Here’s the latest progress at the Tall House. Some things slowed down this week because the roads have been closed due to snow, but there was still lots of happy progress.
First up: Progress in Flora June’s bedroom! Antoine, the carpenter came by to install some wood trim in her room, but it was so cold and humid he worried the wood might warp. So he’s going to come back once the radiators are working. In the meantime, Grant prepped the walls and painted. Flora June chose F&B Skylight (a very light blue) for the upper walls — but really it’s temporary, because she’s interested in wallpaper for the upper walls.
For the lower walls, the door, and the wood trim, she chose F&B Stiffkey Blue. Once the wood trim is finished, Grant will complete the painting in the this room. And then we can pull up the old linoleum flooring and expose the wood.
Speaking of which, in Oscar’s room we pulled up the old flooring and the wood is looking great.
We scraped between the boards, and vacuumed, and did an initial cleaning. Like the floors in Betty’s room, this wood has some type of old finish on it, and we like it. So we’ll just do a light sanding, and then one layer of soap finish for some added protection.
In the attic, Ben and Guillaume picked up the last two radiators and carried them all the way upstairs — holy cow they are so heavy! And Gijsbert has been adding finish trim work, and priming the walls and woodwork for paint.
Not pictured here: We signed a contract with a new plumbing team yesterday, and they started this morning. Hooray! They are going to focus on getting the furnace installed and the radiators working, and then they’ll move to the attic and work their way down each floor, finishing the plumbing as they go.
P.S. — More Tall House updates.
Thank you so much for sharing. We have done our share of renovations and DIYs, but the tall house in France is something to behold. Watching everything unfold is mesmerizing and a much-needed distraction during the pandemic.
What a big, meticulous project! Have you all made projections to recoup your investment when you eventually sell, or are you just focused on making it exactly how you want it for your family? Is there much culture of “house flipping” in Normandy? I recall that French people sell their houses pretty much as-is without even hiding the row of shoes or collection of toiletries in the listing photos. So different from the slick real estate marketing in the U.S.
My goodness! So much progress! The floors look awesome! I want your energy! Kudos!
I disabled my IG account several weeks ago. I don’t miss much about it-except seeing your house updates and life in France! I’m so happy you post snippets here!
Really LOVE all of the Tall House updates. Thank you for sharing them!!
Bravo! I love watching all the progress!
A bit random: can you please post a phonetic kind of how-to for the French names?
I’m a non-French speaker and can’t picture the pronunciation at all. I’ve heard you say them a few times in stories but it goes too quickly for me to learn and remember.
Thanks 😊