FROM BARE WALLS TO AN ENTRY HALL, SALON & LAUNDRY - FURNISHING OUR FRENCH HOUSE

First impressions are critical and our impression when we first walked into our house in Quarante was that it contained interesting spaces. Cathey says that she pictured the buildout early on. I admit to a tad of trepidation. Here's the skinny. You enter the front door confronted by an entry hall that's wider than just a hallway but not really wide enough to be considered a full room. (That ajar door in the picture on the top right leads to a tiny WC with sink. We've learned that all French homes feature a place to pee immediately upon entry!) At very back wall you see a terracotta tile floor that leads to the the stairs to the next floor on the left and laundry space on the right. Finally, in the bottom right  picture you see the doorway that leads to the salon.

Standing in the salon (living room) you see the doorway leading to the entry hall, the multi-pane window at the front of the house with the blue shutters, and an entry to the laundry space from the salon. Cathey never liked the idea that the laundry that not only would contain the washer/dryer but also the cat box would be accessible from the salon and made her plans for me early.

And here's the finished product. The furniture is a combination of family heirlooms, purchases that Cathey and I made for our house in Bath, and pieces that we've picked up in brocantes (used furniture stores) since our arrival. We acquired the big blue futon on leboncoin, the French equivalent of craigslist. Darty (Remember? Best Buy.) And thanks to my new drill and jig saw, the bookcases are all my doing.