New video: Insulation milestones, a gate glow-up and the greenhouse is alive


Hello everyone,

A new video just landed on the channel and this one is a good mix of big progress, satisfying before-and-afters and a healthy dose of spring in the garden. Go grab a cuppa and give it a watch!

video preview​

Now let me fill you in on a few bits in more detail…

The attic is taking shape

We’ve hit a pretty big milestone upstairs. Half of the attic is now fully insulated, which honestly feels massive after all the hours (weeks!) we’ve put in up there. The insulation is in, the moisture control membrane is fitted and we’ve got the rails up ready for plasterboard. It’s one of those jobs where you don’t really see the progress until suddenly you look around and think… oh, that actually looks like a room now. The best part? We’ve properly found our rhythm with the technique, so we’re hoping the second half goes quite a bit faster. Fingers crossed.

The back gate gets a second life

This one’s for all of you who’ve been commenting (very patiently) about the state of our back gate. You were right, it was looking pretty rough. We’d been going back and forth about what to do with it for a while. Long term we’d love to replace it entirely, but that’s just not realistic right now. So instead we went for a good old-fashioned restoration with paint, and honestly the transformation blew us away. We went with French Gray from Farrow & Ball, a soft greyish green that works beautifully against the garden and catches the light in the loveliest way. Sometimes all something needs is a bit of love and a decent coat of paint.

The greenhouse is finally full

If you’ve been following along for a while, you’ll know our greenhouse has been a bit of a slow burn. Well, it’s officially bursting with seedlings now! Spring has well and truly arrived in Bordeaux and we are making the most of it. We’ve been sowing seeds, fussing over our perennials and spending far too long just standing in front of the tulips. No regrets.

Bonus: one for the workshop fans

Make sure you watch the video all the way through if you want to see Hugo’s latest project down in the cellar. He’s been building a custom mitre saw station for the workshop and it’s turned out brilliantly. We won’t spoil it here.

That’s it from us this week. Thank you so much for being here and for all the kind messages, they genuinely keep us going.

À bientôt,

Romy & Hugo

600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246
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Restoring la Chartreuse

Follow along as we renovate a 200 year old townhouse in the French South West.

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