One of my (many) dreams is to buy an Italian villa or a Spanish castle to retire to do in my old age. Like 44 would be nice. With all the unfinished work going on in my New York homes, I figured it would be a nice diversion to have a look at some European house blogs and plan my retirement project. Perhaps the project will come up sooner if the election doesn’t go my way. I AM a member of the EU, you know. Marrying an illegal alien does have it’s benefits.
Without further adieu….
No Ordinary Homestead is about an 1834 farmhouse near Frankfurt, Germany. It’s actually about a lot more than the house. The blog is hosted by a Texan gal who is into rock climbing, wine collecting and road trips. She and her ex-pat hubby are planning on building a rock climbing wall and wine cellar. Warning: Stop reading now if you are turning green.
There is a courtyard between the house, the barn and the guest house. I warned you! Now you’re sick, right?
This is the before photo of their avocado bathroom. They saved the tub, but replaced everything else with “the new”. Personally, I love the avocado and would have kept it. So, take that you rock climbing, wine collecting, skinny blond with average taste. You don’t have the chutzpah to go avocado!
Palazzo Pizzo follows the renovation of 200+ year old home in southern Italy. Yes, it’s one of the houses in the photo above.
Like my own blog, there aren’t many before and after photos of her actual renovation. Just lots of daydreaming about what she is going to do.
Like this:
And this:
This Really Old House is written by a woman named Lola. That’s my dog’s name, so I like her already. And her husband’s name is Dawg.
The home is in northern Burgundy and I’m not seeing any finished shots so it’s safe to say there is nothing to get too jealous of. Yet. It was interesting to go back to her first post and find out how they came across this one house that spoke to them. They also looked at a Loire 19th century farmhouse and a home that lost its charm after they learned it was located in a town that was a deportation camp for French Jews in WWII.
Other reasons to feel a bond with Lola:
The house doesn’t have heat.
They’ve owned the house for 2.5 years and it’s still not habitable.
But her last post was in July, so maybe it’s a finished cream puff by now. In that case, Bitch.