New Windows

Our lovely new windows (a massive thanks to Dominique B & his crew; fantastic work guys!) are an exact copy of the old windows, created in the workshop of a true artisan. The carpenter has done restoration work on the Cathedral and mediæval quarter in Troyes (the knitware capital of France!), and he really knows his stuff.

He kindly agreed to paint our windows with the paint of our choice, which I'd read about in a newspaper article years ago (and saved in case I ever got around to stripping the windows at home; that hasn't happened!) - Holkham Linseed Paints. We were worried that being a strange, foreign (foreign to us, too!) idea the carpenter wouldn't like the paint, but he loved it and was asking us where he could buy it. Sorry, French buyers, Holkham does not ship outside the UK (yet?)! The Wild Sage colour is (to me!) perfect to match the mellow creamy colour of the stone buildings in the Aube.

I think Holkham Linseed Paints deserve more of a mention, so watch this space! But meanwhile back to the windows...

This is a bit of a "Spot-the-difference" moment - one of the old windows fell apart whilst it was being removed, so the removal was probably not before time! Dominique D (the builder) had nagged us for ages to change the windows, but we didn't want new, characterless, replacements. Thankfully he introduced us to Dominique B (the carpenter), and we haven't looked back!

It was fascinating seeing the windows during the fabrication process (particularly so for me; my father used to be a one-man-band builder, and did a lot of woodwork in his own woodworking workshop - he would have loved the set-up in Charmont!). And yes, Dominique D, you were right! His argument had been: "Why are you putting all this insulation in, when you have draughty windows and doors?". Now we have double-glazed windows (with rubber [silicone?] seals on the casements) - so efficient we can barely hear the Angelus !!

Now we are looking forward to new front doors (yes, for some reason we have two!) and shutters (particularly the shutters, as the combination of angle-iron and bolts to open and close them loses a little of the thrill after a few days!).