by Helen | Jun 12, 2023 | Lifestyle
We decided this summer, with the garden revamp and everything, to replace the wooden sun loungers. Bought when we first moved in, we committed the initial rookie error of never oiling them, and then after the first year, left them outside over each winter. I did try to make them look better, first by spraying them an anthracite grey, then when this weathered, painting them with the same pale blue sating wood gloss that we did the external wood work in. This was possibly their best phase, looks-wise, but years of neglect had made them a bit rickety and far too squeaky.
These were given to a neighbour, as we’d found what we thought were better sunbeds – the wooden, curved crocodile sun loungers. Obviously, not the real deal as these are monumentally expensive – we found our crocodiles in Kaufland, one of our big, local suerpmarkets, which usually always has good summer bargains. Anyway, these looked a lot nicer, and so were purchased.
These have been OK, but not the most comfortable, especially as pads have been difficult to find – the beds don’t go flat, the curve stays, and so these pads from Jysk were the best we could find, as they had flexibility. Although again, not very comfy as they are quite thin. So, this year, I have made a determined effort to get it right. If both the front and rear gardens were being completely redesigned, I wanted to have sunbeds which would last and would be comfortable – and my mind kept returning to those retro, white, plastic beds, with big arm-rests, which you usually hire on Greek beaches. However, it would appear that these are made out of some very special plastic, because the online prices were extortionate. I had to go online, as they also seem to be as rare as hens’ teeth, and nowhere seemed to stock them here. Eventually I did find a UK company which would ship to Istria, but without shipping costs, two of these were £216.00!
Luckily, in hindsight, I received an email saying that the seller was going to have to cancel my order, as the shipping was just too costly. But , as so often happens, good things sometimes come out of disappointment.
At the end of last week, on a trip to Spar, another of our big, local supermarkets, lady luck struck. There, right by the checkouts, were a big pile of exactly what we’d been looking for – and at the bargainous price of €37 each! The car was too full to get them home immediately so we returned over the weekend – and I am right when I say they are as rare as hens’ teeth. There were three left! Two were snapped up immediately and are now sitting pretty in our front garden…
Properly retro and despite them being plastic, they are SUPER comfortable. Spacious and with arm rests at a very good height. Yesterday, summer returned to Istria, with a vengeance – it was very, very hot and these beds were just the ticket. I can’t deny that some afternoon snoozing may nave happened, as I drifted off, on my very own Greek beach, in Istria. And, of course, more trips to Spar are needed, as I now have to have another two, for the newly created rear garden. Especially at those prices!
by Helen | Jun 8, 2023 | Renovation
With a reliable builder finally working with us, we’ve decided that we can’t let him go to waste, and so are adding jobs to his ever-growing list. The weather has been pretty dire the last week or so – rain, thunder and lightning – and so work on the rear garden and window etc has stalled, as he hasn’t been able to get a long, dry run. So, we discussed the construction of a wall in the front garden, and because this is a smaller job, to our delight, he dropped off the concrete blocks on Tuesday morning, and built the wall yesterday!
We decided that, with the house going on the market, we needed to make it VERY clear to potential purchasers, that the piece of land, which is under the green wall, and so technically within our garden, doesn’t actually belong to us. It belongs to the abandoned house. Totally ridiculous, as it can’t be accessed, apart from through our garden – and we definitely won’t be giving anyone access rights. So, since we moved in, we’ve looked after this little piece of land, and currently, it’s looking very gorgeous. Levelled, geotex laid and fixed and covered in white pea gravel. It was on two levels, because it had been used as landfill, presumably when our house was first “renovated” by the people we bought it from. We never tackled this area, simply leaving it as two uneven and pretty unfinished levels and it never looked good. But, we’ve finally done it. All of the big stones have been removed and it’s been dug out and the soil redistributed, so now it looks like a finished area – especially as it’s now covered in beautiful white gravel.
So, absolutely no-one else uses it or has ever tried to access it, in all the time we’ve been here. A handful of the co-owners (there are 25!) live nearby and must be aware that we’ve maintained and improved it, so we’re all good with keeping on doing that. But, we wanted to be absolutely sure that anyone who comes to view the house, knows from the get go, that this piece of land does NOT belong to us. And, this is where the wall comes in.
The wooden beams were placed to prevent the stones from falling, as the patio is slightly higher, but they also mark out our boundary, so it was easy for the builder, as he already had a concrete base, once the stones were raked back, on which to build the wall.
Rather than just have a low wall, at the same height all the way along, we decided to go for something a bit more unusual, and have it raised, in steps, towards one end.
The wall now needs to be rendered and painted white – which we thought would happen today. But then we realised that today (8th June) is Corpus Christie, and so a public holiday in Istria. So no builders today. One step forward and all that!
Those stepped bricks are going to prove handy when we need a bit more height to cut back the vines, which can overhang. But even better than that, as practical as it is, is that they will also become “shelves” for various lanterns. Which of course I now have to and buy, as none of the lanterns we already are anywhere near suitable…
by Helen | Jun 7, 2023 | Renovation
So, finally, the whole of the front garden area – the piece we don’t actually own, but care for and improve – and the concrete patio, are now covered in a thick layer of beautiful white pea gravel. Six cubic metres have been wheel-barrowed and distributed and raked and smoothed over, and are looking absolutely fantastic. The front of the house is gradually undergoing a very dramatic transformation – and it just makes us question why we didn’t do this a very long time ago, instead of spending a fortune on ill-fated projects. Still, I suppose you live and learn.
The small pool has been relocated to under the living room window, so completely tucked away and private, seen by no-one. It’s also now out of the sun, so in a lovely, shaded spot. We’ve planted up the area under the green wall with potted plants, and added the redundant shutters from our house to the lower windows of the abandoned house, which we’ve exposed by cutting away the vines.
The concrete patio has now a total makeover. With new furniture and a bit of a change around, as well as lots of new bay trees planted up for privacy, it’s looking like a proper garden now, rather than something which will make do, until we get around to tackling it. Three palettes have been painted white and made into a table, now looking very pretty, sit amongst the potted olive trees and turquoise 70s retro satellite chairs.
I’ve also been searching and searching for those lovely fringed Bali sun umbrellas, but not finding much that would give me a lot of change from the €300 mark, I’d given up on my Balinese dream. Until I spotted them in my new favourite store – Jysk. €37! Two purchased on the spot. And, although I know the ones costing a few hundred euros will undoubtedly be better made and probably more sturdy, but our two beauts will definitely see at least this summer out. The colours are perfect too – pale blue, white and soft grey.
Today, summer seems to have returned. All building work – rear garden, French windows and balcony and steps – has been held up because of the rain, but today the builders are back. And whilst the rear of the house is a priority, because we currently have gaping hole in the living room wall, covered with plastic sheeting, they are working in the front garden today, constructing a very lovely stepped wall. All to be revealed very soon…
by Helen | Jun 7, 2023 | Lifestyle
If you’re a fan of a dahl, and also a fan of not using lots of pots and pans and creating lots of washing up, this is the recipe for you. It uses one pan or casserole dish, a chopping board, a bowl, a knife, a spoon and a masher or a blender. Plus, whatever you choose to eat this delicious dahl off. Easy to hand-wash, but if put in the dishwasher, you wouldn’t even notice you’d made a meal, the clear up is so quick. The recipe is from this book :
…and is very, very easy.
what you’ll need
- cherry tomatoes
- 140g red lentils
- 3 tsps nigella seeds
- 500ml boiling water
- 1 heaped tsp sea salt flakes
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 heaped tsps ground coriander
- 2 heaped tsps ground cumin
- glug of olive oil
- 1 lemon, juice only
- coconut cream (if from a tin, use only the solid part, and discard the water)
what you’ll need to do
- Put the cherry tomatoes in an ovenproof/casserole dish. Add the lentils, water and nigella seeds.
- Dress the sliced onion with the cumin, coriander and olive oil and scatter over the tomato and lentils. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with a tight lid and cook until the liquid is absorbed. (This was about 45 mins and then a further 10 mins on the hob).
- When most of the liquid is absorbed, whisk/mash the lentil mixture so that it becomes more mushy. More like a dahl consistency.
- Then add the coconut cream and squeezed lemon juice.
- Give it a final stir and serve with warm flatbread, or naan bread or rice.
The recipe doesn’t state what the garnish is – chopped coriander, maybe? – but we didn’t have any, so no garnish on ours. However, the taste wasn’t affected in any way, especially as the lemon and coconut cream gave it a creamy taste, with a bit of sharpness. Really, really delicious.
by Helen | Jun 2, 2023 | Renovation
We’ve thought long and hard about how much current renovation we want to do in our Istrian stone house, as it is imminently going on the market, as we have plans for a whole new adventure. However, with the demolition and clearance of the small stone cottage behind the main house, and the construction of our beautiful new, white, rendered garden wall, we have to think about the practicalities of the access to the new rear garden.
Currently. to get to get to the rear of the house, you have to walk along the newly gravelled side access road. Not a huge problem, and this road is only used by us and one neighbour, but it still doesn’t feel quite right that there isn’t an access from the house. So, at the start of this week, we discussed with our builder the possibility of enlarging the living room window which overlooks the rear of the house, and installing French doors, and having a concrete platform and steps down, into the garden, built. Not much ever happens here very quickly – you have to have lots of patience – so we were expecting a good few weeks to pass before we even got a quote for the work. How wrong we were on this occasion!
Quote in the next day. Agreed. And, Wednesday evening spent moving furniture away from the window and re-configuring the living room, so that plastic sheeting could be put up, for the work to commence the next morning…
Very little happens quickly here. It’s just something you have to get used to. Days can often drift by between discussing a job and it actually starting. It all usually depends on availability of materials. Or what other jobs the builder may have committed to. Or the weather – sometimes too hot, sometimes too cold, sometimes too windy, sometimes there may be a threat of rain. Or it’s a public holiday – and if that falls on a Wednesday or a Thursday, definitely discount the next couple of days, as a long weekend will always be had. Or the builder just goes AWOL. They always return, just maybe not when you expect them. So this speedy turn of events has taken us by surprise. At the beginning of the week, we still had a wall and a window and only the start of a plan. Now we have a huge hole in the wall. Although, we have to say, it has been the neatest demolition job we’ve ever experienced, with not a speck of dust inside the house, although much Istrian stone once again, back in the garden…
Our job this weekend is to begin the sourcing of the French doors. We’ve been scouring the internet and know exactly what we want – the challenge now is to find somewhere that sells them, and help us to realise something like the beautiful image below…
by Helen | May 31, 2023 | Lifestyle
We do love our tea in this house, but we like tea which is very uncomplicated. I have bought leaves and strainers – and even went so far as to bring back rose petal from Morocco – but the just ends up sitting in a pretty containers and the various strainers just take up room in drawers. A glass teapot, with an internal strainer, sits unused in a cupboard because it’s all a bit of a faff. As much as we like a good cup of tea, we’re not afficionados and so usually just hang a teabag (Earl Grey – always) in a cup and do it that way. When we want to do it properly, sometimes the beautiful grey Le Creuset teapot comes out. An absolute bargain from TK Maxx many moons ago, but again, a bit of a faff as it’s big and usually sits on the worktop, half full of cold, stewed tea until we admit defeat with it. The photo above is what I’d like to every afternoon, but blimey – those leaves and lemons would do my head in. First world problems, I know, but with our new garden, thoughts have been turning to lovely accessories which don’t cost the earth. And that includes a faff-free teapot for breakfast, which can be enjoyed under the new sun umbrellas on the recently pea-gravelled patio, on the new table. This kind, below, but probably a lot less expensive. And, maybe not black.
A trip to my current, favourite store – Jysk – once again delivered the goods. Exactly what I was looking for, in the right colour and at very much the right price. Duck egg blue and just €10 for the teapot – with a tight fitting lid and a spout that doesn’t leak. It’s also perfect for two earl Grey tea bags, so no fuss with loose leaves, either. The two little matching cups came were just €4 each, making a perfect breakfast set for two. And, completely dishwasher safe, too – the handle isn’t wooden. It’s hard coated plastic but looks wooden, which is a nice design detail. The table cloth is also from Jysk – a beautiful marl grey, slightly creased, linen – perfect for those of us who hate ironing.
The front garden is finally becoming a space we are really growing to love. Hopefully, this summer, we’ll really get to use it as an additional living space and take advantage of the seating/relaxing areas we’ve created. As well as the hidden away new area for our tub pool – a completely private little corner, that absolutely no-one can see. Perfect for a bit of skinny-dipping, too…
by Helen | May 24, 2023 | Renovation
Way back in 2016, we viewed our house fro the first time, and this was the garden. Although “garden” is a bit of a stretch, looking back. A mucky, concrete patio and a patch of scrubby land, full of rubble and stones – proper ankle-breakers – and vines attached to an old house, which had been half cut back. And we still fell in love with it!
Fast forward a couple of years, and we decided that we had to tackle this outside place. Now, there’s a bit of a curious tale attached to this piece of land. Although it abuts our garden, and sits underneath our living room window, it’s not actually ours. It actually belongs to the abandoned house – which currently has in excess of twenty owners, some on the other side of the world. So, we figured it wasn’t going to sell anytime soon, and as the only way to actually access it, without crossing our land, would be to crawl through those small windows, it seemed pretty certain that if we up-kept the land, no-one would object. And, so far, that’s what’s happened. We’ve tidied it up, looked after it and everyone seems OK with that.
The first attempt at our diy garden, involved moving all of the ankle-breakers away, and putting the smaller stones around the perimeter. We’d have needed a digger to get them all out and we just needed it to be tidied up, as we’d never really actually be using it. The vines were cut back, the soil turned over and levelled and geotex matting secured to stop weeds penetrating. The whole are was then filled with red bark chippings, which now, over time, have faded in the sun and turned a bit mulchy after winter weather and rain.
The concrete patio, to the right of the red bark, has always been pretty horrible. It’s not the prettiest and was definitely not done by someone with an eye on aesthetics, so we had the bright idea to paint it. With pale blue exterior concrete paint, which we were assured was durable. It cost an absolute fortune and to be fair, did look beautiful. For a few months…
The paint on the steps up into the house has survived, but the patio is now back to concrete. A summer of very hot sun, saw to the “durable” exterior paint and the following year we had to pressure wash it all off, as it was too flaky. So, we’ve had a major rethink and we’re now doing what we should have done right at the beginning – white stones. Taking inspiration from the beautiful hotels scattered across Puglia, in particular, we’re going for white and Mediterranean.
Masseria Moroseta, Pulglia : Image – Andrew Trotter
The option of white stones is also massively less expensive than the eye-watering concrete paint. At €40 for three cubic metres (plus delivery), we’ll be able to do the whole garden, and finish off the access road along the side of the house, for considerably less than the paint job! We’ve just laid the first delivery of stones in the area where we had the red bark chippings. Against the green wall, they look lovely and really enhance this very unusual feature in our garden.
The next delivery of stones, for the patio, has just arrived but we’ve been slightly diverted by another improvement, which is being put into action. And which has led onto another idea. We’re having some of our shutters replaced and the old ones have been propped up in the garden. We think we can definitely make use of them at the far end of this stoned area and cover the old wooden door, with pale blue shutters. They’re definitely not good enough to hang at the windows, but they are perfectly fine, in their weathered state, to cover something even more weathered.
It’s great to be finally seeing huge progress in the garden – by the end of today, things will look considerably improved. And, by the end of the week, we’re very hopeful that the construction of the wall to the rear of the house, will be almost there, ready for rendering next week…
by Helen | Apr 29, 2023 | Renovation
Having lived for six years now with the view out of our living room window being the small stone house we purchased from a neighbour, things are going to be looking very different, very soon. The vine covered, tumble down house has been demolished, the boundaries of the land clarified, the foundations in and the wall, constructed of concrete blocks standing at well over a metre now, with more height still to be added. The “garden”, inside the wall, is currently an absolute mess – a mix of rocks and stones and the thick red, clay like soil, we have around here. It’s also on an incline. Looking out from the house, the wall to the left is lower in height than the wall to the right. So, we’ve had to address this and we’ve had to consider :
- do we want it to be levelled and lose height on the right hand side of the garden? This would need to be built up, rather than digging out on the left hand side, as we’d then be digging lower than the foundations. We probably should have addressed this before the work started, but it was difficult to see the incline, and so it needs to be addressed now.
- or, do we create a garden on two levels, higher on the left and lower on the right connected by concrete steps?
We’ve decided that the second option will give us a more unusual garden and so we’re going with that. It will inevitably add to the overall cost, as we hadn’t factored in this kind of design, but we’re in it now, and so we want to do a proper job, rather than making do to save a few euros. We think that the ground level of the garden will be concrete to give us a solid base, and the steps will also be concrete – wide and shallow treads so that they are more of a feature than just functional steps. The higher level, which will get the most sun, will then be covered in sanded and treated scaffold planks – of which there are more than a few being used for the construction, so we’ll repurpose them – and the lower level will be covered in white stones, with the steps being painted white. The images, above, are what we’re thinking of overall – rendered walls, painted white, with white stones, timber, natural style furnishings, structural plants in pots, and perhaps a climbing honeysuckle or bougainvillea. However, we’re still a few weeks away from plumping up the cushions on the new sofas and chairs – currently housed in our bedroom, as we spotted them at a bargain price and with only one set left, had to buy there and then. But, it’s definitely coming on…
Scaffold planks which be sanded and treated to create a decked area for sunbathing and general catching of rays…
Day to day, because we’re living on top of it all, we feel we don’t see much progress. But, looking back on photos, it’s clear that real progress is being made and we’re getting closer to the Secret Garden…
by Helen | Mar 29, 2023 | Interiors
Our blue IKEA Tobias dining chairs have served us well over the past few years, and are still in good condition. They’ve stood the test of time, often sitting in a room which has resembled more of a builders yard, than a room we’d choose to eat in. The Well Room – as we call the room above because we inherited it with a working internal well, slap bang in the middle of the room, but now drained and relocated outdoors – has developed over the years, and has had quite a strong look, when it’s not being used as a building site. The stone floor above was painted a deep navy, to match one of the feature walls and the concrete table had a resin coat applied. Rather than a pure concrete look, it took on a very different appearance – kind of marbled, but not quite. But, it did dominate the room, both in its style and finish. And recently, we decided we didn’t really like it, after all.
We also decided that in order to sell our house, we had to present it more neutrally. The decor has been quite bold in places – and although we’re sure that most viewers will see beyond a painted wall if it’s not to their taste, we weren’t doing ourselves any favours in showcasing what could be a fabulous holiday home for someone. So, this spring, our focus has been on stripping back the decor and colours and gradually beginning to introduce lighter, calmer tones, with a neutral palette and more natural accessories. The bold navy blue has been whited-out in most rooms, the Well Room being one of the initial ones we tackled. The floor is now white, and the blue rugs are now down in The Snug, replaced by big natural coloured, jute rugs. The wall (opposite the windows) which was Hague Blue (like the kitchen), is now the same soft grey that we repainted the kitchen in, bringing consistency between the two areas. New furniture has been introduced – gone are the bog standard IKEA cubes, replaced by a couple of very funky white cupboards. Still IKEA, but with a bit more design and style to them.
And, the concrete table has been painted white – giving it a whole new lease of life. It was at this point, that the Tobias chairs just looked too out of place, and we felt that wooden benches would suit the look we were attempting to create, so much better. Wanting to support local tradespeople whenever we can, we did get a quote for two handmade benches. Unfortunately, the price came in just a whole lot more than we were budgeting for, and so I had to turn online. I had found a small company, just outside Newcastle, who specialise in bespoke wooden furniture – and although the prices for benches weren’t too bad, once we factored in courier delivery and post-Brexit fees to receive goods from outside the EU, inside the EU, the price became too steep again. But perseverance pays off, especially when you know exactly what you want, and I found a company in Germany, which in terms of their products and ethos on the website, ticked our boxes. An order was placed for two acacia wooden benches, and less than a week later, they were assembled in The Well Room.
The room now feels much lighter and brighter, with a definite nod to those dreamy Mediterranean homes, much posted on Instagram. I think now that we have got used to our surroundings, being fairly close to the Adriatic, it feels a bit more authentic to live in a space filled with natural tones and colours. So, we’re taking it a bit further. The pale blue woodwork (and the grey beams above the window) are all going white, too. The first window in this room has been done, and the difference is quite incredible, as everything now seems to blend, rather than stand out. The front door, which I have always disliked, is much less offensive to me, now that it painted in a soft white satinwood. The handle, which is also not to our taste, but too difficult to replace because of its shape and size, is now also white, so a lot less in-your-face. As with every room you start to make-over, the finish line always gets further away, as one change inevitably leads to another, but it’s something we feel we need to do…
by Helen | Feb 27, 2023 | Renovation
the story of the little stone house
When we bought our house in Istria six years ago, this little tumble down cottage sat to the rear of it. There are lots of properties like this scattered across Istria and Croatia. There are many reasons for the properties being abandoned – wars and conflicts which displaced people, emigration, people dying and properties passing to multiple descendants, often scattered across the world, complicated boundary issues which can make buying such a property very, very problematic. In our village alone, there are more than a handful of these properties, overgrown with vines and greenery, the stone underneath crumbling and often falling. Thankfully, a lot of these properties are being salvaged and renovated and in the vicinity we have some amazing hotels which have grown out of an abandoned house. One hotel – San Canzian, in nearby Buje – is actually a renovated village, which we think is just wonderful.
So, back to our little house. We were totally naive in hindsight, as apart from knowing it belonged to a neighbour – who we were yet to get to know – we didn’t even consider where the boundaries between the two properties might be or what would happen if someone else became interested in it and purchased it, and the land around it. Luckily, we avoided a tricky situation when the neighbour agreed to sell it to us, once we had considered the implications of another property being so close to ours. It wasn’t a swift process and all told, took nearly two years to complete on – considering we bought the main house in about three months, this seems such a long time, but looking back, once we’d signed the pre-contract, there was no massive urgency as we’d secured it and it wasn’t our main dwelling. And, our solicitor had to navigate the new waters of Brexit, as half way through the process, we found ourselves as “third country nationals” (although luckily, with Croatian residency) and this muddied the situation for a while.
Over the past couple of years we’ve tinkered around the edges of this house, our main focus being on the renovation of the big house. We did ensure that we had a surveyor to establish the exact boundaries of the property and the land, and we did set about clearing it as much as we could ourselves and tidying it up. We seriously considered having it renovated – inside, a mezzanine level could definitely have been created as there is the height and it could have become a very beautiful self contained annexe. But, all of that comes at a cost and even though family and friends would definitely have got use out of it, for much of the year it would probably have stood empty, so we shelved renovation plans, opting instead to create a makeshift garden.
So, for the past year, we’ve had quite a nice outlook to the rear of the house – a natural boundary of conifer trees, in terracotta pots, white stones, a big new olive tree and a little table and chairs. But, it still hasn’t solved what to do with the house, which as the months pass, becomes more and more unstable. It also hasn’t the issue that the rear of the house feels disconnected from the rest of the house. A bit of an add on. So the decision was made – demolition…
arranging the demolition
Not as easy as you’d think. Back in the UK, we’d have had contacts or been able to google easily enough, to find builders who could do it. Here, we do have contacts, but they all have the same contacts and builders here are currently in very short supply, Post pandemic, there’s a lot of construction/renovation work going on in Istria, which is great, but it does mean that reliable workers are very, very thin on the ground. We were really struggling to find anyone, but finally had a stroke of luck. Work has been going on the village recently and our neighbour introduced us to two guys who were doing some other demolition work, and after a site visit, they agreed to take on our work. Another stroke of luck was that a contractor who was working with the local water company, who are also currently digging up the village to lay new pipes, knew our neighbour and so helped with the discussions re the work and was able to translate a lot for us. A price was agreed and a schedule of works discussed. Our understanding was that we needed to clear out the house and work would begin the following week, and would take approximately a week, followed by the site clearance.
Not everything happens as you expect though, and the day after we agreed everything, the two guys arrived – on a Saturday morning – and set about clearing out the house, with wheelbarrows full of rubbish being trundled away. This was a bit of an unexpected result, as we’d assumed we had to do the clearance. A bay tree has been growing outside the house – we think it was a tree we brought over from Manchester and which wasn’t faring too well, so it was left to its own devices, and having taken root in the thick, rich, red Istrian soil, has flourished. So, we asked that this be dug out so we could relocate it, prior to any demolition work beginning. Within half an hour, it was sitting in its new home. There’s still lots of planting and landscaping to be done, but we think our bay tree will thrive much more in its new position.
Almost as soon as the tree had been removed, the digger was swinging into action – quite literally – as the stones started to be removed from the house. We had initially had wild thoughts that we could actually take the house down ourselves. Surely all we needed to do was hire a cherry picker and swing a lump hammer and it would come down. And then the fairies would take away the stones and clear and level the site. We are now quite thankful that we didn’t actually pursue this ridiculous idea, because whatever we are paying these guys, they are professionals and worth every cent.
We’re now a week on, and the house has all but been taken down, stone by stone, and they are currently being taken away. We could have used these stones to construct the new wall, but to be honest, we’re a bit over Istrian stone, as the main house is constructed of it, we still have exposed stone (albeit painted white) internally, and we are surrounded by it outside. The stone is also of differing sizes and quality so it would taken a long time to sift through and sort and store, so we’re just letting the guys get rid and if they make a few euros out of it, good for them. We’re a few weeks away we think, from us being able to even begin thinking about the new wall, but we are just very delighted that, finally, the little house has gone and our vision for our secret garden, is a little nearer. Meanwhile, chaos reigns…
The guys are back on it currently, and the digger is hoisting huge slabs of stone onto the back of a lorry to be taken away. Although the view from our rear living window is horrendous at the moment, we have to go through this, to achieve what we want to achieve. The stones will be cleared. The ground will be levelled. A beautiful white, rendered wall will be constructed, with big chunky wooden struts to hold climbers which will form a natural sunshade. And our hideaway will be an oasis of calm and peace and solitude. Just maybe not yet…
