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| A new lease of life |
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| Monday, 07 July 2008 | |
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Retiring from the army in 2005 was the impetus Chris Davis needed to fulfil his dream of running a holiday business in rural France with his wife Mandie and their two daughters. When friends saw the photos of Chris and Mandie Davis' beautiful ‘ruin’ in France, they thought the couple had gone mad! Their Charentaise Longère – set in the heart of the Grand Champagne area of Cognac – was originally built in 1838 as a vineyard owner’s house, with attached barn and worker’s cottage, and was little more than an old garage and a pile of bricks when they bought it. The couple planned to restore the old buildings sympathetically and create three luxury holiday venues, by renovating the twobedroom cottage and converting the barn into modern and classic onebedroom apartments.  Kitchen They wanted to complete the works on the holiday accommodation as quickly as possible: this would be their primary source of income. Prior to arriving in France they finalised the budgeting, planning and sourcing of materials while they were still based in Germany. This critical planning stage proved to be a real challenge as the couple spoke limited French and knew nothing about sourcing building materials in France. After scouring the internet, they came across the website for DIY chain Leroy Merlin, and discovered that they had a huge store in nearby La Rochelle. The couple could source materials online and even arrange delivery for specific items. This they found invaluable and it also helped them get to grips with the language. “The website had some pages in English and also provided you with a DIY dictionary of French and English building terms – not something you learn when sitting your ‘O’ Level French!" laughs Chris.  Chris Davis building the pool Once permanently installed in France, and with a large part of the building materials ordered, they were able to start renovating almost immediately. Due to his army training, Chris didn’t find the physical work or motivation testing… but the book-keeping was another matter: “Budgeting for the project was my biggest challenge. There is so much choice and you are always trying to get a balance between what you want and what you can afford. Leroy Merlin really helped us make great savings and find some stylish products we were actually surprised to see in rural France.” While Chris kept focused on the ‘serious' building work, Mandie turned her attention to the interior design. She wanted a high-quality, contemporary finish which would make their luxury accommodation appeal to their target market of affluent couples. “Really, I just wanted to get on with the final design touches! While Chris was in Leroy Merlin buying serious building materials, I was being tempted by the surprising choice of tiles, paints and good-quality fittings. Leroy Merlin have obviously made a real effort to help British people. They even have English-speaking staff, which made it easier for us to choose the materials we needed for our project,” says Mandie.  Completed swimming pool The garden was also a huge part of the project. The couple had a large L-shaped pool installed and then set about landscaping the whole area, which had formerly been a driveway and a scrap yard for old lorries and cars. Chris recalls: “We dug up the tarmac, and completely re-shaped and terraced the land, giving the cottage its own raised garden. When the Leroy Merlin lorry arrived with the blocks to start building the 100 metres of garden walls, it was quite exciting.” Finally, after 18 months of back-breaking work, the couple successfully transformed a huge, virtually derelict site into a beautiful, modern and stylish retreat in time to receive their first guests of the season. Did they think it was worth it? “Mandie and I didn’t want to take over someone else’s renovation – we had our own ideas and wanted to do our own thing. So starting with a shell was ideal. Our vision was to create a Charentais-style house and make use of the local stone while at the same time producing a high-quality modern interior. In the end I think we found that balance.” Major & Mrs C J Davis Tel: 05 45 36 26 05 www.boisblanc.net |
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