recent blogs

winter house maintenance

winter house maintenance

Our stone house in Istria isn't currently a holiday home. Having relocated from Manchester nearly seven years ago, we have lived here full time, renovating the house from top to bottom. We've lived through walls being knocked down and out, kitchens and bathrooms being...

time for tea…

time for tea…

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...

kitchen reno : update 8

kitchen reno : update 8

The kitchen was the first room in our Istrian stone house to receive the full renovation treatment. The units we had inherited were ripped out, the flooring taken out, the ceiling taken down, a new window installed, brand new units and appliances fitted and under...

garden reno : update 10

garden reno : update 10

So, the exterior renovation of our house, continues apace. We've largely completed the interior renovation - but we never say never - and so our attention has been turned to the garden area around the main house and the little abandoned house to the rear. We've been...

garden reno : update 8

garden reno : update 8

I finally feel we're coming to the end of a very long winter. Although we've still got to see February out - and this is month when for the past four years, we've had snowfall in Istria - there are signs of spring. The bulbs we planted around the base of a big tree...