In August 2020, our family packed up everything and moved to France to begin restoring a 300-year-old farmhouse and overgrown garden. This is our story.

We made the choice to sell our business in the UK and move with our young son in the hope of creating our dream forever homestead in rural France. We had no DIY experience so tackling a farmhouse restoration project was going to be a steep learning curve.

Moving to France hasn’t been easy and the journey certainly isn’t over yet. The restoration of the farmhouse will take many more years. Uncovering the garden took most of the first year and it has only been in the last year that we have really been able to put our stamp on it. This year we have created a potager (vegetable garden) at the front of the property having been inspired after we discovered this is what the land used to be used for. We have loved growing our own fruit and vegetables and plan to double it in size next year.

In 2021 the family had a new addition – our second son. Our children are one of the main reasons why we decided to move to France and why we took on this ambitious restoration project.

#farmhouserenovation #restoringfarmhouse #2yearrenovation

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00:00 2 Years in 24 seconds
00:37 Prelude: A boat, a baby and a pandemic
2:56 Chapter 1 : A new beginning
7:14 Chapter 2: Renovating the interior
9:26 Chapter 3: Exterior landscaping
12:25 Chapter 4: A family effort
17:19 Chapter 5: Creating the potager
21:14 Chapter 6: A considered life

Music sourced form SoundStripe (in chapter order)
Wicked Cinema - A Game of Chess
Wicked Cinema - Cat and Mouse
Wicked Cinema - Crest & Mantle
Chelsea McGough - Hook or Crook
Featherland - Crescendo
Alice in Winter - Woven
Alice in Winter - Azure
Awyr - Out of Sight