Some beautiful places in the Tarn
I’ve been in contact recently with a pair interested in moving to the region. After having looked at a few of the properties they’ll be visiting I was bombarded by … Continue reading
Mid-March in Mazamet. Sold, sold, and please don’t sell that!
It seems we’ve arrived at the hot-cakes stage of the market. The Reynes house sold for asking price, approximately one million US$. I don’t know who bought it. The park … Continue reading
Gorgeous Stuff; Autumn in Mazamet; And just for fun: The Canadian High Court Decision
The weather has been fantastic. Mild sunny days and cool nights. It feels like compensation for a summer that was very volatile. A book by Sonia Servant via the Dept. … Continue reading
September in Mazamet. A House of Substance
Thank goodness for September, the cool nights are back. This month and October are some of the best months in Mazamet. Lovely sunny days punctuated by cooling rains. Skies that … Continue reading
The Léon Daures Archives
The descendants of architect Léon Daures have donated all of his files/notes/drawings to the government of the Tarn. You might not recognise his name but if you’ve been to Albi … Continue reading
It’s not cold
14 degrees celsius today. We had a couple of colder and rainy days earlier in the week but the predictions are that this winter in the Tarn will be mild. … Continue reading
which in turn was based on, which in turn was based on, which in turn was based on
In trying to see if I could find a replica of the Cormouls house in Canada I got distracted and ended up revisiting the career and history of Horace Trumbauer. … Continue reading
When Grand Meant Grand. Resurrecting a house.
As I’ve mentioned previously I was mystified when I heard the story of the property that used to neighbour number 42. A most impressive hôtel particulier (although here they prefer … Continue reading
Slowly but surely. Apartment 3 (2 bed/2 bath)
It’s taken longer than we hoped… but we’re there. The rooms were a bit fiddly in this one- very few right angles. In all I’m happy. Mike deserves a ton … Continue reading
Plans for the wall (and plant identification help!)
I’ve decided that I want to make the wall that’s behind the house a bit more interesting. Especially because that’s where the entrance door is. The planting is already great, … Continue reading
Doodling Floor Plans
Okay- I’ve been doodling and doodling to see what I could actually come up with for the currently unused atelier area. If you don’t recall, it looks like this: The … Continue reading
Work on apartment #3; Two bed, two bath
Work has begun. This is one of the apartments I prefer, which means it’s more fun. It’s got an interesting L shaped layout with a bedroom at each extremity (each with … Continue reading
To gild or not to gild
This week’s conundrum: to gild details of the wrought iron balustrade (as they were in the hall’s original decor) or to leave them black as they are now (and have been … Continue reading
Work at building #II, week II
A ton has been done already. Walls have been stripped, then insulated, then covered in plasterboard. And the walls that had to be moved have been moved. I don’t have … Continue reading
Work and then more work. Months of work ahead.
I did ask for it. Now I’ve got a total of six serious reforms on my hands. Six kitchens to be redone, six bathrooms- goodness knows how many square metres of … Continue reading
Homes of the Great Wool Industrialists of Mazamet
I’ve been trying to map them out and count them. There are two books that have been written about these houses, but I haven’t yet been able to get my … Continue reading
The distribution (for those interested in design)
When I talk about the house it’s probably confusing, so here’s a not quite to scale sketch of the distribution: The green salon, grey salon and dining room face the … Continue reading
Terrace floors chosen and ordered
The choice was surprisingly easy. We wanted something that more-or-less matched the facade of the house, so it had to be grey-brown, and this was the only one that came … Continue reading
Mazamet & the house: a bit of history
Although most people probably never heard of the place, it was once one of the wealthiest towns in the world. 80% of the planet’s wool was processed here. In the … Continue reading
Pictures of week one
Still no internet. We’re supposed to be connected this Friday. That means we’ve been internet free from December 9th to March 27th. Strange, but it wasn’t the end of the … Continue reading
The 20’s & the 50’s
I’ve always found it interesting how in Palladian (or simply symmetrical) structures the scale can be utterly deceptive in photographs- unless there’s a human being in the picture to serve as … Continue reading
My Mazamet 
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