1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 399 Let's decorate our little home together!
That evening, Ronan called Juliet again.

In addition to informing her that the artificial cultivation of truffles was confirmed, they also subtly inquired about the experimental fields for the new grape varieties.

In fact, Juliet was even more anxious than Ronan.

If she doesn't get a quick response, the removal plan won't be able to proceed smoothly, and her dream of promotion will be shattered.

For the first time ever, she told Ronan that she would expedite the new variety test field project to find interested departments and have experienced research institutions communicate with Ronan about the types of new grape varieties to see which one would be best suited for testing in Provence.

“Okay, then I’ll wait patiently for a while,” Ronan said bitterly.

Frankly speaking, even without technical support, Ronan could try planting new grape varieties on his own. He had already found several targets, but as Pierre said, he simply couldn't find seedlings of these Provençal varieties.

He guessed that this was also a way for Provence to protect its local grape varieties, which are a very important crop and directly associated with the Provence label – wine.

If you want to try planting new grape varieties, you can only inform the higher-level government.

If that's the case, Ronan needs to contact academic institutions even more. They may have a lot of experimental data, and perhaps some of his target grapes simply cannot be successfully grown in Provence. Knowledge is dead, but nature is alive and often plays tricks on humans.

“It’s not just about waiting,” Juliet said with a smile. “You can focus your energy on the truffle project first. When do you have time? I can introduce you to the people at the Provence Truffle Technical Center in Carpenter.”

It's funny, Ronan has time every day, he can go anytime.

However, Juliet's schedule was difficult to adjust, and after much deliberation, the trip to Capontra was set for next week.

After informing Lucas to set aside time to go to Capontra with him, Ronan entered a state of 'idleness'.

There's no new grape variety in sight, the artificial truffle project can only proceed after we go to Carpenter, the winery is currently under construction, and the woven chairs have already been designed.
Just when Ronan was feeling extremely bored, Zoe offered a suggestion:
"Although I haven't filled the studio yet, I've bought all the equipment for the woodworking shop. How about we start renovating the house ahead of schedule?"

Ronan's enthusiasm immediately flared up:

"it is good!!"

The structure of this stone house in Ronan is as follows.

The first floor has a living room, dining room, open kitchen, a bathroom, a small storage room and a bedroom.

The bedroom was used to house heating equipment such as boilers for winter heating, and thus became an equipment room.

The restaurant and open kitchen were renovated last year, and the bathroom tiles were newly laid by Ronan last summer, so the only area on this floor that needs renovation is the living room.

The second floor consists of three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

One of the bedrooms was where Ronan's parents used to live, and the other was a guest room where Thor stayed when he came a few days ago. The two bedrooms share a bathroom in a common area.

The young couple discussed it and decided that the design of these three areas would remain unchanged, the furniture inside was all new made by Ronan and Zoe last year, and the frequency of people living there in the future would not be high.

Therefore, the only parts of the second floor that need renovation are the master bedroom where Ronan originally lived and the bathroom inside the master bedroom.

Although this bathroom was renovated last year, Ronan used the cheapest tiles available at the time.

This will be his and Zoe's wedding home in the future, so he will definitely redesign the bathroom to suit the lady of the house's taste.

Doesn't sound like there's a lot of work involved?

But the real big projects are outside!

Zoe loves birds and nature, and in the future, she wants to build as many resting places and landscaped areas as possible in that big yard.

The resting place doesn't refer to a formal reception area; it could be under a tree, like the rocking chair we made last year, where two people can sit and watch the stars and the sunset.

The scenery isn't just about the natural landscape of Luberon; in Zoe's own words:

"Our yard is so big and beautiful, we must make good use of it. Anything we build here will look great!"

“A swimming pool must be set up!” Ronan said, standing in a corner of the yard.

Imagine what it would be like to soak in your own backyard swimming pool during a hot summer in Provence, enjoying the beautiful scenery of Luberon while sipping chilled rosé wine.
Many wealthy people come to Luberon to buy houses just for this moment!
Ronan had considered building a swimming pool last year, but due to financial constraints, he ultimately only built a reception area and an outdoor kitchen.

However, Ronan had already arranged the location for digging the swimming pool in advance—it was on an open space not far from the house, next to the outdoor living room that had been built last year.

“We definitely have to dig a swimming pool.” Zoe’s mind was filled with pictures of mansions from decorating magazines. “But a regular swimming pool is boring. I’ll make some accessories to put around the pool and make it a little more special.”

"What accessories?" Ronan asked Zoe.

Zoe said seriously:

"Let me think about it some more. When will Cafu's men come to dig the swimming pool?"

Those guys from Cafu have worked hard.

After finishing the studio, I went straight to the restaurant. Before I even finished there, new jobs were already lined up behind me.

“It’s almost April.” Ronan had discussed this with Cafu before.

“There’s still time; summer doesn’t start until May.” Zoe left the area.

Ronan called out to her from behind: "Are you sure you don't want to build a sunroom or a greenhouse?"

Zoe wants a sunroom where she can look up at the stars at night, but the existing house structure makes it impossible.

Ronan suggested building one in the yard, since there was enough space, and it would serve as a greenhouse. However, Zoe refused, saying that would involve a long construction process. She preferred to slowly decorate their little home with Ronan, and didn't want to make any major changes except for the swimming pool in the backyard.

She smiled and turned back to Ronan, extending her hand:

"Regret is also a kind of beauty. We don't have to finish everything. Let's go and assign tasks."

studio.

The once empty woodworking workshop walls are now covered with tools, and the large equipment that Ronan and Zoe had been dreaming of has appeared, with piles of timber of various lengths and sizes in the corners.

The woodworking workshop is the most fully equipped place in the studio, to the point that anyone who walks in has to exclaim "Wow!"

However, other areas were not as complete. Due to time constraints, Zoe's studio only contained her original equipment and tools.

The second floor of the studio was used as a warehouse to store some of the appliances Zoe had bought, while the rest of the space remained empty.

Zoe, acting like a leader, held up her notebook and said to Ronan:
"Although we've decided to finish decorating our home first and then furnish the second floor of the studio, we can order things that can be prepared together first, such as the sofas for the second floor of the studio and the living room at home. Have we confirmed that they will both be upholstered?"

Zoe and Ronan were in complete agreement: the things on the second floor of the studio could be added gradually, but the wedding was more important.

Ronan nodded and said:
"Yes, we'll buy the sofa after we finish decorating the living room walls and ceiling. They're easy to buy; they're all readily available."

In the past, furniture was mostly made of stone because it was cheap.

But now that Ronan and Zoe are both well-off, they prefer nice-looking fabric sofas.

Zoe crossed this line out of her notebook and continued:

"We'll work together on the wall and ceiling decorations, using wood and plaster to make the light fixtures needed for the living room, bedroom, and bathroom. Your weaving and my glasswork can both be done; we can each contribute our own ideas. The master bedroom needs a large wardrobe, which we'll make together. We can also add two more cabinets to the living room on the first floor—the more storage, the better!"

With mechanical tools, making these furniture pieces became much easier.

Ronan suddenly interrupted her:

"I'm planning to try making a cabinet using a combination of wood and weaving, and see if it works?"

Currently, woven furniture only involves chairs, but Ronan wants to take this opportunity to try combining it with other styles.

Zoe readily accepted:

"Of course! Woven furniture is so beautiful, why don't you make a few more woven lounge chairs?"

“No problem!” Ronan readily agreed.

After tallying all the work related to timber, Zoe said with some uncertainty:
"Can you lay the tiles in the second-floor bathroom by yourself?"

Zoe can make furniture, but this is something she really can't do.
“Of course,” Ronan said confidently. “I laid the tiles in the previous few bathrooms.”

Zoe bit her pen and said:

“Okay, then tomorrow you can find someone to help remove the tiles from that bathroom, and I’ll go to Apte to buy new tiles, along with the tiles from the bathroom on the second floor of the studio.”

As she spoke, she picked up her measuring tools and prepared to go upstairs:

"I'm going to measure the dimensions of the upstairs bathroom."

Ronan had previously told Zoe about the renovation process: first, remove the unwanted parts, then do the carpentry work (referring to ceiling or wall design), then the masonry work, followed by wall finishing, and finally various installations.

Although it sounds complicated, there's actually not much to do in the house.

Ronan suddenly stopped Zoe:
"Let's not tile the studio's bathroom. Our studio has a 'raw' style, with almost no treatment on the walls and floors, so let's keep the bathroom in the same style."

Zoe said, as if still shaken:

"Huh? So 'primitive'?"

Some terrifying images appeared in her mind.

Ronan said, both amused and exasperated:

"The primitive style is a decorating style! It's not what you think, that I can renovate that bathroom in a day."

"Really?" Zoe was a little skeptical.

Ronan said with a smile:
"Really, the bathroom in the studio will be installed by tomorrow when you come back from Apt."

Zoe glanced at Ronan for a few seconds, then walked back:

"I'm not going to Apt tomorrow. I'll stay here and do some carpentry work. I want to see how you're renovating the bathroom."

(End of this chapter)