BBQ Night

Finally managed to clear Martin's tools, pots of paints etc from the outdoor dining room that adjoins the kitchen he has almost finished. As there were also lots of offcuts of wood we decided to have a BBQ.

Luckily it was just chilly enough to have a fire.

I think this is one of my favourite parts of the house, it is filled with lots of interesting bits and bobs that the owner has collected over the years and we have added to it with our brocante finds.

Some of these bits are destined for the show I am doing in Cornwall in August.

This is a converted copper weed sprayer which we have adapted into a light for this space. We need to find another one so the electrician can fit them on Monday.

The room becomes even more magical once the light fades and the candles take over but the real star of the show is the amazing fireplace.

Kitchen, La Son, France

We have been in France since December, living and working in an amazing house where Martin is building a kitchen.

The first job was to hide an ugly electrical cupboard. We used some old timbers that were saved from a stable that was demolished. The frame was then created and limewashed to match the existing beams. We found some old shutters in a brocante to make the doors.

Next he created a dresser. We found the old drawers in a brocante, they came from an old mechanics garage. We then found an old wooden drinks crate and used the ends to make the large drawers. He had the create the central drawer from new wood and use paint techniques to match it.

The cupboard to the right of the oven was created from an old French 'buffet' which had a horrible marble top. A piece of thick local oak to match the island top and a new paint finish transformed it.

The mirror was an experiment in 'silvering' we might use it as the splash back for the oven.

The island unit will house the dishwasher and the sink. There was an unwanted old plan chest in the house so we used that at one end.

 

Old pine boards were used to match in with the back of the plan chest. This rebate will be used as a knee well for three stools. A wine rack was created at one end.

And a shelf unit at the other end.

The dishwasher fits into one end.

We wanted to create some unusual lights for above the island unit. We found these old shades in a brocante. The tops will be finished using old brass primus stoves and the ceiling roses will be made from these copper flasks.

The finished lights

We are just awaiting delivery of the amazing brackets we ordered from Anthropologie and the shelf can go up above the oven.