Our old farmhouse seems to take on new life !

Our home is in the process of fine restoration to regain her old splendour by professionals who’ve turned restoration into a skillful art.

Before making a new roof, the ceilings of the ground floor had to be done.
We were not sure what to do about the ceiling.

Before the restoration and preservation of the old ceiling could even start, we had to think about the right methods and solutions to restore and if possible preserve it.
Restoring the ceiling, but keeping its original glory!
Not as easy as it may seem.

The ceiling was made of wooden beams and cotto tiles.
The first room, one of the future breakfast rooms, didn't even have a ceiling and for years rain came in.
The ceiling of the other rooms, former stables, were damaged beyond repair.
We did quite a bit of research.
One of the problems as we saw it, was that we would risk loosing the beautiful arch,
because we had just a few spaces to lean a huge wooden beam above.
The big central beams are the base of the new ceiling.
To be more clear, the big beams and later the cement on top from the first floor, would be just too heavy for the arch…giving us construction problems later on.
It was just a pain in our hearts to remove the arch, we wanted the arch authentic.

We called our engineers and talked to them about the problem, and finally we have been guided to the best technical solution to keep the arch.

Yoehoeeeeee!!!

All the team including the handcraft workers have been incredibly helpful!

To keep the antique effect we have bought old materials to give a final effect as close as possible to how it was once a time ago.

Have a look and we would love to hear your comments below.

( works autumn 2007 )