A Medieval Chateau for a Neighbour

I was just pulling out some photographs for adverts for the rental and thought it would be worth sharing some of them.

Image by Gros Chigy is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

This is a shot of the Le Gros Chigy medieval chateau, taken from one of the windows on the East side of the house. I shows the amazing autumn colors and was taken in 2010. It also shows how close the house is to the chateau which does have the downside of significant burecratic controls on how houses are repaired or renovated.

 

Toilet and Bathroom Finished Off With Novel Skirtings

When it came to buying skirting boards we were not impressed by the availability or cost of skirting boards. Luckily we came across these decorative pressings on a sale and with a pot of paint I think we have an interesting and attractive result.

The elephants in the jungle of the toilet - we still wonder whether to paint the down pipe as a tree trunk or to try and blend it in with thee wall!

photograph by GrosChigy

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

photograph by ChigyTweet

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

The waves in the bathroom reflecting the running water.

photograph by GrosChigy

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

The Redecorated Kitchen

The kitchen has been wallpapered, painted and "new" kitchen furniture installed.

photograph by ChigyTweet

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

I call the furniture new, because it is old kitchen units from a family members previous kitchen that we have re organized, painted and installed more or less in the same way as the original kitchen.

The colour is green, reflecting the leaves in the wallpaper and the country side and contrasting strongly with the main bedroom that leads off the kitchen.

Thanks to all those who helped redoing the kitchen.

More Colours That Reflect The Surroundings

The flowers that have grown spontaneously next to the Grange seem to be reflected in the colours we chose for what is known as Joël's Room .

photograph by ChigyTweeter

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

This is the second, downstairs bedroom just opposite the bathroom.

photograph by ChigyTweeter

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

The stone wall was revealed by four or five days of chipping away at the wall, which was plastered and wallpapered as shown in the "before picture" below.

photograph by ChigyTweeter

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

Colours in the Redecoration of The House at Le Gros Chigy

One of the reasons that I have been rather slow in posting since we have been in France this time, is that we have been hard at work developing The House at Le Gros Chigy. Part of that has been redecorating existing and modified rooms in new and amazing colours.

Here is a first example:

photograph by ChigyTweeter

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

The obvious question is "how did you come up with this dark colour" as the basis for the decoration of the bathroom. The answer maybe lies outside and is almost visible through the window in this photo.

photograph by ChigyTweeter

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

This shot from the lounge window is clearer - the colour we chose for the bathroom is probably inspired by the colours of the countryside! To take it further and say the white cows against the green grass is reflected by the white bath against the green walls is probably pushing to to far, but some of the other colours we have used, which I will be posting about in the next while, also seem to have links to the countryside.

Flea Markets and Boot Sales - Puces et Vide Grenier

I am becoming a bit of an expert on Flea Markets and Boot Sales (Puces et Vide Grenier) here in Bourgogne!

The Vide Grenier at Sivignon was out in the fields on 14th July.



Paying 31/07 The one at Blanot was on a field in the town. This allowed them to charge an entrance fee which made them unpopular with buyers and sellers alike.



The Puces / Vide Grenier at Lounand ran from a few houses on the right into the road!

Our Next Stay at The House at Le Gros Chigy

Our plan was to be back at The House at Le Gros Chigy to see the cherry trees flower, but circumstances delayed us. So all we have is photos again!

photograph by Joël

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike license.

 


But we are flying to Paris in 2 weeks and will be in Le Gros Chigy before the end of May! So at least we will be tasting the cherries this year!

Our development of the house has been again been slowed by circumstances, but some redecoration has been underway in the last few months. We expect to complete the first phase of developing the house before we leave in October! This will mainly be redecorating and furnishing.

While we've been away I have been working on some of the HDR photos I took in October last year. I have used Apple's iPhoto to put together a book, which I will be able to have printed in a variety of sizes and formats and converted into an ebook.

click image to download pdf book

 


A pdf version of the book is available for free - note though that this is a small compressed version of the file to allow it to be handled by the blog. You should therefore look at it in a small window, otherwise it will look blurry. Click here or on the image to download the pdf.

I would appreciate any feedback or ideas about this first attempt at publishing. If you would like higher resolution books or prints please contact me

The Corner of The Lounge Finalised

This is how the lounge is now - besides a coat or two of a bright & cheerful paint, this is what we expect to be offering visitors.

photo by ChigyTweet
(Creative Commons Some Limitations License)

This style of not too serious older furniture, in a fairly traditional environment is how we aim to decorate the house and hope thats a style that you find acceptable. Trying to keep the character of the Bourgogne tradition while still accommodating the positives of the new, both inside and outside, without moving to the "modern cold & sterile" look.

Redecorating of The Entrance Verandah.

The entrance verandah takes on a new look with some painting, curtaining and furnishing giving it a new lease on life and added functionality!

photo by ChigyTweet
(Creative Commons Some Limitations License)