Restyled Refinished Vintage
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Tag Archives: wood
Log store
Trev built us a log store The only new wood purchased were the battens. Rest recycled from house junk and our friend’s old shutters. Part of our plan to turn front of workshop into boot room and entry space. Current … Continue reading
Woodless
I never thought that I would see the day, but we are close to running out of wood stocks, both new and reycled! Last offcuts of the floor boards we bought for the kitchen diner are being trimmed down for … Continue reading
Twiddly bits
So here is Trev, up a ladder once more, panelling in new electric feeds and junction box. He only has to cut the 1 cm plywood to fit around the differently shaped beams, all with different sized spaces between. And … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France, What we did, how we did it and what we used
Tagged electric, kitchen, panel, wood
Comments Off on Twiddly bits
Details Details 2
I know I need to take these shots with a decent camera, but mine is under a pile of assorted stuff and the mobile phone is handy. Trev has returned to the tulip room ceiling project to start on the … Continue reading
Ceiling progress
Not a great photo, sorry, but I thought you might like to see how the tulip room ceiling is going. Any concerns regarding the guys’ decision to lay the wood lengthwise have evaporated; it looks great. There has been much … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged bedroom, lime mortar, pointing, sand, stones, wood
6 Comments
Panneaux de plafond-The last ceilings go up
At last, the two unfinished ceilings in the tulip bedroom and the adjoining second floor shower room are being addressed. Unfinished might be an understatement. Since we took down the weird, tiled, low faux ceiling in 2008, these two rooms … Continue reading
Thé vert olive
Time to reveal the colour for shutters and cave and garage doors We picked (Trev had slight input) this shade from the Mixing Machine Man in M. Bricolage, Limoux. Being a colourcoded mix-up, it has the highly unromantic title of … Continue reading
Episode 165: Bench Marks
Those of you who have stuck with this blog will know that the question of how we actually create the bench in the dining area has languished almost as long as the decision regarding the perfect off-white paint. The answer … Continue reading
Window seat made with reclaimed materials
Long term followers may remember that we rescued a 19thc side table from a chapel on the point of demolition. Would have ended up in the skip if my brother-in-law and sister hadn’t spotted that we could do something with … Continue reading
Hiding an eyesore. The surface mounted debate
I know why old French houses have surface mounted pipes and wires. It’s far easier and therefore cheaper to install your plumbing, electrics, drainage etc if you don’t chase out those thick stone walls to conceal these modern “neccessities”. It … Continue reading
Trevor’s limited editions 2017
You may remember this rack that Trev made for our small chopping boards. All recycled wood from the French house, apart from the dowels. The finish is my secret recipe for treating new and old wood to blend both together … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged design, french, house, kitchen, painted, recycled, renovation, restoration, rustic, wood
15 Comments
The cracks are beginning to show…………and I am very happy about this
Lived in and heated full time for the FIRST time in fifteen years, the French house is settling into itself. The old bones and the careful new additions are getting to know each other. It’s a kind of rustic romance … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged Bronte, diner, floor, french, house, kitchen, painted, panelling, renovation, restoration, village, wood
21 Comments
Renovating and Restoring in France, a broader view
As we walk around the village, I notice signs of renewal here and there. This is encouraging. I see new windows, new paintwork, a newly re-pointed little stone man-cave down by the river see below left. Houses that have stood empty … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged france, paint, renovation, restoration, stone, village, wood
14 Comments
Episode 162- The herringbone kitchen ceiling realised
From this left to this right-photos via these links first stage second stage How? We removed the grotty ceiling tiles (if you are following in our footsteps, PLEASE check that these tiles are not asbestos based!) Clean underside of ceiling … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog, Renovation and restoration diary- France, What we did, how we did it and what we used
Tagged aged, artist, beams, ceiling, country, effect, french, houses, insulation, joists, kaolin, kitchen, lambris, painted, pant, rustic, vintage, white washed, wood
11 Comments
Episode 159- Working on the salon door
Do you remember the truly hideous door in the salon? This did not say “hello, I’m a French village house salon door” in any language. It’s sole merit was that it fitted, and adjusting reclaimed doors, or their frames, to fit … Continue reading
What a day!
It’s glorious here in le vrai sud de France weatherwise; perhaps not the ideal day for running around. Down to the dechetterie with renovation detritus, all super-heavy. Then had we to get three big solid twelve foot roof joists down … Continue reading
Economication. That’s the name of the game.
So, ply is hard to find in France and relatively expensive. Chip board also. So in the first floor kitchen we put down a sub tile floor using our leftover stash of tongue and groove remnants; to be covered by … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France, What we did, how we did it and what we used
Tagged floor, france, groove, kitchen, tiles, tongue, wood
6 Comments
Mixing materials
I am fascinated by the gorgeous mix of materials and colours in this one French house found on http://www.cotemaison.fr I like the change in colour on the stair risers at the door way. And the raw wood panelling on the … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog
Tagged art, design, french, house, painted, panelling, wood
19 Comments
Restore, recycle, reuse, relook it, relove it
I have been blog-chatting with JP at https://husifrankrike.com/ where he and his wife have been musing on restoring features at their medieval village house ( also in the Aude) and perhaps commissioning replacement features. JP has what looks like a … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged Aude, france, glass, house, joists, medieval, original, project, recycling, renovation, restoration, stained, stone, village, window, wood
12 Comments
The most wanted list – qu’est-ce que l’on veut?
So, what’s the old stuff we all want these days? I may not be able to give you the definitive answer to this burning question, but I can reveal the top five UK best sellers that the third quarter of … Continue reading
La cheminée, le cœur de la pièce- or, why the fireplace is key
I’m not dictating what you should do Chez Vous, but for me, the fireplace in any room is key. Left- from linen & lavender – lifestyle I have two woodburning stoves to fit at the French village house; but if … Continue reading
Tread carefully part 2- an update on safer stairs stories
Looking through JP’s latest post on his wonderful blog here I had a strong sense of deja-vu. Trapphuset till vinden då och nu OK, students, compare and contrast JP’s photos with mine here- Episode 36- Safe(r) stairs stories Tread carefully…. Although the … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged french, house, renovation, restoration, stairs, village, wood
21 Comments
Quandaries -the buffet- update
So, I dredged up the photo above-left-, which is the only photo I had of the QB (Quandary Buffet) taken when we bought it. Surrounded by stuff. Next time we saw it was … Continue reading
Wood is Good- The wood rescue diary
“Whether made into a wooden pillow or table, wood with excellent fine grain is a guarantee of splendid poems, and the composition of perfect documents.” ~Liú Shèng (d. 113 BC), “Ode to Fine-Grained Wood,” quoted in Beyond the Screen: Chinese … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds, Art, design and inspiration blog
Tagged antique, art, design, mahogany, painted, table, veneer, vintage, walnut, wood
10 Comments
Episode 143 – More decorative finishes- lambris wood panelling
There are a number of elements we see time and time again in humble French houses. One is lambris, or narrow wood panelling. It’s been popular here for centuries though the default finish seems to be dark treacly varnishes and … Continue reading
Les Chaises- repaired, restyled, refinished- Part 2
So you remember these four dining chairs posted a few days ago? Les Chaises -saving four special dining chairs for someone – Part 1 below is after photos- & if you want it, details of how we rescued these trashed pieces … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds, Art, design and inspiration blog
Tagged chairs, chalk, dining, french, grey, Gustavian, leather, paint, painted, refinished, repaired, restyled, wax, wood
11 Comments
Les Chaises -saving four special dining chairs for someone – Part 1
This is what we started with. Four interesting and slightly unusual dining chairs in a terrible state. They had been in a cellar in several inches of water and had rotten feet, damaged and stained seats and various bits of … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds, Art, design and inspiration blog
Tagged antique, chairs, dining, french, painted, repair, rescue, reupholster, vintage, wax, wood
21 Comments
An ode to the “os de mouton” chair
The festival vide-greniers was back in the medieval square again this year. So atmospheric. But I’m very glad we don’t live right on the charming Promenade de Château Fort ourselves; the stall holders literally set up right outside the doors … Continue reading
Belated Thursday Three, or four
Because the sun is shining and because Trev has nearly finished The Never Ending Floor-y and because one of our good French friends has just made a gesture so generous it reduced me to tears….. Here are three plus one … Continue reading
Posted in Antique and Vintage finds, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged carved, chimney, Chinese, copper, dragons, french, kitchen, lights, suspension, wood
34 Comments
Tread carefully….
Many moons ago; maybe six years, we decided that the lethal access to the terrace bedroom needed addressing urgently. ( HA!) The reason for the crazy perch of that doorway over the stairs is that the terrace bedroom side of … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France, What we did, how we did it and what we used
Tagged cave, french, house, pine, staircase, stairs, wood
21 Comments
Buying Property in France- A cautionary tale
Just to let you know, I now take requests.See “Taste of France” blog- https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/37172339/posts/1025435832 The area around Puivert is mentioned. Very pretty, has a chateau & museum, too cold for me. It took a while for us to find out … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged Aude, chic, damp, features, floor, french, house, languedoc, lead, original, restoration, Roussillon, stone, village, wood, woodworm
12 Comments
Flipping Furniture Finds with Fabulous French Finishes
I have posted about Trevor being bored since taking redundancy last year. “What” I asked him “do you want to do with yourself now, apart from driving me to distraction?” “Something completely different from what I was doing before; with … Continue reading
Episode 139- The perfect off-white, and it only took eight years to find it
It took a long time. OK, I was distracted by other renovation and restoration debates, decisions and doubts, but I ran out of prevarication time and when we marched down to the shops, this new option was on offer, details … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France, What we did, how we did it and what we used
Tagged 3V3, effect, france, house, kaolin, off, paint, paints, panelling, renovation, restoration, village, white, wood
5 Comments
Episode 138- I like whitewashed floors but they have to WORK- so- a practical and tough floor finish for you
We started with this Gascony Pin-maritime from France’s oldest managed forest. This is a clean, hard pine, with less knots than many, and those knots found have a low resin content, so bleed is less of an issue. Trev says … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France, What we did, how we did it and what we used
Tagged diner, floor, france, kitchen, lasure, pine, plancher, plank, white, wood
6 Comments
Episode 132- Adding Architectural Antiques
I see absolutely no good reason not to add in old pieces where they merit it. If they are the appropriate style and period for your project, then go for it. I just found these carved wood panels in the … Continue reading
Posted in Art, design and inspiration blog, Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged antique, antiques, architectural, carved, french, house, oak, original, panels, project, renovation, restoration, village, wood
16 Comments
Wood I?
Yesterday I spent a considerable amount of time closely studying some beautiful knots and blemishes on a rustic wood dining table in Homesense and talking to myself about it. In my defence, I thought I was talking to Trevor, but … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France
Tagged french, house, original, renovation, restoration, stone, table, wood
17 Comments
The Thursday Three- Hand carved wood panels
So, I went to collect these two square panels yesterday. I have bought them to put the right proportions back onto the lower part of the main door into the salon. They are perfect, the motifs echoing those of the … Continue reading
“After The Drill Is Gone”
After the Drill is Gone You will have seen on an earlier post the harrowing story of my falling over in our street in France. I reaffirm that no strong drink was involved as to cause this mishap. Maybe the … Continue reading
Posted in Renovation and restoration diary- France, What we did, how we did it and what we used
Tagged drill, drills, Eagles, france, Frey, glenn, house, renovation, restoration, stone, wood
11 Comments
Episode 130, brut renovation part deux
Episode 130? Wow! Who knows where the time goes? Trev’s just said that this saga will run as long as Doctor Who. I do hope not. I love the new floor. Who would have thought that l would ever say … Continue reading
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