Before and after photos of the new Gîte le Boulay
- Gîte des Alpes Mancelles
- 2 November 2022
- 15h42
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Three years of work... well worth it!
It took 3 years to turn this beautiful farmhouse into a holiday home of this size. There was no shortage of ideas, the sleeves were rolled up, the nights were restless, the days were long and the children were busy!
Once we'd drawn up the planning permission and plans ourselves, it was time to work on the estimates. We gave preference to local craftsmen for certain tasks and also did a lot of the work ourselves to keep costs down.
We had to start by clearing away, removing the metal shed (which had been repositioned on our farm), dismantling the roof and clearing away the undergrowth outside. After that, it was time for the carpenters and the bricklayer, whom we helped and who did an amazing job with the utmost professional conscientiousness!
Openings, closures, walls that have fallen down and need to be rebuilt, ashlars to find, search for, wash, cut and lay.... Plaster to scrape off, wash and colour... (remember to use the right proportions to maintain the right colour throughout).
In short, countless hours, sacks of lime and cement galore, endless wrist games, buckets of sand and gravel to throw into the cement mixer, all of which made our biceps green with envy!
Now it's time to fit the partitions, floors and drains. Above all, remember to position the pvc so that the kitchen and toilet are in the right place, the bathroom is neither too large nor too small, and the floor is at the right height.... Oh dear.... A mistake was made in the height of the window in one of the upstairs bedrooms, which became the giraffe room. You could only open the window by climbing a stepladder!
Then it's time to choose the tiles, the paintwork and the kitchen .... It smells good. But 4 bathrooms means 4 times as many decisions to make! Above all, it's important to remain neutral so that everyone feels at home. The same goes for wall colours... I know what I don't want but it's hard to work out what I really want... Oh yes, staying neutral and using colours that last over time.
Everything's OK and I'd like to thank my dad for being the painter. I originally wanted to do a joint project (I hadn't imagined the time) but he offered to do it on condition that I didn't rush him. As you can imagine, I didn't rush him! It took buckets of paint, emeri canvas, a lot of wrist play and shoulders made of concrete. And just for fun, I had a wallpaper put in too.
In short, after the outdoor landscaping, lawn? Trees? Playground? Playground (in progress)... Shrubs? A few hours of shovelling and a rather ordinary but nice result. And best of all, the cows in the surrounding meadow!
Photos before the work
Photos after the work
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