Our first Christmas and New Year at Corvol coincided with our first anniversary: one year earlier, we visited the house on a whim and immediately knew that it had been waiting for us. Following our successful offer, as the world grappled with the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, we struggled with notaires, banks and artisans, finally signing and taking possession of the house in May.
The pandemic was still dominating life and headlines, and France was just emerging from its second extended period of confinement. For a few weeks, we were uncertain whether travel would be authorized, but by mid-December, we could move again, and I drove to the house (with Glinka) to finish some of the pending work and prepare for the family, who joined me for Christmas. I was to remain for the following month, as continued teleworking allowed me to work from my home office in Corvol.
It was a quiet time, and the first time we had all been together in the château. Not all the sleeping spaces were yet ready, so it was a bit of a squeeze. Lazy days, crackling fires, and occasional visits to friends were punctuated with walks to explore the nearby rolling countryside, largely unchanged since the seventeenth century.
Other changes completed before Christmas improved conditions in the house. We stripped out the downstairs toilet and old fuel heater, and installed a more usable (and insulated) cloakroom. A repainted kitchen finally brought relief from the previous, and rather tired, luminous green. Along with a few antique furniture and lighting finds, mainly in the region or on the ubiquitous ‘leboncoin’ website, I capitulated and decided to install a TV, a necessary compromise if we were to keep our resident teenagers and young adults engaged.
Our little château was beginning to feel like home.
Above: The new cloakroom, before during and after.
Below: Repainted kitchen, at last.
Le Vieux Château 