shabby-chic Archives - Curious Provence

Full Before and After Renovation Bedroom

October 13, 2016 by ashleyt 1 Comment

Here are some photos of the full before and after renovation bedroom and bathroom. The difference is just as radical as it is anywhere else in the house. This is officially my favorite room of the house; it’s beautiful and cozy. What do you think?! I know full well that this job would not have been done as well as it has done if I was to do this on my own. There’s nothing wrong in asking a professional company who provide a home designer service for help if you’re looking to switch things up a little when it comes to the bathroom or bedroom! We have been overloaded with renovations over the past few months, especially after flying back home to Atlanta help my parents sort out their full replacement siding with M&M Home Exteriors. I must say how impressive their work was but I can’t tell you how glad I am that both products are finished now.

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Full Before and After DIY Renovation: Kitchen

August 25, 2016 by ashleyt 17 Comments

Our Kitchen Before and After Renovation

If you’re interested in the full Before and After of our house renovation here in Provence; voila! The kitchen, when we first bought the house, was entirely brown. We were desperate to give it a complete makeover. We decided to add tiling in order to comply with the rustic feel we hoped to create. Using grout sealer spray made this very easy. The last time the house had been renovated was in the 70s. The ceiling was styrofoam made to look like wood, behind that, there was asbestos. The ceiling leaked and there was a hole in the floor to access the water meter. There were layers upon layers of unnecessary wood and tile. It was dark, moldy and awful! The only thing that remains of the kitchen now, is a rather odd triangular shape.

We raised the kitchen roof, insulated all the walls and basically replaced everything!

The following pictures are taken from about the same angle to show the real before and after of our DIY renovation in Provence. I have to admit, I’m really pleased with how the kitchen has turned out. I originally wanted some Covington Granite Countertops but unfortunately, we were quite tight on budget. There are still a couple of things that need tweaking but overall, I’m really happy with everything!

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Renovation in Provence: Bedroom Reveal!!

August 8, 2016 by ashleyt 12 Comments

Well, it’s missing some art on the walls, and a few finishing touches. This is the result of the upstairs room from our renovation in Provence.

Behold the Bedroom Reveal! Voila!

I just love the stairs.

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Renovation in Provence: Living Room Reveal!!

August 3, 2016 by ashleyt 8 Comments

Renovation Reveal. We still haven’t hung any art yet! Soon. Notice we kept some of the blue on the ceiling.

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Renovation in Provence: Kitchen Reveal!

August 2, 2016 by ashleyt 35 Comments

Home Renovation in Provence

These images don’t do the final result justice; everything is also not quite done. However, here is the first version of our almost finished home in Provence. After 8 months of renovation, and with the limited budget and awkward dimensions we had to work with, I’m quite impressed! I never expected our first home to be so beautiful, especially before we hauled out all the old junk that used to be in it. Now it’s away in dumpsters hauled away – it was fairly easy to get the dumpster dimensions we needed to fit near enough to make it easy – out of our home and out of our hassle. And just look at the results! I am so grateful to my man. Bravo Robin!

The Kitchen Reveal

This is what you see when you walk into the house from the front door.

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Reno in Provence: Bedroom/Bathroom Transformation

August 1, 2016 by ashleyt 4 Comments

Our tiny house is an awkward triangular shape. This is most evident in the upstairs room and the kitchen. Basically, anywhere you would need to put a large rectangular object– like a bed! Everything has been a compromise to make the space appear bigger as well as functional. Here is some of the bedroom and bathroom transformation from the last 8 months of our renovation in Provence.

The original back wall complete with tiny bathroom and closet. We wanted to install the bathroom where the closet was in order to make use of the small window, or ‘fenestron,’ there that looks out onto Les Alpilles.

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Reno in Provence: Living Room Transformation

July 30, 2016 by ashleyt 5 Comments

Here are some photos of the rather drastic living room transformation after 8 months of renovation in our tiny provencal home. It seems like a lot went on, which it did, but it was defininely worth it. It’s getting there. I just cant wait to see the finished results and finally get to add furniture and decor. I’ve even started looking into companies like BAZAAR VELVET, as I am that excited. Imagine how comfortable this place will be in the winter, especially with all the rugs! Tune in next week for the reveal! There are still a few things we would like to do to the home though. For example, we have been inquiring about the logistics of incorporating some form of Home Automation London. We have always wanted to have a smart home!

The Orginal Room

The original (after we ripped a bit off the wall). That is a rather lot of wood.

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Our Renovation in Provence: a stone sink!

May 21, 2016 by ashleyt 6 Comments

We figure that our kitchen is so tiny that in order to make it look good, everything in it has to have character and charm (well, maybe not the damn washing machine). I’ve fallen in love with all the shabby chic/farmhouse french kitchens that I’ve seen on pinterest. I’ve particularly fallen for the beautiful stone sinks. Of course, a stone sink costs about 800 euros. Not within the budget.

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Our Reno in Provence: Chaux instead of Paint

April 21, 2016 by ashleyt 22 Comments

Stylish painting outfit? Before I got covered in chaux!

Chaux Lime Wash

We’ve recently painted our upstairs with chaux/lime wash. We wanted to apply a wall covering that respected the age of the building. It’s important that old walls breathe in order to reduce trapped moisture. We quite liked the texture of the traditional lime wash (peinture à la chaux). Knowing the ingredients, but not the quantities, there was some trial and effort involved. After a brief search online we were left more confused. People add all kinds of things such as cream or milk in addition to the basic ingredients of lime, water, tint and setting agent. We asked the opinion of the local macon, and it seems that lime wash recipes are up there with truffle locations in terms of closely guarded French secrets.

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Our Reno in Provence: Shopping for Patina Doors

January 28, 2016 by ashleyt 19 Comments

Shopping for Antique Patina Doors in Provence

The treasure and charm of antique doors.

It seems that we like to make our lives difficult; dating for 5 years long distance Montreal-London, moving to a new country without proper jobs, buying a tiny house in a rural village and now- trying to find beautiful Patina antique doors for our new home.

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