When you walk up the narrow stairwell you enter the kitchen. Opposite this view there is a window that looks to the port and onward to the sea. The kitchen will be an alley style along the left side, at the far end there will be a sitting room/bedroom (behind the French doors).
Last week I found a set of four French doors that I bought at the salvage yard (cost 130 Euros), they will be transformed into sliding doors for the purpose of saving space, doors take space to open. The oar, that Renee found renovating the house, was under the floor in this sitting room.
Renee's father, Francois is also an artisan, his trade is plastering the traditional way and creating crown moulding. The entire fisherman's house will be plastered the traditional way. As the walls are stone they are by nature not straight nor even. If we had used sheet rock we would have had perfectly straight walls at the price of losing valuable footage.
Two of the French doors are in place, they will be "fixed" and other two (in the middle) will slide. As you can see we raised the back floor, partly to give it a separate room feel, and because it was like that before except two steps higher instead on one. But mainly we raised the floor because the building as a whole has leaned towards the sea (no it is not unsafe, or falling, or sinking…) but has "set" in over the years. The floor slated towards the sea from back wall to window about 15 cm.
The stairs to the second floor, or middle floor as we call it, are on the outside of the sitting room, next to the kitchen (which will be on the left hand side of this photo), the stairs will be in metal on the right hand side.
I am unsure about the ceiling in the sitting room: Hopefully it can be stripped and look good, or it can be left as is, or painted.
In this photo the entrance is on the right hand, I took the photo standing in front of the window.
We opted for metal stairs as the metal thickness will be thinner than wooden stairs. The sense of volume will have a lighter impact.
The stairs will take several weeks to make by Joel a friend of Francois.
I will include links to the artisans we are working with. If you are planning to build, renovating or restore and need a brilliant dependable team these are the guys to call.
Yann finally "sees" what I have been talking about and is pleased.
I had wanted copper faucets and hardware for the bathroom, but the only thing I found was more than I wanted to pay (4,800 Euros for a shower head and faucets) and Yann "couldn't" see how copper would look good. Though the other day he said, "Oh now I see what you mean! Copper would have been really good. Why didn't you convince me for it?"
Because I have to convince him on 99 percent of everything.
The kitchen will be where the tubes, cords and wires are.
Small space, big dreams, incredible team!
The stairs will go where the ladder is, though the opposite direction.
Ever time I go up, or down which is worse, I freak out. The memory of the ladder breaking (three years ago while I was wallpapering) and me falling on a concrete floor, shattering my wrist are relived. I cannot wait for the stairs to be in place.
I also look forward of walking out of the apartment not covered in dust.
This is inside the bathroom. On the right is the kitchen door transformed into a window, it looks out over the stairwell and into the second sitting room.
At the opposite end there will be a washer and dryer. I did not want them here, but that is one decision Yann won. I can live with it… I think.
On the right will be the washer and dryer, Yann is standing in front of the sink and on the left will be a shower. The shower wall will be in glass. It is a tight fit, that is why I did not want the washer and dryer in here. Practical Yann won. Space hog Corey lost.
Renee showing Yann how the doors will work.
It is starting to shape up and I can feel summer around the corner.
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