Our front gates were in need of a facelift. When we bought the house, they looked fine. But we thought that a little bit of freshening up would help us to put our stamp on the place. So, during a spate of good spring weather, we got out our paintbrushes and changed the color from green to grey. Sounds a bit boring, I know. But we had to contend with the quite limited range of colors we are allowed to use by the Mairie because we are in a historic district of the town. Still, we think it looks rather nice. Subdued, but dignified. And shiny.
It has also become glaringly apparent that people have a difficult time finding us. The house entrance is set back from the street, down our short driveway and courtyard. And there is no street number at the sidewalk. I can’t tell you how many delivery drivers and others have called us in dismay, searching in vain for our house. A while back, we tried to remedy this by putting up a nice big 32 plaque above our front door. But it made little difference. It’s quite hard to see from the street – especially at night. And now that we have guests coming in for our holiday rental all of the time, we felt having a clear indication of our presence was even more important than ever.
The solution which we hope will ameliorate the problem arrived a couple of days ago: two plaques for our gates. We ordered them from a small family foundry on Etsy. They are cast aluminum. Made to order. A pretty slick little operation in the U.K. We love them because they have a traditional, hand-crafted form and finish to them. Just right, we think, for an old house on an even older street. I put them up today after making a quick trip to the brico (home improvement store) to grab some aluminum bar and brass bolts to make improvised mounting brackets.
We’re happy with the new look of the gates. And now our street number is directly out front, streetside. Hopefully our address will be much more apparent and we will be easier to find for our holiday rental guests. And it is nice to give people an idea of where La Tour Desnos is hiding. It’s easy to see from the park, but it’s entirely hidden from the street. Most locals don’t even make that connection.
Even little changes can make big improvements to your home. A little paint, a couple of plaques, and a couple of hours of effort are all it took. It’s a great feeling to tick off yet another project on our very long list of things that need doing. On to the next one!
Finding Our France 