Now, before anyone thinks we have finally lost our minds and in our defence, initially we lived for over 25 years in just two houses and then have usually spent at least three to five years in apartments to avoid paying someone else’s rent. These last three years have been crazy and I would think the same as others must be thinking about us! So..the latest update is that we are going to move back upstairs and sell downstairs. What happened? A builder friend returned from being stuck in the UK and asked, why we didn’t just take a wall down upstairs between the kitchen and the dining room? So this is what we are going to do.
Changing Minds
What we love about downstairs is that it is open plan and smartly finished. What we love about upstairs is the charm and to be honest, the kitchen is lovely. It is just the finishing touches and I recall a friend saying, it is the door handles that can make a place and ours are ugly. A wall is coming down, doors will be stripped from years of paint and then put back up. An ugly bathroom door will be replaced and of course, some walls will be painted.
Taking Down a Wall
First check that it isn’t structural and holding up the roof! Our is a thin wall with a sliding door. Then before you start, take a bottle around to any other neighbours with a nice card to apologise for noise during the day. Ours are all French and mainly out during the day but some alcohol should go some way to appeasing them! Next steps are also to consider what the floor will look like. We hope to get away with a thin piece of wood to fill any gap. The ceiling will need to be filled and plastered, a skirting board piece placed and then the easy bit, painting. Then there is the dust! Enough to make us pause but we will continue.
Feng Shui
The whole area will follow the left hand side of the Bagua map. The kitchen is mainly in the Family and Health Sector and the dining area is in the Wealth sector. This will mean an interesting colour combination. We will move the bright Asian harvest paintings to the far left corner with the Chinese money chest as they signify wealth and growth. Touches of green and Royal Navy blue will be used and the dining table will be in there. The space will double as an office space. The kitchen will remain ivory with the lovely granite but the touches of sky blue will lessen. It will be interesting to see the blend.
The Rest
The living room is still in the Relationship corner and the stone wall needs a little plastering. We joke and say the same for us after seven stressful months of French bureaucracy! Shades of sand, a touch of blue and lots of white offer a calm and relaxing space. The sofa will be changed for the pale smaller one. The bedroom will still be grey and white and Art Deco in style. The bathroom will stay the same but the Chinese A-frame will be moved there to add storage after a coat of cream paint. We are returning to where we started.
