Renovation projects

Mirror, mirror on the wall.

Hello

For a change this week, I will spare you tales of frogs, blocked gutters and hornets and look at some of our renovation projects.

As I collected my latest bargain, it made me think of all the things we have acquired over the years and especially since we arrived in France. The renovation project list gets longer but progress is slowly being made.  My two latest acquisitions are a lovely plant stand for the garden and a book rest for the kitchen, something I have wanted for a while as it is annoying perching cookery books amongst ingredients or away from where I am preparing food. The book rest is quite original and features lilies! It needs to be painted, so has joined the rather long list of projects.

The plant stand is set up for painting and is destined for the covered terrace at the front, which is finally partway to being sorted out now. I have far too many pots in our courtyard and under the covered terrace. Too many for the heat we have experienced this summer and last (up to 42°C this year), as plants dry out too quickly in pots. The intention is always to pop most of them in the garden, then for one reason or another I don’t get around to it, so I am constantly watering pots which are also taking up quite a bit of space. This vintage stand will work perfectly to tidy up some of the pots, including those holding cuttings. It will also act as a place next Spring for all those seedlings. It needs a coat of paint so now the temperatures are back to painting levels, it will be given a quick makeover to the blue we are using for the railings and gate into the courtyard.

We are gradually getting rooms organised, moving furniture into what we hope will be their permanent places (plans seem to change the longer you live somewhere). One item we have an abundance of is mirrors. Over the years we have acquired, bought and been given quite a few. In one house we created a wall of mirrors in a rather narrow, gloomy entrance hall, which gave it an extra dimension and more light. When we bought our house in France, we also bought some of the resident mirrors, as they are stunning and perfectly suit the spaces they occupy. They are ornate, gilded and in some cases very marked with the patina of time, something I find fascinating and beautiful. It is a testament to age and use, and no doubt the many stories they could tell.

The salon boasts a huge dark wood mirror above the fireplace, which apparently came with the house when the previous owner bought it. We find the colour of the dark wood too heavy for the predominantly grey and white salon with its wonderful old faded tiles in greys, white and a gold hue. The fireplace is grey marble so again the wood of the mirror does not sit comfortably above it. We thought about gilding it in silver, but given the cost are now contemplating painting it silver and perhaps adding some mouldings so it makes more of a grand statement. This will be quite an undertaking as it may have to be done in situ; the thought of taking the mirror down is not for the faint hearted! I imagine it is very heavy and cumbersome to manoeuvre. What do you think? What would you do with the mirror?

Mirrors in themselves are fascinating, so I did a bit of research into their history. I had no idea how long they had been around or how they first appeared. Mirrors in some shape or form go back thousands of years, starting with reflections in water, followed by polished stones, which have been found in Turkey and South America. Over the millennia polished metal was used, such as copper or bronze, by the Ancient Egyptians and Chinese. As precious metals were expensive, mirrors were really the preserve of the wealthy. It is thought the first metal coated glass mirrors were created in the first century AD in what is now Lebanon. In Europe convex polished copper, tin or silver discs were used for centuries. In the 16th century Venice became the centre of mirror making, as a better method had been discovered to coat blown glass with metal. By the middle of the 17th century London and Paris had also become important mirror producing centres. Mirrors became prized decorative items in homes, with simple frames of ivory, ebony, tortoiseshell or silver, later becoming much more ornate in design. The process of silvering glass, coating it with a thin layer of metallic silver, is thought to have been invented by German chemist Justus von Liebig in 1835. This revolutionised mirror production, eventually allowing them to become much more affordable. The earliest mirrors were handheld with full length mirrors making a later appearance. Now, of course, they come in all shapes and sizes, colours and materials.

Recently several of our mirrors have had a bit of an update and are now in their permanent spots. A fuchsia pink mirror bought from a favourite brocante trader has now had a paint makeover and is in the main entrance hall. The pink was a challenge to cover, so I had to change tack halfway through, painting over the pink with a rather vibrant green and then silver! The final product is an unusual mix of green and silver, making it all the more original. A full length gilt mirror has also been updated in green with gold gilding wax for the guest bedroom and an old pine mirror painted blue for the guest loo.

There are still many to find homes for. I love old mirrors, the character they add to a room but also for the light and space they help create in darker corners. The tower staircase is very dark so we are planning to add several mirrors to one of the walls to catch the light from above and help brighten up this space. We have also used a few decoratively, one in the centre of the kitchen table underneath candles, one to reflect a display of pretty glass and another under a huge vase filled with sparkly twigs covered in tiny lights.

I will be back with an update at the end of the week and more renovation news soon. The terrace doors are finally being sanded ready for painting – long overdue! There is dust everywhere but this is a job that really has to be completed before the winter this year.

A bientôt

Ali xx

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