A sad, grey girl gets dressed up at last
Spring is finally creeping over the horizon in the northern Cotentin. The evenings are slowly drawing out, and daybreak arrives at a reasonable 8am. With the first rays of sun comes the song of blackbirds – the male hatchlings from the previous season are the first to begin their mating calls, the older birds won’t start singing until the end of March.
I like to imagine the swallows beginning their long trek up from Africa at this time of year, carried on rising thermal currents southerly winds, tiny drifts of feathers forging northwards towards their summer nesting grounds.
On our daily walks, you can almost feel the sap rising, a steady thrumming from underground, a gathering force. Slowly the scents and sounds of the landscape changes, each week new life bursts from the sodden earth.
Nettie is finally finished, and she will receive her first visitors this weekend. It’s hard to believe how sad she looked twelve short months ago. So to welcome new beginnings, and the start of a new season, here are the final before and after shots, with Villa Nettie fully dressed and ready for action! Find her on AirBnB, and come to stay one day?
With the terrazzo splash backs and quartz kitchen island, this space has a vintage feel. The paintings are by the artist who exhibited here last April
With this view, I could stare out for hours. The wood burning stove gives the space a country feel, and the compact and comfy chairs fold down to become chaises longues. There’s a tiny TV in the cupboard too for when you get bored with the view.
A little shower room has fitted neatly into the corner of the salon
Wake up, prop yourself up in bed and watch the fishing boats returning with their catch.
The vellum floods this tiny attic room with light, and the cupboard has been repurposed with a sink we found on the first floor
I fell in love with these steep and narrow stairs
Hunker down at Nettie, and enjoy the crisp. cool days of spring :)
