Ashley Tinker DIY Stores and Builders Merchants in France February 1, 2017It can be difficult to find stores near you in a foreign country. Your common knowledge of simple store names just isn’t there. If you’re renovating a house in France, depending on where you’re located, this is where you’ll find your building materials: DIY Stores (French equivalent of B&Q or Wickes (England) Electrical and plumbing …Continue Reading
Ashley Tinker Renovation in Provence Demolition Part II February 19, 2016Our Renovation in Provence: The Demolition Continues! You’re going to have to brace yourselves for a little hideousness- but we’ve started taring down the wood panels downstairs. This panelling so popular in the 70s is a form of cache misère which basically translates into hiding misery. When our real estate agent …Continue reading here to find …Continue Reading
Ashley Tinker Before and After Renovation in Provence: Living Room October 20, 2016Here are a few pictures of the before and after renovation of our living room. Can you believe the difference? The locals are, unfortunately for us, still so curious that I’m often confronted with a face pressed against our window… But thankfully, everyone seems impressed. Next we’d love to renovate an enormous Provencal farmhouse with …Continue Reading
Carolyne Kauser-Abbott · Living in Provence Choosing the Provencal Lifestyle to Embark on a Retirement Adventure July 2, 2018Deborah Bine spent her childhood in Charlotte, North Carolina dreaming of “faraway places” (her words). Her early travels included visiting her Aunt Rose in exhilarating Manhattan. “Aunt Rose owned New York — or so this sixteen-year-old ingénue from the Carolinas assumed.” On this voyage, Deborah learned some travel lessons that she continues to follow today: …Continue Reading