Come with me inside our French home!

Excitement mounts this week as one by one, thanks to Mr. Fix It and Justin working happily in tandem, the radiators are being piped in and we look forward to finally having gas central heating installed in our house. I marvel at their speed and when that Friday feeling came, we went to our little bar for lunch, a welcome and richly deserved break for these two hard workers. With Autumn now upon us, the vines and plane trees have turned to burnt oranges and reds and yet we are still blessed with strong sunshine each day and count ourselves lucky to be living in this bright and beautiful climate. Nonetheless, we have sat by a log fire most evenings now that the air has turned a little cooler.

Mr. Fix It can be justifiably proud of the work he has done, the progress he has made throughout the last 8 months. He is a member of the “old school”, that is to say his motto seems to be that if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well: a fine attitude. It takes time and energy to be meticulous but it pays off in the end and so it is that over the next couple of weeks I invite you on a mini tour of parts of our house where huge improvement has been made so that you can see for yourself.

Come with me now and step inside for a peek!

Small sitting room with fleur de lys tiled floor, marble fireplace, cast iron radiator piped in


Bedroom overlooking the garden, another radiator piped in and another marble fireplace

One of the ensuites, large soft tiles and oblong shower tray

The other ensuite, almost a luxurious bathroom!

Another bedroom, light flooding in from the left where we created a new window to receive the morning sun (and another marble fireplace)

There is something magical about this house: the atmosphere is one of peace and space and I have yet to meet anyone, be it our visitors from the UK or French friends, who has not looked up with an expression approaching awe, not only at the scale and proportion of the rooms but at the amount of work there appears to be in store! Yet it is because of those two things: scale and proportion, that we find it easy to live amongst the dust and debris. Renovating any property can bring with it moments of hardship and I will be the first to admit that I look forward greatly to having an actual kitchen and good lighting. But notwithstanding its present state – work in progress – we feel comfortable and nurtured here. I can only imagine how glorious it will be when it is finished, our balcony in place and garden landscaped.

That day, whenever it will be, is a long way off and in the meantime life down here in the Languedoc Roussillon continues to be full of happiness for us both. Creating a beautiful home, particularly in this stunning part of France, is something I would not change for the world.

Alexis
http://www.francebuyingguide.com/