Mr. Fix It’s French finesse!

Blessed as we have been this week with wall to wall sunshine, we have taken the opportunity to go out and about, meander through the stunning French countryside catching sight of the snow-capped Pyrenees in the background, walking Eddie & Alfie along the canal, amongst the olive groves and alongside clear streams. These crisp, dry and sunny winter days seem to blow away all the cobwebs and we find ourselves with renewed vigour to continue with our house renovation.

Our kitchen plans are coming along well, yet to be put into practice since there is still much preparation work before the hard graft of putting it all in. We have very high ceilings in this grand old house and Mr. Fix It will lower the kitchen one slightly in order to effect a great lighting scheme to shine down softly on the large space. This will be partnered with table lamps above our corner fireplace and hidden spots under the cupboards. Lighting is so important: it can make or break a room. Even with our kitchen in its present unfitted state, in the evening with just a lamp or two lit, a large church candle on the fireplace and dull light from the oven, the space feels comfortable and welcoming. Mr. Fix It has a natural talent for design and it shows. He also has a tremendous eye for finding items for this house; he can spot a good one a mile away! He came back the other day, filled with joy at finding some beautiful stained glass to insert in the door we are blocking off from our entrance hall to our kitchen. “Can you believe I found two pieces with a fleur de Lys emblem and two with a Tudor rose?” How very fitting! The glass is opaque, slightly beige/yellow which will tone so well with our plans for soft colours in this room.

Looking further ahead, we have found – but not yet acquired – some elegant posts which will hold up our balcony. Whenever we go to Carcassonne or Narbonne, two beautiful towns, we look up and note the stunning wrought iron balconies and posts and brackets underneath. If you keep your eyes open, you can find all sorts of ideas when walking around this beautiful part of France. In almost every town or large village there is a “brocante” shop – a kind of antique cum junk shop and we have spent many a happy hour rummaging around some of these. Occasionally we will find something which stands out and we know immediately that it will suit. I was delighted to find a pure linen bolster cover with our own initials embroidered on it. It must have been meant: there were no other initials available! Bolsters are rarely seen these days in the UK but are still popular in France and our large square bedrooms seem to invite such old fashioned comfort.

So January draws to a close, the days are stretching and we look forward to many more days pottering around the markets, quirky shops and fine French towns. Mr. Fix It as ever is still full of ideas and I admire his finesse. We have already achieved so much in this house and shall, I have no doubt, continue to enjoy the rest of what is to come.

Alexis
The Overseas Guides Company

Have a look at my website at: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/