棲居美學18 改造前後：一座老農舍變成了一座迷人的房子

My name is Justine from the account Justine Idédéco We've been renovating this old farmhouse together with my friend for the past five years He bought the house for approximately 150 000 euros including all fees owing that the property includes the main house all outbuildings and 4.5 hectares of land When we saw the listing we immediately knew it was exactly the layout were looking for When we arrived here for the tour we immediately got excited even though we knew we'd have to completely redo everything inside There were wallpapers in every single room It's the same thing—when we removed the wallpaper there was also styrofoam underneath It was the standard insulation at the time so there was still plenty of work involved The floor was made of small tiles much like those found in schools a few years ago And the kitchen had been renovated about twenty years ago But it was still a bit of a budget kitchen in poor condition When we visited there was a man living here But it was truly in its raw state so everything had to be redone from scratch That's why it took us five years to renovate it and it's still not finished Here the pieces were pretty much the same it's just that we broke them There were brick walls so we decided to go with a glass roof o bring in some light since there was no other window in the kitchen In fact we didn't want a conventional fitted kitchen We really wanted that country-house style So we ended up hunting for quite a few items to bring in the charm were after La Haute comes from an idea inspired by a TV series we recently watched And so we took a basin poked a hole in it and placed a classic high inside Here when we arrived there were two rooms Where the beam is there was the partition So there was a room here a room here In fact there was a discrepancy between the two ceilings so we installed a false I-beam It's not a real one in this case And since there was no floor level we also created the staircase order to go up to the rooms When we arrived we actually moved straight into the house We had to prioritize setting up our bedroom since we'd broken down both connecting rooms to make our living room we ended up sleeping in the living room for a few months And there it is—quite epic really As for the work it was my partner who handled the main construction And I personally handled the planning decoration layout and so on and we brought in skilled craftsmen for the more technical aspects Just like the heating upgrade attic insulation and then the drywall strips So we first removed the partitions in the entrance because it was truly a highly compartmentalized entryway And then we turned our room which originally was a cellar into something livable There were barrels inside and the floor was even packed earth So we redid the floor We also tore out the floor to create a room with a cathedral ceiling Here when we arrived were in a basement There were barrels here containing alcohol And this door here is the one that led up to the attic which is our current floor And here this was truly the entrance if not to the cellar We also broke through the floor above to create a cathedral ceiling The staircase is an old beam salvaged from a private individual My friend cut it up inside and then made chain planks And then we had a friend who's a metalworker make us a railing So it's completely handmade We had one floor where there was only one room ours in the old cellar And we wanted two bedrooms up there plus a bathroom as well So we have four dependencies let's say Therefore there was originally a section intended for cows So that became the timber workshop We have an old smokehouse that's fairly small Well that's where we keep our gardening tools bicycles and stuff like that Then there's the barn which was also dirt floor and we've redone the roof as well And there incidentally is my workshop where I refinish furniture Here when we arrived there was a tractor So it was truly a farmhouse barn So here I restore furniture So I either buy them repaint them and resell them Or else it's also customers' furniture that I return at the end of the day And we've got the old pig pens And there we've created a small party room you could say We also stripped everything down to bare roof structure so we could rebuild it entirely at that level And that’s why it’s a space that lets us host evenings with friends or family Here I've placed the small sitting area that's meant to be outdoors during summer Otherwise we could set up two or even three tables here and create long banquet-style arrangements And of course we can fold them away if we feel like dancing and so on At home it's true that most of our furniture is secondhand —either left in their original state or refurbished There’s actually very little that’s brand new We gradually furnished each room as we renovated it and following what I can find just as I'm doing right now So here's an example of recovery We took a trough for the cow and made a wooden casing They installed a small pool pump giving us a little pool for the summer Today we truly feel very comfortable in this house And it's true we've found the perfect spot to work and have our home right next door and we can see ourselves living here for the rest of our lives