Trucs to Finish in 2014

Well it's 2014 and time to start anew with a clean slate and to make some resolutions for the New Year. 

My main New Years Resolution this year is to finally finish off all the snagging jobs on the house that we have been renovating for the last three years.  We are very proud of what we have achieved here but with Spike busy working and with one thing and another we appear to have ground to a halt!

The living room with reclaimed parquet floor

There is always the danger when renovating a house that once the big jobs are done like kitchens, bathrooms, electrics, heating etc. that the little trucs slide. 

Here are just a few examples of what lies ahead for us in 2014:-

Our house still waiting to be rendered... beautiful!

We have put a lovely reclaimed parquet floor down in the living room from a Parisian house that was demolished in the 1950's to make way for the périphérique (ring road around Paris) but still haven't put all the the trim around the edge. 

There is boxing-in to do in the downstairs cloakroom (don't know why we call it that as there is not a cloak in sight!) and the boot-room (lots of boots so that's OK!)

We have been meaning to render the front of the house for some time now but that will have to wait for some warm dry weather... hopefully in the Spring.

I promised to paint the metal gates into our courtyard a couple of years back but have yet to encounter the optimum weather conditions (well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it)

There is also a bit of landscaping to do in the garden because outside the back door a muddy puddle has emerged that regularly gets walked into the house by dogs, cats and the occasional chicken when they give us the slip before we can grab them with an old towel (not the chicken... they shouldn't be in the house at all!)

I'm sure there are more things to do that I can't think of right now, not to mention the ongoing maintenance issues such as touching up paintwork and fixing shutters that are falling off their hinges.  

However, when I think back to the state of our kitchen last Christmas it spurs me on to get these little trucs done once and for all.

The back door last year & makeshift sink!

The back door and the kitchen now

The front of the kitchen last year

The front door to the kitchen now

I am hoping that by committing this list to writing that we will finally get these niggly jobs finished as we are both keen to sell the house and to move onto our next project. It's not that we don't love our French country home but we are ready for a move back to town as having both lived in London for a number of years we miss the convenience of being able to walk to bars, restaurants, markets and any cultural events that might be taking place. 

So my wish for 2014 is to move on to pastures new (or should I say pavements/sidewalks new) and to transform another ugly duckling of a house into a beautiful swan.