Last week was such a social whirl it left my head spinning. After the move, Christmas, swiftly followed by the gastro, and then the flu and finally several weeks of intense cleaning I felt it was high time to open my doors to all my french girl-friends and give them a guided tour!

My first arrival, possibly slightly shocked at the rather dilapudated state, barely blinked but declared enthusiastically “Ahh, c’est dans son jus!”, 

The memory of this wonderful expression, and may I say typically french way of associating everything with food, my house like a plump duck basting in its own juices – nothing added, nothing taken away,  will probably stay with me forever. And I will cherish it, because my friend was exactly right. Nothing in the house has been changed, it survived the 1960’s and 70’s without modification: from the doors and their handles and the glass in the windows with its uneven and fragile surface, to the panelling on the walls and the iron railings onto the street.

Petit à petit (little by little) I hope to restore the house without losing its original charm. So today I am posting some “before” images and as time goes on will start to show you the changes. What I am really looking forward to is shopping for furniture at local brocantes (antiques/junk shops) once the work is done but for now one of the greatest modifications has been the installation of fibre into the house today, and my son predicts that my photos will upload instantaneously and that updating my blog will be heaven. Lets see if he is right!

The balcony in beautiful spring sunshine!

The steps and landing by the front door:

The entrance hall:

and looking back from the stairs:

The salon:

and the salle à manger:

The conservatory:

One of the bedrooms:

and another:

and the master bedroom with “coin lavabo” (ante-room with basin):

The attic beadrooms:

and the “chambre d’amis” (guest room)! (I’m not too keen on sleeping there myself!

the landing and the bathroom:

and last but very much not least, the kitchen – hub of the house!! (Did I mention it doesn’t have hot water?)

As you can see there is plenty to do! For the most part these photos were taken before we moved in and as such, none of the furniture belongs to me with the exception of the cooker which was carefully placed in the space my super electrician hacked out for me! I have 12 sockets which work in the house and the rest are condemned with sticky black tape, which makes plugging in power-tools an interesting experience and I have already been blown off my step-ladder by an explosive hand-sander, so the next few months look to be interesting!

But watch this space because changes are already starting to take shape, and the garden shows great promise now that the spring is nearly here!