22 Comments / Life in France / By

This Old (French) House, Part 2

Your enthusiasm for my house purchase has been overwhelming and so encouraging.  Not that I needed approval but still, it is very cool to feel a certain group of people celebrating your moves (literally!) and cheering you on.  It makes me think of a few years ago, 10 ish to be exact, when I announced I was leaving NS after living there for 24 years and moving to NB where I had bought a 100 year old duplex.  This Old House, Version 1, for those of you who followed that creative journey.  And someone said to me- “Wow, imagine at your age (I was 55) moving and buying a house!”  And I can still remember thinking – “Wait a minute.  Are there time restrictions on these things?  Do people really not do this because of age??”  It was actually so jarring to me to think that age would define someone’s chance taking.  And really, it wasn’t that much of a chance taking maneuver in my mind.   Course that also reminds me of turning 50 and asking my daughters if I should no longer wear short skirts (hold on, they weren’t micro minis and for all my physical shortcomings, I always had good legs!) and do karaoke.  And they laughingly said “No, the time to quit those was a while ago so why bother now??” Gotta love having supportive, open-minded daughters! 

Now I know some of you are quite romantic and are conjuring up visions of a lovely pied a terre with long French windows and Juliet balconies, and marble fireplaces (many!) and old parquet floors.  That you think I am about to launch into some sort of senior citizen version of Emily in Paris’s urban apartment.  And before you get your hopes up and your starry eyes all glossy anticipating the dreamy photos, I have to bring you back to earth with a hearty laugh and a big, fat eraser.  I have bought what is undoubtedly one of the homeliest looking homes in the old downtown core.  It is plain, flat fronted, and has, on the street side, no redeeming architectural features.  You may literally gasp (and not with joy) when I reveal a photo of the front of the house (as a friend did recently when I showed her a picture of my “new” bathroom).  But it is in a prime location (if you like being in the heart of the old town), has a cave (!), an interior courtyard (!!) and a portion of the house dates back 500 years (!!!).  And best of all, I have been dreaming and scheming and planning and envisioning all the work that is going to get done to it to make it the sweetest, coziest, most charming nest I possibly can. 

This home is a real project.  Saint John was cool in that I pretty much loved it as it was and over time painted cupboards, changed light fixtures, had walls and wainscoting painted, gutted and rebuilt the bathroom etc.  This Old House I have actually created a project plan for, pages and pages of items that need to be done, room by room.  That plan includes painting, removing wallpaper, knocking out a wall, moving the kitchen, renovating the bathroom, putting a sink in the toilet room, replacing all the floors, tearing off the existing sunroom….. okay, you get the picture.  And before all of that fun, what I call the sexy stuff, is the boring infrastructure items- hot water heaters, researching overall heat plan, insulation….  Have no fear, I have a contractor, Francois has agreed to continue to be my project translator, and I cannot wait to have a living laboratory for all of the things I want to do.  To bring my vision to life.  To deal with the inevitable hiccups and challenges and tax my brain finding solutions.  To have the satisfaction of the before and after.  And you will be along on this journey if you wish as I intend to take lots of before, during and after photos and videos! 

So next steps.  Key transfer on Oct 24th, appointment booked with government architect for Oct 31st to review what can and can’t be done to the exterior (colours, finishes etc.  For sure I won’t have the bright door I crave.  Not even a glossy black door.  I think the heritage colours are claret red, green, a few shades of grey and a kind of muddy blue.  Sigh.)  I am also waiting for an appointment, hopefully within the first week of taking possession with an architect to draw up some interior plans for approval (more on that later).  Then the water and electricity companies have to be booked for some work…and the electricity company won’t do their work until the architect has created their plan. And we have been told that the heritage architects report could take months to get…..But have no fear, my plan is to move forward with what we can and patiently (!) wait for everything else to fall into place in due course. 

I have been pouring over magazines, watching hours and hours (and hours!) of home tour videos and saving inspo photos to my phone.  Hallelujah for plenty of research time!  I have even stuck my nose in a few hardware stores just to see what off the shelf options exist for bathroom fixtures, tiles, flooring etc.  I have met with kitchen people who are eager to have dimensions so they can prepare some layout quotes for me.  It is going to be a fun winter, spring…… 😊

Appreciate your interest in this journey, much more to follow in due course!  xo

22 thoughts on “”

  1. Shelley

    Just wow…and sounds like a ball. I loved building my current home and would not hesitate again so I will watch with much interest.

    1. Michelle

      I remember one very long phone call with you as you looked for another opinion on some decisions that had to be made… like white or black window frames…..

      1. Wendy Lovett

        What a dream come true for you. I can’t wait to follow your journey. I thought painting the woodwork in our RV was exciting 😂

  4. Tabatha Palmer

    I am so excited for you. The best part of purchasing a home is putting your own stamp on it. I remember when I bought my mini home 10 years ago, there were many that were “nicer” but I wanted one that I could turn into what I wanted. Now I have changed interior paint twice, changed out most of the flooring, painted the cupboards, changed out the light fixtures…etc etc But now it is truly my home and I love every project that I embark upon. Your new home is going to be so YOU when you are done!

  6. Jennifer Crawford

    So happy for you. I love reading about the house and can not wait to see pics. Having seen homes there I am trying to picture which one it is. Lol
    Keep on living your dream my friend!!!@

    1. Michelle

      You would never pick it out! Trust me, I know! It is so nondescript and even though I had walked past in hundreds of times I still didn’t recognize it from the photo!

  7. Susan Marshall

    Hello Michelle, I am a childhood friend of Joan Bagnell and started reading your blogs when you entertained us with your dating stories. 🤗😂
    I am looking forward to following along on this journey you’re taking…you had me with “it has a cave” and “parts of the home are 500 years old”, so cool!! Congratulations and good luck with the whole project (it’s a big one for sure)!

  9. Karen McInnis-Nauss

    This all sounds very exciting Michelle and daunting all at the same time! lol!! But knowing you, you will have it a cozy, inviting home in no time at all! I love all things designing, decorating, painting and all the other fun stuff just not the messy parts that come with it! Or the hard on the head parts but I know you love a good challenge! I am so happy for you that you will have a permanent, at least for a while😉, place near your grand daughter and of course Emily and Francois! I can’t wait to follow along on your journey! 💞🏡

    1. Michelle

      And grandson too Karen! I am not sure about the « no time at all » part, and I def will be living with messes for some of the time, but I think this is going to add to the satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment! Appreciate your vote of confidence!!

  10. Colleen Studley

    Congratulations Michelle! I too can’t wait to see what you do.
    Excuse my ignorance but where did you buy?

  11. Linda Letarte

    My heart was racing as I read your blog. I’m sooooo excited that you will bring us along on your journey and I can’t wait to see all the pics. This is sooooooo exciting. Gosh I admire you. Live everything about this blog xx

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