrical box (“Linky” here in France) that had been relocated from the entry. When the cupboard was being reinstalled, it was clear that some of the wood had disintegrated, but it was handled carefully and new shelves and a base
Once the shelves were in place, it looked to me like it needed a little jazzing up, so my patient husband spent a couple of hours wallpapering the inside (which obviously would have been much easier if the thought had occurred to me before those shelves were built). He did a great job.
Then our talented painter got to work and made the new wood on the base look much like the old wood.
The kitchen is done – no, wait a minute.
The kitchen was pretty much finished when the refrigerator was put in place and we realized that the large refrigerator handle prevented an adjacent cupboard from opening completely. Ugh. In just a minute, our brilliant builder came up with a solution, and soon they were cutting into the freshly painted wall behind the fridge to make a niche into which it would fit. This was done pretty quickly, the wall was patched and repainted, and the fridge was back in place in just a couple of days.
The next task was putting up the open shelving. I found the perfect iron shelf brackets online from Cascade Iron Co. and had them shipped from Oregon. I’m sure we might have been able to find something we liked in France, but once I found these online, it was easier to just order them and move on to the next thing.
The other side of the kitchen was complete once a narrow piece of countertop was added to fill in the space against the uneven stone wall.
The powder room is full of judgement.
Several months ago at a brocante, we found an old painting of a French judge in traditional costume and knew it would be perfect to hang over the toilet in the powder room, so now he presides there.
We love the way this small bathroom turned out. The wallpaper looks like tile, and the custom walnut countertop and industrial iron legs have just the right feel for this room.
The bedroom addition.
This room is ready for use except for a couple of major things. The water heater on this side of the house wasn’t producing any hot water so it was replaced just this past week. And since we still don’t have any curtains in the house and this room is situated at the front, it is a bit too visible to the workers and any others who are in the yard. We are comfy in the upstairs bedroom so we’ll wait until we have curtains before we move downstairs. We also want to use a large area rug we brought from our previous house, but it’s too big for this room and we have to find a way to get it cut down a bit and have the edges bound.
See that headboard? My mom was a creative genius and had repurposed the back of an old sofa for their headboard. Many years ago it was given to me and I have always wanted to use it. It has moved with me from house to house and remained unused for about 30 years. Finally, this house was the perfect place to do it. Now that it has been recovered with gorgeous fabric, it looks so good, and I know my mom would be thrilled to see it being used again.
Another armoire treasure.
I spotted this gorgeous old armoire in my favorite brocante shop, and snapped it up immediately, knowing it would look great in our bedroom. It was a traditional French style with open doors and just “grillage” (we call it chicken wire), but since I knew we would be using it to store linens, I wanted to find fabric to put into the doors. I asked if the shop owners could put the fabric into the doors if I supplied it, and they agreed. Back home, I found a good source of fabric from the UK, and yay, they ship free to France, so soon I was back there to turn over the fabric. Several months later (we were in no hurry since the house wasn’t done yet), the armoire was delivered in a bunch of pieces and I watched as it was reassembled in our bedroom.
Another job done. And it’s the perfect thing for that spot.
Our old gate goes off for a refresh.
Our front gate is pretty much the first impression of the house. It had lots of charm, but it was rusted out in several places and needed some professional attention. Recently the crew showed up and removed it, replacing it with a temporary construction gate on wheels. Our gate will be back in a few weeks. Those big stone pillars will also be redone with a few new stones as necessary, so stay tuned for the debut of our new entrance.
I’ll be back with more updates soon. Please stay safe!