Open the door and you discover a floor made of large flat stone. The walls are also made of stones. This is a typical house of the area. We have not modified anything in this room, except the filling between the stones. The tiles on the floor probably come from the "Abbaye de Grandmond" that was dismanteled at the end of the 18th century. Grandmond is just 5 minute drive from here.
There is still a little church but all the building of the ancient abbey have all disappeared and can be found in most of the farm buildings in the neighbourhood.
This fireplace gives a very cosy and warm atmosphere in winter time. It is very convenient.
In fact it has been modified. The basement is new. When we bought the house, there was no basement. Fire was just made on the ground. Of course a lot of smoke could not go out and all the walls and the ceiling were deep black. We had to sandblast it in order to remove the black dust.
We found (in a book) how to determine the height of the basement so that the smoke would go out and not be a pain. Now it is just fantastic.
A long time ago, there used to be an oven but no one in the village ever seen it.
In fact now, it is not only a fireplace but also an efficient heating system. We have installed a system called "Polyflam". Just look at the site for details because it would be too long and difficult to explain here. To make a long story short, let's say it is also an improved kind of stove. As we can have wood localy, it is an excellent (and ecological) way to heat up the house, but this system is only used when we have guests. When the house is rent as a gite, we ask our customers to use it as a classical fireplace because it is not easy to use (quite technical).
Can you see the date carved in the wood ? It is 1768. Is it the date when the house was built ? No one knows. But considering the pile stones on the floor and the kind of stones used to build up the house and also the other houses around, we can assume that they all originate from Grandmont. As it disappeared in the end of the 18th century... it is probably true.
Right after the entry door, on the right and in front of the sink, a staircase leads to the cocoon rooms and to the orange room.
The dining room is behind the fireplace. We can access the dining room from the kitchen too.
There is a large table with 2 benches and a dresser with all the dishes. There are also 2 other tables. On one side, a large red bay window and on the other side a door that opens to the meadow on the other side of the house.
The kitchen is behind the living room. It is fully fully equiped : cooker with 5 burners, washing machine, dishwasher, two fridges (necessary for large groups), freezer, coffee machine, kettle, etc ...
