We had dreamt of buying a property to renovate in the South of France for about 10 years and after several holidays and much trawling of the internet we decided in October 2015 (the year that we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and both turned 50) to visit the Languedoc (Occitanie) region and view some properties.
The plan at this stage was to view only and to decide whether we really wanted to go ahead and buy a house in the future. Whilst waiting for the plane to take off at the end of week we received an e-mail saying that our offer on this house had been accepted!!
We had totally fallen in love with it on viewing (although now when we look back at the early photos we sometimes wonder what exactly it was that made us take on the project!!)
And then the work began…a team of builders to do the major knocking down, plumbing, electrics, plaster boarding, replacing of windows, new roof, and tiling of floors and walls.
Meanwhile we chipped off a lot of old plaster, picked around stones and made many trips to the déchèterie (mostly Peter); sourced furniture, light fittings, mirrors and then upcycled them with paint and reupholstery (mostly Claire), did loads of painting, wallpapering, moved cast iron radiators and furniture, restored steps, knocked down walls and gave us moral support (anyone who walked in the door)!
A very big thank you to all our family, friends (old and new) and missionaries who have helped us on our way.
And then there was the journey of the grand piano to the first floor…
After a few years of waiting and some very slow groundwork, we now have a beautiful heated pool 7m x 3.5m and reaching 1m 50cm in depth. The pool is accessed via full width stone steps and has an electric security cover that, once clipped in, will hold the weight of a child/80kg adult should they accidentally step onto it! The pool is completely private and is not overlooked; it is in the full sunshine from around 11am to 6pm from June to September.
Walking on Sunshine article in French Entree October 2018
https://www.frenchentree.com/french-property/buying-case-study-walking-on-sunshine-in-languedoc/