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We are so, so chuffed and honoured to be featured on the blog of lovely Nat from @laid_back_farmhouse - I adore Nat’s style and home and I was so pleased when she asked to feature our story. You can read more about how we came to be here @chateaudelaruche at www.laidbackfarmhouse.com (direct link in Nat’s bio - definitely, definitely worth checking out her Instagram while you’re there). Have a lovely evening everyone xx
The lake is teaming with fish. When the sun shines on the water you can see them all basking under the surface. There are swallows nesting in the atelier and they skim over your head as you open the workshop door, landing on the telegraph wire to stare at you with reproach before swooping off to catch more flies. My vegetable garden is fledgling, but I’m hoping today I’ll have some time to get some more seeds in the ground in this beautiful sunshine. Bon Dimanche à tous XX
We have oxeye daisies popping up everywhere. Nodding their happy little heads in the breeze across the meadow. I’ve made a conscious choice to keep big areas of our garden wild. Formal chateau gardens are so beautiful, but they take a team of professional gardens to keep them in check. And to be honest, they just aren’t for me. So there will be wilderness, with roses and cottage garden perennials mixed in. And dahlias and hydrangea and beautiful wisteria, honeysuckle, clematis and more roses climbing over everything. When people ask about my garden plans I tell them I’m starting small but that there will be flowers in abundance and plenty of meadow for bees, birds and butterflies. It’s another project for life, and one I’m more than happy to take on.
Such a beautiful evening here. A super, crazy busy day that I needed to decompress from with a walk in our little country lane. I’m so glad I went out, otherwise I’d have missed this. Have a lovely evening everyone.
It’s plumbed in! Four hours until hot water. So excited and so pleased with the wall colour.
Sunset over the farm yard - getting a bit of fresh air after a day spent filling, sanding and painting. We’re finally getting some paint on the walls which is pretty exciting.
Even bathrooms need chandeliers, in my humble opinion. We met Yolande and Alain from Broc’Alyo at the first brocante we went to after we arrived. What they don’t know about chandeliers isn’t worth knowing. We’ve seen them at various brocantes since and yesterday they came to La Ruche with a whole trailer of chandeliers for us to play with (see stories). They’ve been collecting ones we might like since we visited their workshop (where we ate cake and drank lots of wine) last November. We chose some beauties and I can’t wait to have some finished rooms to hang them in. Watch this space for all the sparkle soon. Ps I want an epically huge mirror for behind that bath - if anyone sees one please tell me where to find it.
Blue skies and sunshine again today, but a bit cooler so I can wear my cardigan, which is perfect as far as I’m concerned. It should be cool enough today to start work on our vegetable garden. The boys have big scarecrow plans.
What a difference a good pressure wash (and blue sky and sunshine) have made to our beautiful home. Swipe to see how it looked at Christmas before a good clean. I’m so so pleased with how it’s come up (thanks Dad for all your help and your refusal to stop hosing it down even in the cold and rain). And I’m so so pleased we can keep the original stone and don’t have to spend weeks painting. Hoping for more blue skies today.
The gate to nowhere in the spring time. Looking lovely with its blossom and greenery. So looking forward to a sunny and hopefully digger rumble free weekend here.
The morning light in this room is just beautiful - I was walking passed to open the shutters and I could see the sunshine filtering in underneath the door. The perfect place to wake up (though right now all you can see out of the windows are diggers, trucks and trenches 🙀).
What a crazy busy day. Taking five minutes to watch the evening light on my tulips and check over my roses. The fosse is in, the diggers are still here working at 7.30pm filling trenches and starting on the filter bed. After six months we finally have a new septic tank which means we can turn on some of the new plumbing, put in the new bathrooms and generally start putting this old house back together. Hurrah!