| St Servant |
| We had the opportunity to purchase Christine's grandfather's house in Brittany, France. Starting in November 2006 we began the process of remodeling. It took until May 2008 to finally finish renovations. The first step involved numerous meetings with lawyers and bankers, and an understanding of the French lending system. Turns out it's quite a bit different as compared to the US. Next, we started the demolition of the old interior, and drafting the architectural plans. The only part of the house worth keeping was the walls and half of the roof; the other half was recently redone. To give a little history behind the place, it was built sometime in the 1800's by Christine's Great Grandparents, on the Trevedy side. It was used both as a house and a farm, with entrances for the cows on one side, and living quarters on the other. Christine's grandfather, Joseph Le Net, inherited the property. He converted the farmside of the house, into two bedrooms, and used the attic for storage. He lived there until his death in 2006 at 93 years of age. As a side note, when he died he was the oldest WWII veteran in the city, and one of the oldest surviving prisoners of war. Christine and I converted the downstairs into a large kitchen / dining room, with one bedroom, a bathroom, and a small laundry room. The second floor has two bedrooms, a master bath, and a small family room. The house sits adjacent to the community park, and so we decided put in large one-pane windows enabling us to lookout over the beautiful greenspace. The final touch to the house was the renovation of the garden. It was designed by Christine's Uncle, Abel LeBorgne, who got his inspiration from an old church yard. The thick granite wall and the incorporated bench allows for a meeting place where people gather and chat while on a walk in the village. A large thin stone provides the entrance way into the garden. Large stones were put in church entryways to stop the cows from coming into the church yard. The planting of the cypress tree and the bamboo fence, which lights up at night, give the garden an almost chateau feel. Christine and her mom, on our most recent visit, finished battling with the contractors to perfect the last details of the house. They also furnished the house with excellent taste, mixing modern and antique styles of furniture. THE HOUSE HAS FINISHED CONSTRUCTION!! LET'S SETUP A TIME WHEN YOU CAN COME VISIT!! |
Pre Construction
Demolition!!
Finished Product!!