Tag Archives: vintage

Chapter 13 – Salle a Manger

Upon entering this room, all we saw was potential from its beautiful crown moldings and ceiling medallion to the fireplace and classic French windows –

Before:

In addition to the tired finishes, you can see the ‘darkness’ that seems to penetrate the space. I suspect spaces that are not lived in eventually hold an oppressive feel that contributes to their lackluster ambiance.

The ceiling was in need of some repair work, but with an excellent painter, we’d end up with ceilings that looked as good as the day they were originally built. The other big detail would be to replace the base mouldings with ones in better proportion to the whole of the space.

You can see we had tired, tired, tired – ceilings and crown mouldings in need of repair, old wall paper, outdated and worn parquet and base mouldings, windows and shutters needing repairs, and light fixtures that were…not in keeping with the elegance of the house. Below you see the after with all new finishes and fixtures.

After:

With newly finished ceilings, walls, floors, windows & shutters, electrical, new base trim, light fixtures, and furniture – this room is transformed to an inviting, elegant dining space. We let the color on the chair upholstery add just the right amount of panache while all other colors remain soft and subtle.

New Base Trim at Window

New Base Trim throughout

The new Salle a Manger

Salle a Manger

And last, but not least – the ceiling medallion was saved!

Rest assured, the ceiling medallion was saved!

This is the chandelier we were installing the last time I saw Padre at the house.

Chapter 12 – The Ghost

Where we met…

Looking down from that vantage point…

As I eluded in ‘Chapter 2 – France Itinerary; October 4th – October 18th, 2013’, our house had a ghost. While I am a Shaman and have had psychic tendencies all of my life, I do not always ‘see’ with my human eyes, so this was unusual for me – but then, nothing in this process thus far has been ‘normal’. There is a part of me that also believes the searching and finding of this property has been years in the making – even long before I ‘knew’ it.

Everything about this has been on instinct from the years of interest in my ancestors, the research and searching for my husband’s genealogy, the sudden ‘knowing’ we needed to travel to France to continue this research, to the belief this country was a possibility for a retirement haven, followed by the deep-seeded sense the Bordeaux region would be the place above all others, and on to connecting with just the right people to assist with our search and subsequent renovation. When I saw the ghost standing at the top of the stairs I was not only undeterred, but I was convinced he would somehow be instrumental.

After facilitating a distance clearing of the property we had just viewed, I focused my intention on learning what I could about this specter. I introduced myself, stated our intentions, laid out plans, and began the dialog that would last the better part of the next ten months. “You can call me Padre,” he said, and then the thing that surprised me, “and I’m going to help you with this.” He further stated he would ensure the work was done as it should be and the right contractors for the job would be found. In essence, he would be my general contractor.

Upon our return to the house two days later to begin photographing and measuring, we were all surprised, pleasantly so, that the house felt lighter and far less ominous. It would be difficult to linger in any spot for more than a few minutes – especially on the second floor, but now the energy of the house felt receptive. I didn’t fully have Padre’s approval, but we had definitely made great strides. I will say, if you are intent to renovate a very old home, it is a good idea to clear the stuck or old energy before embarking on the work. If you cannot facilitate this on your own, find a qualified expert. House clearings can be done remotely as well, so don’t limit your sources to a person who can physically come to the house. Basically, if you don’t clear out the old, you can’t make way for the new.

The first order of business would be to make an offer on the house – and though it was fraught with ups and downs, we never once believed it was not meant to be ours, so we persevered through whatever it was going to take. By June, our offer had been accepted and we could get down to the business of planning, so between June of 2016 and September 2016, we worked on the plans. The first was the demolition plan outlining any and all fixtures, finishes, walls (yes, there would be one wall) that needed to be removed to make way for an enlarged kitchen. Our primary intent was to return this beautiful house back to its former glory. We would modernize it, for certain with the kitchen and bathrooms, but the house as a whole would retain it’s vintage charm resplendent of its late 1800’s time.

Once the potential was outlined, the plans could begin and at every juncture I met with Padre to show him what we wanted to do. Each and every time, he was in agreement. The one time I worried about what we had planned was with the kitchen – which would be very modern. I nervously showed him the plans and told him it was quite different from the original but I was hoping he’d approve. He looked at the plans and then stated, “Everything you have planned here has been with love…as long as it is with love, it will be good.” The kitchen with all its changes would be done, and with his approval.

So what’s it like working with a ghost? Well, it’s not much different than working with a flesh and bone person. You approach with respect, keep it honest, develop a rapport – ask questions and listen for answers. By the time the plans were completed, there was an excitement, an energy for their ultimate fruition.

This was his proposal to me: “I will remain with the house to ensure everything is done right and when the work is done and I am no longer needed, I will move on.” Over the months I visited through Shamanic journeys, I would see him, but then began also to see my ancestors. They had come to celebrate and watch over the house with Padre. This was something I needed to address – while Padre was there to guard and care for the house, the last thing we needed would be additional ghosts taking up residence and each time I visited, there were more and more ancestors. I respectfully spoke with them about the fact they had a place they belonged, and it was not here. I would continue to honor and visit with them in the sacred places when I needed to. I do know their hand was at work to facilitate this work, though, because each and every time we faced a challenge, I would meditate and ask for their wisdom, guidance and assistance, and every time I received an answer. Never forget your ancestors are an unwavering source of strength and guidance.

We really believed we would return in September for the closing, meet with a general contractor and get the ball rolling, so to speak. I had been given the name of a contractor who is Australian, but now living and working in France and thought this would be quite perfect. Someone who speaks English, (well, sort of), yet with the ability to also communicate in French. Despite my ever increasing French skills, I was still not at the point where I felt comfortable communicating clearly and fully our intent. We had thoroughly detailed plans, elevations and details, had taken care to prepare them with metric measurements, and had numerous notes in French thinking, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. Those were our best laid plans, but clearly, not the path we were destined to take. The Aussie contractor was unavailable for a project the scope we had planned, so we moved on to plan B.

Our hosts and new friends in the adjacent town were insistent we could do this without a general contractor. They would provide a list of names of contractors they felt were ‘serious’ – ones they themselves had used or knew of – and if a site visit was needed, they could simply run over and have a look. In September, we started with these contractors, with a couple of them also introducing us to others we would also need. At this point, we have our carpenter, electrician, painter, and need a plumber and tile contractor. All contractors reviewed the plans with us with the assistance of our friends, but we would need to wait for the devis/proposals to review before the work would commence. And yes, as expected, the proposals ranged from a bit more than we had planned, to a LOT more than we had planned. There was one proposal in particular that was significantly higher than anticipated – so you do need to be careful of the opportunistic contractor who will gladly take advantage of the ‘rich American’. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or not – the fact you’re American is enough for some. We would not find these plumber or tile contractors until my return trip late January 2017 – and I just knew the plumber was the one when Padre appeared to me as we were walking through the house and pointed to him and said, “Him, hire him – he’s the one!” The tile contractor, it turns out was also the ‘right one’. The quote from this plumber was half of the first quote – both a relief and a welcome respite from everything else being higher than anticipated. I suspect this home, being built by French tradesmen, needed to be renovated by French tradesmen.

Serious is a word we would hear often, and have come to know as meaning “one who has integrity, takes pride in their work, shows up when they say they will, and does a good job”. We hired several ‘serious’ contractors who I would not hesitate to use again or recommend.

Were there struggles? Mais bien sur! But each and every time, I would center myself, confer with Padre, and make the decisions needed. I am a big believer we are all here to learn – so whether something is going as we expect or not, it is our responsibility to open our minds, expand our consciousness (however you frame this process for yourself), and review all possibilities – not only the ones you previously had in mind. If the discussion is with a contractor or more, ask them for their insight – and listen because you might just learn something new. Think opportunity rather than challenge. It was not always easy and I will admit to having a few silent meltdowns before facing my crisis of the moment, but I truly did learn a lot I didn’t know before – both about construction in another country as well as construction practices in general. We all have something to learn.

And Padre? Well, at times I wondered if he was on vacation when crisis would come up, but then, it was also MY job to show up and learn. The last time I saw him was in July, 2017, when final trim pieces were being installed, painting was well under way, and I was hanging the last big chandelier with the electrician. As we’re placing the crystals, I saw him walk through the dining room/salle a manger as though he was accessing, pleased, and acknowledging to me he was no longer needed here. From this point on it was in my capable hands. That is the last time I saw him – true to his word, he said he would also leave after his work of supervising was done. I’m sure he’s sharing a glass of fine wine with my ancestors and toasting a job well done. And that stairwell? Well, check it out for yourself – I think it came out pretty grand!

Here are the newly finished stairs and railings that lead to the second floor.

This is the view of the newly finished stairs from the First Floor.

Chapter 11: Premiere Etage

The premiere Etage in a French home is the second floor in an American home, and generally speaking is where the bedrooms and bathroom will be located – or in France, the chambres and salle de bain. LaRoseraie had three bedrooms on this floor and one bathroom – well, sort of…

Chambre One was a jewel from the start. The walls were ensconced with beautiful mouldings and was a big part of stealing our hearts from the first day. It was a large room with a big, beautiful window and a fireplace, but had a few issues. The first was the two venetian glass doors that flanked the bed wall – one went to a passageway into chambre two and the other was a false door, which we assume was there to create symmetry with the other door. There was also a third redundant door to the left of the entrance door that had presumably been a former means of exiting the room via a partition in the entrée to allow a former madam to make a quick exit to the bathroom across the entrée hall while still in bedclothes. We opted to leave the latter in place, but affix it permanently shut and to remove the two venetian glass doors, along with the passageway, then refinished that wall – adding mouldings to match the existing.

Fear not! The two Venetian glass doors would not go to waste, as I had committed to saving every possible detail of this house. They were repurposed as new doors to the two toilette rooms and have added a special charm in both locations.

You can see renovations are underway, but one of the first things done was to re-size the Venetian glass doors from Chambre 1 for the two toilette rooms. This toilette room is, of all places, in the stairwell!

View of finished stairs and railings from the first floor.

What you will not notice is the extent of restoration needed to the wall mouldings – the original ones were in worse condition than we initially realized and then additional, extensive damage was caused when the ceilings were replaced, so roughly half of the wall mouldings are actually new – and once the painters were done with them they looked better than they likely looked even when they were new. As I stated before – if you find a really good painter, they will be worth their weight in gold! After completion, chambre one is the most sought after room to stay –

The other major work needed on the premiere etage were the damaged ceilings from a roof leak that had been resolved when the roof was replaced 10-15 years ago. What had not been resolved were the damaged ceilings. The best solution here was to add a layer of steel framing studs, then attach a layer of plasterboard. This would both support the structure and fully repair the ceilings’ integrity. All carpets were removed, all wallpaper was removed, walls were repaired, then covered in a layer of textured fiberglass and painted. The floors were repaired, sanded, stained, and then varnished. New base trim was added throughout to add a touch of elegance and better proportion, and all electrical was replaced with the addition of recessed lighting and chandeliers in each chambre. Though each chambre has a fireplace – only the ones in chambre 1 & 3 are potentially useful. We intend to have each fireplace inspected and will consider gas inserts at a future time if possible.

Chambre Two was equal in size to chambre one but with no ornate wall details. Instead, our obstacle in this room was concerning the passageway that had been used to traverse between chambers’ one and two and the fact the bulk of the water damage had been focused in this room. Add to that, at some point in time this was the one section of the house that had settled a bit, so the fireplace had been cemented closed, presumably because it was rendered unsafe. Since we do not plan to use the fireplaces with possible exception to one day retrofitting a few with gas inserts for ambiance and some supplemental heat, this was not a problem for us. The first order of business, however, would be to remove the passageway and relocate the radiator, then repair the ceiling, walls, floor, windows, etc., add the base trim and ready it for final finishes.

Insect Damage, floor board replacement, craftsman at work

The original floors were badly damaged by insects in some areas so in order to save them, we needed to have the most badly affected ones removed and replaced. The lesser damaged boards could have the damaged bits dug out and then were puttied. All floors then received a final sanding, then a stain prior to final coats of varnish in order to help balance the color contrast.

Chambre 2

Chambre 2 had the greatest challenges with its ceiling and the fact it had an unnecessary passageway to chambre 1 – the first order of business was to restore the ceiling, then remove this passageway. The floor was also in terrible condition from both water and insect damage. Intent to maintain as much original material as possible, we needed to have several boards replaced. Once all was sanded, stained and varnished, it looked just fine!

Finally with curtains!

Chambre 2 has the flexibility to have either two single or one king sized bed.

Chambre Three had few obstacles – it was a simple means of a new ceiling, fiberglass and paint on the walls, new electrical, new floor finish, and base trim.

Once completed, despite being the smallest of the three chambres on this floor, it carries a charm that is uniquely Parisian –

chambre 3.1 chambre 3.2 chambre 3.3

The Premiere Entrée before:

250

As you can see – from the crumbling ceiling down to the worn floors, this once beautiful space had lost its luster – so it received the star treatment of new ceilings all the way down to refinished floors.

The Premiere Entrée After:

It was our intent to not only retain as much original detail as possible, but to ensure the finishes and material in the entrees and stair were maintained in the style characteristic of its period. I found the restored French vintage chandeliers online, the vintage mirror was sourced from Maison du Monde and the draperies were custom made with a vintage Berger fabric by a local artisan.

The final room on this floor would be the salle de bain. Originally, it housed a bathtub with hand shower, a wall-mounted sink and a bidet. All of the plumbing had been attached to the exterior wall of the house since the bathroom had been added a number of years after the house was built, so one of the tasks would be to bring this inside for future protection from the cold and potential freezing temperatures.

Salle de Bain Before:

Salle de Bain During:

Once the tile, fixtures and old plumbing and electrical were removed, the task could begin to repair and prepare the surfaces for new finishes. One thing to note with a house of this construction – not only are all exterior walls stone block, but the primary interior walls will also be stone. Any walls that were constructed thereafter would most likely be clay tile covered with plaster. The difficulty occurs when blocking is required for fixtures, radiators, etc. since these substrates provide poor strength for anchoring weighty hardware. We had one such case in this bathroom. The electric radiator had been attached to the clay tile wall and after a few months, dislodged and fell off the wall. The remedy was to add to the porcelain marble-look tile to cover the area behind where the radiator would attach to provide a stronger surface for the wall anchors. In hindsight, we should have opened the wall, added blocking, then plastered over.

Salle de Bain After:

As you can see, our objective was to give this bathroom/SDB a more vintage feel than we designed for the second floor bathroom/SDB. The primary components were the utilization of natural materials such as the white marble and charcoal slate floors, and vintage styling through the fixtures where we utilized porcelain and chrome. The light fixtures also lend a vintage feel, although you’ll notice the ceiling fixture is, in fact, original to the house – it is the ceiling fixture that was in the ground floor entry, re-purposed to add the perfect finishing touch.

Classic details, beautiful windows, French bathrooms.

This is the view of the newly renovated salle de bain 1 with the window view included. The light fixture at the ceiling was recovered from the ground floor entry.

All plumbing fixtures on this wall have been replaced with new ones with classic styling to maintain the classic integrity of the home.

Note the ceiling fixture is original to the house but was once in the center of the ceiling medallion in the main entrée.

The shower fixture and sink vanity are vintage inspired.

This is the radiator we had issues with – the wall it is mounted on was constructed of clay tile with plaster, so was ill-suited for the weight of the radiator. The addition of the porcelain tile gave the wall the strength needed to support the radiator.

Now complete – this bathroom has a large walk-in shower, an oversized sink vanity and a toilette.