Burning the midnight oil.

Here’s an update on the last weeks spring renovation, the wild rush to get the roof finished before our first guests arrived for the rental, setbacks with Robin’s health and, sadly, no “after” photos just yet…

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this year’s renovation journey for these updates to make sense.

Progress in photos (as seen on Instagram):

We ordered a custom front door, locally made from oak panels that were once used for old train wagons. These photos (above) were the inspiration. It wasn’t a cheap option but isn’t it stunning? We were able to pick the exact wood panels that would be used. We’re so lucky to have so many artisans in this area.

Below are updates on filling in drainage channels with gravel and plaster boarding. If you buy from Point P, a local builder’s merchant, you can also rent their trucks to deliver your purchases.

The Kitchen Enlargement

This spring we knocked down 2 walls to enlarge the kitchen. Upon walking into the house, you walked into a long dark corridor. We opened this up, with the exception of a part of the wall that unfortunately had to stay. Although the second barn was originally supposed to be the kitchen and living room, it’s currently being used as my studio so we had to get a little creative.

Once we took the old floor tiles up we discovered the floor was, in some places, up to 15cm out of level. Because we had a bit of height in the room to work with we were able to use a spray foam insulation followed by a liquid screed to level up the difference. This was not in the original budget…but alas…

A New Roof

Our roofer was originally supposed to arrive in November. After months of promising to turn up, he finally did so three weeks before our first guests arrived. AH!! Thankfully Robin had the antique roof tiles ready to go.

Downstairs Bathroom

The mad rush to get everything finished came to an abrupt halt when Robin’s back gave out 2 weeks before we were moving back into the main house (from the rental). Robin has had a herniated disk since he was a teenager (left alone to carry a boiler up a flight of stairs during an apprenticeship) but with all the running around his body forced him to stop. Amazingly, the village doctor agreed to come to our house to visit. He couldn’t sit or walk, only lie on his stomach for a week.

With a week left to go before we moved in he still wasn’t able to sit but at least he could walk. It was unfortunately back to work. No choice. We had no bathroom, front door and barely any working electricity. He has since had renewed x-rays and an MRI and will be seeing a specialist in July.

When we finally did move in we didn’t have a shower. Thank goodness we have wonderful friends that allowed us to use theirs! (Merci Jess!)

Choosing Tiles

We wanted Zelliges tiles for the bathroom. If you’ve worked with these yourself, I’m sure you know the struggle. Every batch has a slightly different colour. As an artist, I’m particularly sensitive to colour differences. Choosing was really tricky. It was impossible online. In the end we were at the mercy of whatever was in stock.

Massive Clean Up

Even the roofers took pity on us and helped tidy up before our first guests. They kindly delivered some gravel and raked the driveway to hide traces of their tractor.

Et voilà ! We’ve moved back in but there’s still a lot to do. There’s a lot of bare lightbulbs and the like. Robin has gone back to work for his clients so things will have to be slowly finished in the evenings and on weekends. The entire upstairs remains untouched, a project for next winter, if we can face it. Then again, we may have our hands full with our daughter due to be born in mid-October…

There won’t be the fun of making a nursery, she’ll be so little that her nursery will be in our arms. For now, we’ll be focusing on more pressing matters such as tiling downstairs.