Friday, April 22, 2011

You place the flowers in the vase

One of my readers, Ron of Retired in Delaware, recently asked to see a picture of our house. I directed him to the archive category "our house" which includes many photos of the house, but you have to sift through the over two hundred posts to find a shot of the front (sorry, Ron!). So I thought I should just go outside and take a new picture.

Chez nous, 21 April 2011. Soon there will be flowers in the window boxes. Click to maisonify.

This is the house just after eight o'clock on Thursday morning. The morning sun is filtered by the twin red maple trees on the east end of the property. If you've been here, you know that the main living space is on the second floor which is called the first floor in France (because it's the first "floor" above the ground level). The ground level is called the rez-de-chaussée (road level).

On our rez-de-chaussée we have a garage, a utility room, a pantry, and a small entry hall with a wide stair that climbs up to the first floor. There we have a good-sized living/dining room with doors out onto the deck, a kitchen, a bedroom, a den (or second bedroom), a bathroom, and a wc (water closet or toilet).

Last year we had a hole punched in the ceiling and a second stair added up to the attic which we were having finished. The attic is now one large space that we use for our bedroom, tv room, and Ken's office. If you click on the "attic conversion" label in the right-hand column, you can see the transformation of the attic into living space.

So there you have it. And now, one year after we started the attic conversion, we're finishing up the painting on the first floor landing and hall where the new stair is. The old ugly wallpaper is history and the walls look much, much cleaner as you can see in this photo that Ken took this week.

14 comments:

  1. Lovely House Walt. I like the style, built in the 70's? The mature garden envelopes the house beautifully.

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  2. I could die there. It's really pretty. m.

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  3. I love seeing photos of your house :)

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  4. I'm eagerly awaiting a photo
    of the terracota wall.

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  5. Your "nest" looks pretty and comfy!
    I love to read everyday about your life in France.

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  6. I can't wait to see the flowers in front of the windows. What a super nice, relaxing, home you've got! I love it.

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  7. It's a very, very, very fine house. With one cat in the yard...

    Lovely pic.

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  8. If my home could look like yours with a click on Maisonify, I would be in heaven (I do like the look of my home, but yours is better :-0)

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  9. I can't quite make out the name of your house. What is it and what does it translate to in English?

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  10. I moved to Florida from Delaware (New Castle).

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  11. craig, close. Built in the late 60s. There are many houses of this style around this region. Must have been a trend at some point.

    mark, well, I have absolutely no clue how to respond to that.

    judy, I've taken a lot.

    sheila, it will be while yet. I don't even have the paint...

    nadege, :)

    alewis, it won't be long. Cascading petunias (surfinia) are most likely. Color? Don't know yet.

    diogenes, I'm glad somebody got it! I thought I might have been too obscure...

    mary, hehehe.

    victor, it's "les Bouleaux" and means "the Birches."

    starman, cool, thanks!

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  12. It is AMAZING what a difference taking that wallpaper down and painting has made. You're home looks so lovey and inviting. I am very happy for you both to have such a great place to live.

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  13. sean, thanks! We really like it. You and Jeffrey should come over one of these days and see! :)

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  14. It's suppose to be a compliment. Apparently, I'm the only one who says it. It means that I would be so content and happy there that all my earthly problems would be gone and I could move on.
    I know, now you're even more confused. Next time I'll just say "lovely house" and be done.
    Your Friend, m.

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