The Joys of Reclamation and Renovation

The work on our house in Cognac is well under way and although it is covered in dust and pretty chaotic it's great to see some progress. The roofers finally started this week and the heating engineer has been busy running copper pipes in preparation for our new central heating system.

Unfortunately in the last few days the weather has taken a turn for the worse so I was very relieved that the open fire in our living room is finally usable (due to the old boiler being removed).

We found a gorgeous fire-back on a really useful website called Le Bon Coin. I use it frequently to source things for the house and have been known to sell a thing or two on it as well - including our old house!

I just love the two griffins which according to legend guard treasure and 

priceless possessions so what could be more appropriate for the heart of the home?

I am so thrilled to finally see a real fire glowing and kicking out heat
in our living room

Another major change that has taken place in our house is in my office where Spike has kindly knocked down a totally unnecessary wall that for some unknown reason led to a corridor that in turn led to nowhere.  The difference is amazing and once the heating engineer has finished his work in there I am looking forward to getting my paws on it and turning it into a room of my own.

The strange wall that seemed to serve no purpose

A bit messy but well worth it

And the final result... a large bright room with two windows instead of one

The next milestone was when the roofers fitted our new skylight.  One little glitch was that the roofer that gave us the measurements must have had an off day because it was far too large for the hole. On the bright side though with a bit of extra work they have made the opening bigger to make it fit and given us more light (on the not so bright side the light-well had to be knocked out otherwise the window couldn't open so that will have to be rebuilt).

The old skylight was metal framed and very rusty and leaky so the previous owner put some fibre glass and perspex at the base of the light-well to protect the house. Unfortunately it has turned a rusty orange colour over the years and barely let any light through.

But my intrepid husband rigged up some rudimentary scaffolding and bravely clambered on his contraption to take the perspex down.

The perspex that was catching the leaks and rust from the old skylight

The scaffolding that Spike rigged up to work from

The quite terrifying view down the stairwell

Finally getting rid of the horrible stuff...

to reveal the new skylight...

et voila - we have light!

I'd be lying if I said that I enjoy the mess and disruption of the renovation process but I do love being involved in bringing out the best in our house and making it our forever home.

Ma visite en Angleterre

After numerous cancellations I finally made the trip back England and although nursing a bit of a cold I was determined not to let that stop me from making the most of all the opportunities I had to restock my Etsy shop (which was closed while I was away) and to catch up with friends and family.

The long drive back to England in our van, Piggy, was made less arduous by the company of my Mum and Stepfather who had bravely come to stay in our less than restored house in Cognac for a week or so.

My Mum Barbara, Livi and Me (and doggies) in the Park in Cognac
before the epic journey to England

The last leg of the trip was the worst bit because not only was I tired and feeling really ill I found that having been spat out of Newhaven Ferry Port in England I could hardly see the verge of the unlit country roads at all (guess who forget to get some beam benders!) so that was a bit stressy to say the very least!

Anyway, having finally arrived I decided to start my buying bonanza by visiting an auction in Folkestone which is situated about an hour down the road from my base in Hastings.  One tricky thing aspect of this particular sale was that they had two auctions running simultaneously - one for furniture upstairs and one for petits trucs downstairs. Luckily my Mum had agreed to come with me so I had the advantage of an extra pair of eyes to keep on top of the situation.

The auction yielded mixed results as I found that the furniture was very reasonable and bought a few lovely bits for the house which I will no doubt reveal at some later date but at present are safely in storage.  However, the smaller trucs that I had earmarked for my online shop did not go so cheaply and once I had added the sale room commission and the exchange rate back into euros I think I may have made a couple of boo boos!  Only time will tell.

This lovely silver topped biscuit barrel was one
of my better buys and I can't wait to clean it up

I'm also pleased with this retro barometer and thermometer
although I paid more than I would have liked

These two super little inkwells caught my eye and I was glad to get them

The next stage of my plan was to check out the local antique and bric-a-brac stores to see if I could find some bargains but sadly the prices again were high and unlike the antique TV programmes I habitually watch they weren't really budging much on prices.  One rather sarcastic gentlemen crowed "where's the film crew?" when I asked for his best price on a couple of items - and they say the French are rude!

Back at home I have unpacked and assembled my buys in preparation for
cleaning and will assess which ones are destined for my Etsy Shop
and which ones are to be sold at a local flea market in Cognac 

I look forward to sharing with you over the coming weeks a selection of the trucs I have purchased (once I get around to sorting through them) as well as some of the interesting places I visited during my visit to Angleterre.  But in the meantime I have sledgehammer wielding husband to clear up after who is busy knocking openings in our walls to improve the layout of our house and to let in more light so I'll bid you adieu for now and get the broom!

The horrible boxing in at the bottom of the stairs is gone

and so is half our dining room wall.... don't worry it will all be wonderful
when it's done!!!