I think the person who last painted the door a few years ago smudged a little.
This week out came the water-based, breath easy paint stripper to soften, scrub and scrape away the paint from antique daisy glass. I wasn’t a fan of this door at first. It’s huge and has gaps that will blow an icy breeze through in the winter. Simon assures me that with some high-grade draught exclusion and a few strategically planned oak plants (stuck on bits of wood) he will keep the winter winds at bay.
As I washed and cleaned the door it started to revel some lovely detail on the inside. I’ve given it a coat of white undercoat primer paint. Unfortunately, I can’t sand the door as the buyers home report stated that some of the existing paint was lead-based and the dust particles are not great for your respiratory health. Although you can sand with breathing protection, etc. I thought bugger that, I hate sanding anyway! So we have another rough and ready look that stays with the character of the house. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
It’s odd, I don’t want to rip everything out even though there are some elements that really need removing or repairing. I can safely say, it’s starting to grow on me. (Have I gone wild). Every time I start a job I keep trying to think ‘what can I do with this to make it look better for now?’ There isn’t a straight line, wall or floor in the house, so I’m learning to live with whatever the house has to offer before I replace anything. I want to be absolutely sure of what we want for our home. That door handle turns 360 degrees, it is going to be replaced. Off to the barn to see what I can discover…
This approach is probably for the best as you simply can’t be in a rush in rural France.
The pace of life is slow here specifically in August. Everyone is on holiday and very little work is booked, delivered or completed. In terms of the house and trades, I have quotes outstanding, work on hold, and we can’t see anything happening until well into September. Good news though. The builder’s merchant in Auzance is back from holiday and we can go and gather materials. Perhaps even place an order for delivery (although the delivery backlog may arrive some time in October or beyond)
Better get ordering the wood for winter!
