New video: we built a greenhouse with 200 year old


Bonjour everyone,

After what felt like weeks of relentless rain, the clouds finally parted long enough for us to tackle a project that's been on my mind for a very long time... And honestly? It was worth the wait.

I'd been holding onto our old windows for ages, quietly hoping we'd find just the right use for them rather than letting them go.

As it turns out, they were destined to become a little greenhouse. It's compact and sweet, almost like a wardrobe really, with a few shelves just right for getting seedlings started. Nothing grand, but it fits our garden perfectly and I'm absolutely chuffed with how it turned out. There's something special about giving 200-year-old materials a new life. I'm still unsure about the colour, finding the white a bit too cold so I might repaint it later down the line!

While the weather was being kind, I've also been pottering about in the garden more generally. I've been weaving hazel structures around some of the trees and hydrangeas, which is both practical and rather satisfying to do by hand. And spring is very much making its presence felt: bulbs are pushing up through the soil everywhere you look, and our magnolia tree is putting on a proper show at the moment.

Inside the house, the attic project continues. We're about halfway through fitting the supports for the insulation, which sounds more straightforward than it has been in practice. It's thrown up a few surprises along the way, but we're hoping to wrap it up within the next couple of weeks.

Head to our YouTube channel to watch all of this in action:

video preview​

As ever, thank you for following along. It means a lot to have you here with us as we work through all of this, one window, one garden bed, one rafter at a time.

A bientôt,

Hugo & Romy

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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