We have just received the quote for new doors, windows and shutters from the carpenter, Diego. He works with his Dad and they are very well respected, it seems, for the quality of their work. And as it is a job that we hope to only do once, we asked them for a quote. Chestnut is the wood of choice around here as it contains resins that are particularly resilient against extremes of heat and cold. It can be stained a beautiful rich colour. But for any window or shutter that is going to be sprayed our chosen grey/green, we can use the cheaper pine or hardwood option. We thought we might be stuck with the dark brown colour for the front of the house because of being in the historic centre, however we noticed that a few doors down the neighbours have silver grey shutters and further down they have pale green so….watch this space.
Enjoying a hot chocolate in the bar and reading an Italian Interiors magazine, I came across an article on door furniture and their styles. As we walked around afterwards I realised how many different kinds there are here in town. The history of the knocker might follow along with my photos.
Only came across one letterbox and that was a simple slot cut into the door panel. Everyone seems to have a post box fixed to the wall or garage door. We might start a trend and introduce one on our door. (Jamie says he has seen one with lettere (letters) painted on the door next to it, with an arrow pointing at the letterbox – presumably to make sure the postman knows what to do.)
Another wonderful find in town is a sliver of a shop, the doorway so narrow you need to go in sideways. This is a seamstress who will be sewing patches of suede on to the elbows of Jamie’s John Lewis cashmere sweaters that have worn holes in the elbows. They’d have to be thrown out otherwise but for another beautiful little haberdashery shop (that really is a step back in time with its lace, bobbly trims and colouful assortment of buttons and threads) that sells the suede patches necessary in an array of colours too.
The sweaters will be ready tomorrow afternoon, which is Sunday, and all for £8 a jumper.
P.S. Didn’t manage to post this yesterday (WiFi in the bar we went to was a bit flaky) but picked up the jumpers this afternoon and she had also fixed all the other little holes that she found – at no extra cost!
Sunflowers and Saffron 