Bonjour,
This week’s video is a special one: we’re giving you the full home tour. It’s been exactly two years since we picked up the keys to our 19th century house in southwest France, and what a journey it’s been. Some rooms are finally livable (hooray!), while others… well, let’s just say we’ve got our work cut out for us.
You can watch the complete room-by-room walkthrough in the video, or keep reading for all the behind-the-scenes details and a few extra stories we couldn’t fit in.
The Outside
Our home is about 120 square metres (think 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms), which suits us perfectly. We’ve got two gardens: the front is lovely and shady, perfect for escaping the summer heat, while the back garden is south-facing and absolutely drenched in sunshine. Being in Bordeaux, we’re also lucky enough to have an extensive cellar (essential for wine storage, naturally) and a well.
We believe the house was built in the mid-1800s by the first violinist of the Bordeaux orchestra. If you look closely at the façade, you’ll spot some charming musical details, like the little lyre carved above the front door.
The Hallway
The original mouldings in this space were absolutely stunning when we first viewed the house. Sadly, they were quite damaged, and we quickly realised we’d need to insulate the exterior walls from the inside to make the house comfortable, which meant losing them altogether.
We gave the hallway a complete refresh: out went the dated 1970s tiles, replaced with a classic black and white checkered pattern. We removed the lower sections of walls where the plaster was beyond saving and added wall panelling with decorative mouldings to hide the worst of it. As for those original mouldings? We couldn’t bring ourselves to destroy them completely. They’re still there, hidden above the new ceiling, waiting for a future owner brave (or mad) enough to restore them.
The Kitchen & Dining Room
This is where the real magic happened. When we bought the house, this area was in absolutely dire condition: failed roof, black mould everywhere, and thirty years’ worth of kitchen grease coating the walls. The original kitchen was also tiny, so we knocked down a load-bearing wall to open it up into the dining room. We even converted an old door into a window to create more counter space.
Once the structure was sorted, we set about designing our dream kitchen. We fell head over heels for deVOL Kitchens, but they were completely out of our budget. So we did the sensible thing: we built it ourselves! Hugo tackled his very first woodworking project and absolutely smashed it. He even cut the countertops himself, which saved us a fortune. All in, the kitchen cabinets cost just €1,200 in materials.
For the flooring, we chose terracotta tiles and laid them ourselves. This pretty much sums up our renovation philosophy: do the labour ourselves and spend the savings on quality materials. We opted for untreated terracotta for that lovely rustic look and treated them at home with special products to keep the matte finish.
The Living Room
Our living room faces north, so it’s naturally quite dark. Since we mostly use it in the evenings anyway, we decided to lean into the cosiness rather than fight it. I’d been dying to use a bold, patterned wallpaper somewhere in the house, and this felt like the perfect spot.
We fell in love with Vine by William Morris. I know it’s not for everyone, but we adore the black background, the gorgeous green leaves that echo the dining room, and the cheeky nod to Bordeaux with the grapes. The biggest addition this year was the custom built-in bookcase Hugo made (with a little help from me, I promise!). It’s so practical, and I love being able to display all my books properly.
The Bathroom
It’s the smallest room in the house but was easily the trickiest to design. With the layout completely reimagined and all the plumbing redone, we were starting from scratch. Bathrooms are surprisingly complex, with endless decisions and wildly varying prices for every element.
We began by finalising the floor plan, positioning a walk-in shower to make the most of the window overlooking the garden. To keep costs down, we repurposed wood cladding left behind by the previous owner and turned it into panelling, painted in Lichen by Farrow & Ball. For the vanity, we found an old chest of drawers and topped it with a custom granite countertop.
The result? We absolutely love it. The room feels bright and welcoming, and the shower is a little everyday luxury.
The Bedroom
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know this is our most recent project. The bedroom was fine, just a plain white box, but a few months ago we decided to give it some personality and, more importantly, create proper storage (we were sick of living out of boxes).
We built a wrap-around wardrobe with an integrated headboard. The beautiful blue we chose pairs perfectly with the fabric panels and curtains. We’re completely in love with how it turned out.
What’s Next?
The rest of the house is still very much a work in progress. In 2026, we’ll be tackling the office and converting the attic into two bedrooms and a bathroom. Make sure you’re subscribed to see how it all unfolds!
Thanks so much for being part of this journey with us.
À bientôt,
Hugo & Romy
