Tower Tiles

In my first LFH, things got more exciting as you went up, the roof terrace being its crowning glory. But this house can compete -- and win! We've created a fantastic room at the top of the pigeonnier, small but perfectly formed. The floor tiles went in today. They haven't been grouted yet, and the decorating isn't finished, but it's so exciting to see a vision realised, I couldn't wait to show it off.

It's hard to photograph, because you can't get the different angles. Before, it was such a rotten little room, covered in a low pine ceiling, plastic wallpaper, crappy linoleum, scary wiring in hanging conduits, with an enclosed staircase. I had high hopes for its potential and it hasn't disappointed. We tore every single thing out of it, opened the staircase and bared the beams. The window in the picture is new. It faces east. There's another window that's south-facing. When you come up the now beautiful wooden-nosed staircase and see the views, they look almost like paintings. Aaaah...

Shutters

LFH being virtually a complete re-build, we don't have venerable old shutters with the cracked paint of ages you see on postcards, or at our neighbours. Here are our newly painted shutters. A huge improvement over their 100% white plastic predecessors.

We held up so many paint swatches my eyes began to roll around like a kid's kaleidoscope. Everyone I know who has painted shutters presents them with a slight colour qualm. "They were supposed to be darker" or lighter or whatever. We thought ours would be more grey. Initially we were a bit surprised, but we're getting used to it. I like the way the colour changes in different light. Covering the raw wood has suddenly made the house feel much more like a home.

P.S. ET your request for interior shots has been noted.