Hello everybody,

We've finally moved into our newly renovated pad. After 5 years in a tiny studio on the Rue Legendre, we've graduated to a one bedroom. We're only 200 meters further down the same street, but it feels like a new world!

Here are some before and after pics taken by Monsieur. Maybe they'll inspire some to come visit??

The grand hall. We ripped out the carpet, replastered the walls, replaced the electrical wiring, and got rid of the pipes that brought hot water from the bathroom to the kitchen.

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In the BR we took out the fireplace which was no longer functional and took up too much space.

We closed off the double living room to have a real separate bedroom.

The bathroom was Nast-ee, we think the old woman living here before us died there. May she rest in peace. We would have liked to salvage the original tile floor but the our assurance wouldn't have guaranteed us in case of leakage.

After weeks of heated debates over the pros and cons of the open or "American" kitchen as the French call it, Francois finally gave in. We saved 3000 euros by breaking down the wall ourselves and carting the debris to the local dump.

The kitchen is 100% IKEA, by far the cheapest way to go for cabinetry in France. As we wanted to do all renovations at once we had to make do with a strict budget.

And so there you have it. what a relief it's all over.

All is well here otherwise as Francois continues his residency and I work for the county goverment in Versailles. We're very fortunate.

Love and good will to all.