You do have to be creative and see beyond whats there

Basically the house is a box with bits in it. It has two and a bit rooms downstairs and a staircase and a large attic space. So when you go in the front door, this is what you see. A sitting room with a fallen in chimney. But hey thats OK because at least it has fallen in from the inside, so all the walls are still intact.

Kitchen? There isnt one. Toilet? There isnt one. Bathroom? You guessed. Dont ask me where people did their bits and bobs. I shudder to think, oh and no septic tank either. So in effect we have a box which is quite dry inside with loads of room for doing things.

Did I mention the vaulted cellar underneath and the barn immediately across from the front door. All juicy things to think about.

And then I went to see it

We were in the UK for Christmas 2006, and after Christmas I , Stephanie had some time to fly over to Limoges from Liverpool to see the house. It was almost a done deal. I had been chatting with the estate agent and it got better and better. A house, a vaulted cellar underneath the house, a barn and a piece of land. but still.....I hadnt seen it. I only had the photos and the words of Suzanne "See the potential". We had just finished renovating a house here in Melbourne. I vowed I would never ever do it again. Whilst I hated aspects of renovating, ( finalising the detail mostly) at the same time I loved the big picture stuff. How it would look, how we might shape it, how on a tight budget we make something really lovely.....so with all this in mind...I went to "SEE the potential".

Here is Andrews web site - www.ieafrance.com/

A house in France ?.......It was the last thing on my mind

Our friend Suzanne decided to retire to France from the UK. I jokingly said "If you see anything you think we might like, let me know". Well she did. In early December 2006, she texted me in Australia and said "I have seen a house that is such good value and I think you should get it".

"I have no money, but send me a picture anyway" I replied. So she did. As she said "Dont look at it as it now, SEE the potential" And I did. I liked it. but would my husband like it .......? That started a chain of events, emailing the english estate agent, finding out where it was. Its in the middle of France, 55kms from Limoges airport, 12 kms from mediaeval walled town called La Souterraine,
in La Creuse. This picture is of the mediaeval church of La Souterraine, not OUR village!








OUR village, or rather hamlet is smack bang in the middle of France. It's called Le Moulletier. You might find it on the google map - it's in a tiny tiny hamlet. The nearest village is Le Grand-Bourg