Tag: berkshire

Vive l’Evolution!

I was chatting with a local shop owner, a very nice guy whose own house renovation is nearly finished. Having small children, he and his family spent a year in a rented house. He said that while he was pleased with the outcome of the project, some elements might have been more successful had they stayed in the house and allowed them to ‘evolve’ over time. This rang very true with me, because one of the things I love about buildings is the way they can adapt and evolve to suit purpose. I am glad that Baz and I have never had the budget to remodel our home in one hit, though I realise that this says as much about me and my acceptance of ongoing chaos as it does about people who are sensible enough to do things that way

At the house in France, it was tempting to walk in and assign rooms immediately. Initially I  wanted to move the kitchen and could see no value in keeping the current one. Now I appreciate it much more, having spent time alone there with the luxury of having both a kettle and a fridge (chamomile tea and sandwiches tasted like heaven). It has lots of natural light from the stairwell and is a really charming little room

a truly vintage colour scheme
a truly vintage colour scheme

The 1950s/60s double-drainer sink scrubbed up like new. There’s no running water yet, but I was able to bring water in from the garage tap to wash up. The chimney breast is quaint and it has a shelf where I put wine bottles, against the backdrop of truly vintage grey paint and yellow and black tiles (note that I haven’t mentioned the hideous units and fabric pelmet yet). There is a useful metal work surface too. In fact, I realised not only how comfortable I was there with so little, but how having too much comfort might actually take the fun out of it a bit. There will have to be changes, but I’m no longer in a hurry to make those decisions and I want to see what else the house has to tell me.

Running water might be nice though…..?

‘Little bird’ mornings

Saturday was one of those mornings at home when all the little birds were out in force – sparrows, tits and robins – flitting around in the dappled sunlight under the box tree. There must be plenty of seed heads in the garden for them to enjoy, and I was pleased to see that the grass is recovering after the neglect of a busy August, and that this year’s frogs are starting to look for winter hideouts

The chickens have finished the last few blackberries in the front garden. We haven’t eaten many of the berries ourselves, as the girls love them so much and it’s so much fun to watch them indulge in a healthy delicacy. They’ll enjoy some warm mash in the mornings this autumn as the temperature drops

Percy says Relax
Percy says Relax

Percy is happier now that it is not so hot. He picks his way over the pebbles at the pond’s edge to lap up the water, a proper tiger who doesn’t mind getting his feet wet. Charlotte and I watch him when he’s asleep on the sofa, snoring and dreaming, even though it makes us feel slightly stalker-like

The brick shed now has a new window and paintwork, though I still have the rotten door to replace. Baz says the cheerful green gloss on the windowsill (‘Garden’ by Little Green) reminds him of Granny Dale, his maternal great grandma who would from time to time choose to paint everything the same colour, an outrageously loud pink or a bright green like this. I think I would have liked her

Any more dry weekends will be used for mowing and tidying the garden, painting the windowsills and the front door and fixing guttering etc. There’s just nothing better than a borrowed autumn day spent getting the house and garden ready for winter …