The Rear Bedroom

This bedroom is also very large. It boasts another huge bed with luxury linens and 2 duvets for all season comfort. There are bedside tables and lamps a dresser and amoire, as well as a corner storage unit with bookcase. The room is carpeted and has two windows, nice art and an antique mirror set in a small alcove.

Master Bedroom

The Master bedroom has a beautiful wood floor, beam and wood paneled ceiling and a huge bed. It is furnished with side tables with lamps, a dresser and an amoire. There is great view from the double-pane window and a large corner closet with plenty of room for linens as well as empty suitcases and tons of clothes. The bed has 2 duvets for any season and is equiped with luxury linens. Our wonderful housekeeper Murielle washes and irons the bedlinens and towels weekly.

Entertainment Center

We gave a great deal of thought to the entertainment center. While some owners (or their children) may use it more more than others, it was important to have options. The house has 2 terrestial antennas, one for French stations and one pointed towards Spain that picks up the Spanish channels. It also has a satellite dish and a British SkyBox that receives all the 'free to air' English channels (over 100). There is a DVD player that also provides full 5.1 surround sound. The whole system is anchored by a Media Center computer connected to a 40" plasma TV. You can check your e-mail using the wireless mouse and keyboard. The broadband internet connection is through France Telecom's LiveBox which also provides the telephone service with free international long distance. Enjoy!

Complete Redecoration

Notre Maison dans Toulouges has been completely redecorated and painted from top to bottom. Today I'll talk about the livingroom. Of course the stone and brick has been left exposed, but the plastered surfaces have been painted an ash white. The floor is tile and the the ceiling is wood above the centuries old hand hewn beams. The windows are classic French windows with working shutters on the outside of the 2 foot thick walls. The shutters can be adjusted appropriately for the weather and time of day. This house was comfortable in all seasons long before modern heating and cooling became available.

New website-reactivated blog

It's good to be back online with the blog. We have just returned from the second 3 week trip to Toulouges to prepare Notre Maison and I have much to report. I'll try to do this in several short postings so they aren't overwhelming. We have painted, furnished and supplied the house to an extremely high standard. With the help of our Decorator Mark Howorth, the place looks fantastic. The picture is a new one of the livingroom. This large room is comfortable for relaxing, big enough for entertaining and great for just watching the French or Spanish terrestial TV, the British satellite, or anything you can get on the web. That's it for now, we'll add again tomorrow.

Bill & Chris