Pictures tell a far better story than words. Follow our Istrian restoration project, with the ‘Before’, ‘During’ and ‘After’ photo tale. We start with ‘Before’. ‘During’ will come soon and I hope ‘After’ won’t be too far behind.
Just a few before and after shots to highlight the transformation in our Istrian property, before and after restoration. The photos are mainly of the house and garden, as there was something to photograph before hand. With the barn, the place was so full of junk it was impossible to get in and there...
Read More »
While a holiday home must be lovely inside, outside is just as important – if not more so. It’s where guests will spend most of their time, so I wanted it to be special. Little did I realise how much work this would entail. Also see: The restoration tale continues with the house Downstairs and Upstairs, and...
Read More »
Upstairs, our Istrian house was in much better condition than downstairs but there was still an awful lot of work as the roof had to come off – and go on again. There was no inside plumbing, so two new shower-rooms needed creating and everywhere needed rewiring. Also see: The restoration tale continues with the house...
Read More »
Long, long neglected, the downstairs of our Istrian house originally had three rooms: entrance, kitchen and living room. Our plan was to turn it into an open plan kitchen-diner with a loo under the stairs and a snug library tucked behind. This major undertaking involved gutting the whole floor, stripping it back to the bare...
Read More »
A picture’s worth a thousand words and here’s the barn’s restoration tale. Even though it had four strong, straight walls and an old, but intact roof, it was no small undertaking transforming it from a storage dump into a cosy holiday home. Also see: The restoration tale continues with the house – Downstairs and Upstairs, and Outside Compare...
Read More »
Upstairs there is space for two double bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor, and a huge, en-suite double in the attic. It’s all in much better shape than downstairs. While old and dilapidated, the walls and floors are fine and just need refurbishing. The roof is in fantastic shape without a single leak....
Read More »
Downstairs, the house is divided into three rooms. Standing with the front door to your back, the stairs are on your left, the old kitchen is in front and the living room is on your right. The house clearly hasn’t been occupied for decades and, this floor at least, needs totally gutting. Amazingly it still has...
Read More »
The property consists of a traditional three-storey Istrian house, a barn and two outhouses on about 500m² of land. Looking from the parking at the entrance, the barn and house face each other at the end of a long thin garden. The outhouses are set next to each other on the left-hand side of...
Read More »
