Monday, April 22, 2013

Plan B

My Cottage Floor Plan - Part 6


When I visited my little cottage for the first time, the then owners showed me three rooms downstairs: a main room that was used as a living-room and dining-room, a bedroom and a kitchen.

Quand j'ai visité mon petit cottage pour la première fois, les propriétaires de l'époque m'ont montré au rez-de-chaussée un salon, une chambre et une cuisine, qui correspondent aux deux portes à droite de l'escalier.

So the two doors off the stairs led to the kitchen and bedroom.


 Everybody I knew assumed I would turn the bedroom into an office. But truth be told, I hate having a separate office. I'm a substitute, I have different classes all the time and I spend many evening re-re-creating lessons and I love being in the living-room rather than in an enclosed room.


Tout le monde pensait que j'allais transformer cette chambre en bureau, mais je déteste travailler dans une pièce fermée, surtout qu'en tant que remplaçante, je passe mon temps à refaire des cours, puisque je change sans cesse de niveau, parfois de matière!


No, as soon as I saw this bedroom, I imagined it into a dining-room, especially because the kitchen was right behind it, but behind a wall, which made entertaining your guests a challenge.


Non, moi j'y ai tout de suite vu une salle-à-manger, d'autant que la cuisine est de l'autre côté du mur... Ce mur qui n'était vraiment pas pratique pour parler aux invités depuis la cuisine. A l'époque, ce que je voyais depuis l'évier de la cuisine, c'était ça:


So this wall was what I saw from the kitchen sink, when I was yelling something to my guests.

So I decided really quick (the decision was quick, the making not so much) that I wanted an opening in this wall. My mom then suggested that one door would be enough for the dining-room/kitchen, thus recreating a small wall area for the fridge that had to be moved.

J'ai très vite décidé (la réalisation a été plus longue) de pratiquer une ouverture dans ce mur, c'est ma Maman qui a alors eu l'idée de condamner une des portes pour faire un bout de mur destiné à accueillir le frigo qui devait quitter son emplacement précédent.

Now, this is what I can see when I'm in front of the sink.

Maintenant, depuis l'évier, je peux voir mes invités.


Maybe you noticed the awful wood work around the opening, this was done in a hurry when the contractor went bankrupt, it's supposed to be redone one day...

And, from the dining-room, my guests can see me working in the kitchen.

Et depuis la salle-à-manger, mes invités peuvent me voir m'activer dans une cuisine, qui n'a pas encore été refaite!


Now, nothing has been done to the kitchen yet, except a big hole in the wall... The kitchen will hopefully be my 2014 project. Can you see a few series are already in my mind?

Opening the wall allowed the light to flow and the dining-room, which used to be the darkest room in the house is now a very nice room to have dinner. Of course it will be nicer when the kitchen is done!

So as you can see, I didn't go fully open plan as I kept a door between the dining-room and living-room, but I chose to open the dining-room to the kitchen.

Je n'ai donc pas choisi un rez-de-chaussée complètement ouvert, mais par contre, j'ai désenclavé la salle-à-manger.


From Monday April 22nd, some heavy work is going to take place at the cottage. The walls of the kitchen and the dining-room, which were never insulated because of the bankruptcy of the first contractor are finally going to be insulated. It means getting rid of the old dry-walls, putting the insulation and putting back new drywall... The phone main line is in the dining-room, so I might be without the Internet for some days...
 
Lundi, l'isolation de la cuisine et de la salle-à-manger, qui n'avait pas été faite suite à la faillite de la première entreprise, débute. Je n'aime pas l'idée de recommencer à vivre dans la poussière, mais d'un autre côté, rien ne peut avancer dans la cuisine tant que cela n'est pas fait!

So, see you soon, but I don't know how soon!

A bientôt,

I'm sharing with:

 Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home       PJH Designs              

               Join Me on Tuesday for            
                                                                         

29 comments:

  1. It is fun watching your little cottage go through its metamorphosis. '

    I hate the dirt, dust, and debris of renovating. Hope yours is not too much to handle.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those mirror tiles made me smile, they were such a 'style' thing in France when we first bought. What a transformation for the two rooms, lighter and roomier. Bonne chance with the next step!

    ReplyDelete
  3. i like how you opened up the kitchen to the dining room. it must be great to have more light coming through :)
    x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Magali!!!

    Your house is coming together nicely. Opening up small spaces to make them
    appear larger than they are is brilliant!! Now you have this beautiful space that gives you more light...Which is welcoming!!

    Have a great weekend!!!

    Pam
    xox

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like how you have opened up the kichen / dining room, that is a nice way for you to involve your guests as well. Your cottage is vety homely looking, the little touches of flowers, a cushion, pictures, they all look like 'home'. Well done, you are amazing to be so disciplined in taking your time with each stage. I will catch up with any posts in a couple of weeks, Ann

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I forgot to add you have the most beautiful furniture, I just love the dresser in the last photo.

      Delete
  6. So funny that they made the bedroom next to the kitchen.
    Yes, the dining room should always be next to the kitchen, this makes the feng shui better in the house.
    I bet your house is in better shape than before.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Les cuisines complètement intégrées à la pièce à vivre .................... ça me plait moyennement . J'ai opté il y a 30ans pour une cuisine jouxtant la salle à manger mais avec par la force des choses un escalier qui fait un semblant de cloison , ça j'aime bien , on n'est pas complètement isolée & on n'est pas complètement à la vue des invités . Je suppose que depuis , ta cuisine est refaite , j'ai hâte ...
    Bises . Babette

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Et non, la cuisine n'est toujours pas refaite. Après la faillite de la première entreprise qui avait commencé les travaux, j'ai eu besoin d'une grande pause, physiquement, moralement et financièrement! Je campe donc toujours avec mon mini four et mes plaques électriques, mais j'ai appris à cuisiner ainsi et je fais tout, même mon pain. Aujourd'hui, grand jour, les travaux de l'isolation des murs cuisine/salle-à-manger ont commencé: c'est l'ultime étape avant la conception de la cuisine! Merci de cette visite!

      Delete
  8. Get rid of the half wall; it will look much better all open.

    S
    xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know how ridiculous that half wall looks right now. It's because the first contrator filed for bakruptcy and never finished the project I have for it... But I'll get there eventually, as I already mentionned, I'm patient.

      Delete
  9. I would have opened up that wall too! What a difference. Are those green paint samples on the walls in there? I wasn't sure from the picture. :) Everything is looking great!

    -andi

    ReplyDelete
  10. Si un jour tu décides de quitter l'enseignement, pense à te reconvertir comme architecte d'intérieur... ou alors en brocanteuse... mais ça c'est une autre histoire !!! Courage pour la prochaine étape !!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good luck with your renovations! I like that you opened the dining room up but didn't go completely open plan. I think you have the best of both world this way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Best of both world" is a very nice way to describe the house! Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  12. That was a perfect solution. It's more open than a door way but not all the same room. I wouldn't have turned it into an office either. I've got a few paint samples on my dining room wall too. All are green. I think I have decided which one I like the best. Now I am just trying to summon the motivation to actually paint it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love how you opened the kitchen, the wall just had to go! And your beautiful, serene dining room looks a thousand times brighter (and bigger!) than the previous owners' bedroom. PS: One more time, I love the flooring in the dining room :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yep - love having a big opening to be able to entertain guests. I think what you did looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  15. So sweet! I love your choice. Good luck with the new work, I hope all goes well, and there is nothing unforeseen.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh no! We will miss you, if you have to get offline, but we will be waiting to see the next chapter in the renovation. Thank you for sharing - see the progress is so much fun!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Looks amazing! Such a great idea to use this room as a dining room and removing the wall was perfect! Love your sunny kitchen window and the hutch in your dining room is GORGEOUS!!!
    Thanks soooo much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY! Love your home so much!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh how I love your charming little cottage...:) The dining space is so sweet and I like how you opened it up enough to see from the kitchen. It looks awesome!

    Blessings, Vicky
    Life On Willie Mae Lane

    ReplyDelete
  19. It's going to be lovely and cozy one day. I can tell you are determined! :) Good for you!

    ReplyDelete
  20. What an amazing difference! We hardly use the dining room for the same reason. Having seen your great result, the wall has got to come down!
    Cx

    ReplyDelete
  21. Looks like progress is being made! I know it is going to be beautiful! Life to the full! Melissa

    ReplyDelete
  22. One more thing, please come over to my blog for a little surprise!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh I love the opening to the kitchen. This is a perfect solution. Thanks tons for joining Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oh what a transformation Magali - you must be thrilled!
    My daughter and french husband bought a 400yr old house in a Burgundy village.
    They have spent nine years bringing it up to a good standard without losing the beautiful old features such as the tomette tiles downstairs! It's an on-going project so they save up and do a room at a time.
    You're doing a wonderful job and it won't be too long before you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour!
    Hugs
    Shane ♥

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Magali, What a difference opening that wall made. So much more light and so much better to be able to see your guest while preparing meal. I love your little cottage it is so pretty and homey even with all the work being done and needing to be done. I can't wait to see what's next. Thanks so much for joining us at Transformed Tuesday. So enjoyed having you join us.

    Hugs,
    Peggy~PJH Designs

    ReplyDelete

It makes me so happy to read your comments! Let me know you stopped by!
J'adore lire vos commentaires. N'hésitez pas à vous joindre à cette discussion multi-lingue.