Tuscan Villa Fattoria: Workspace Woes

When I was working on my French Farmhouse, I didn't have a designated workspace. I migrated from the garage to the basement laundry room and back to the garage, depending on the outside temperature. When the farmhouse construction progressed to the point where the house was too large and too heavy to move easily, I set up shop in the basement family room. My work table was placed diagonally in front of the sliding doors that lead to the downstairs patio, leaving just enough space to move around the table and access the door. The farmhouse remained there, pretty much in the way, until it was completed. Of course, I also had a rolling stack of drawers, a card table, boxes of supplies, a big wastebasket, and a hand vacuum that also remained there, definitely in the way, for the duration.

When I began thinking about building the Tuscan Villa Fattoria, I was determined to have a real workspace, if not a work room. I walked from room to room in our townhouse, measuring and speculating and rejecting the very few spaces that I had thought might possibly suffice.

I was even desperate enough at one point to consider selling our baby grand piano that no one ever plays. I could have got a lot of work done in the space taken up by that piano. But I'm sentimental; our youngest daughter had twelve years of lessons on it, and she will take it off our hands if she ever has room for it. (She has never actually said so, but we live in hope.)

In the end, I gave up my study on the main level of our house. That couldn't be my workroom because there's a crooked little jag of a hallway that precludes moving anything the size of my miniature houses past that annoying angle. My houses probably should not be turned upside down and sideways, which is the treatment suffered by most of the furniture that I've ever used in that room.

The study became the new guest bedroom, which is not as convenient as the old guest bedroom, which is now my basement workroom. But we don't have many guests, and we'll probably have even fewer now that the guest room is a bit inconveniently located. My new workroom is fine, although I had to retain the carpeting, which does not lend itself well to sticks, stones, styrofoam, paint, glue, sanding dust, and dried dollops of joint compound. But I'll be careful.

Robert built me a sturdy work table top, which he attached to a sturdy old library table. (You may remember that Robert does not build table bases; only the tops!) He added casters to the table legs so that I can roll the table into different positions.

I set up the room, placed good task lighting in the right places, arranged my desk under the watchful eye of Queen Victoria........ 

.........filled shelves

........and drawers

........and placed a small table beside my big comfortable "break" chair. 

Robert obligingly made a new top for the tall metal table base that you can see in the left hand corner.  The old top was made of metal and had warped. This top has a handy lip all around, and the base also rolls, so I can move it to wherever I need it.

The last thing was to place my Victorian Townhouse in the last corner.

I was ready to begin my Villa Fattoria.

BUT THEN........

A few days later, we were ready to go out to dinner with some friends when I realized that it was rather chilly outside, so I decided to get a light jacket. I went down to my workroom, which has a large closet that contains all of our out-of-season clothing. I opened the closet door and was hit - forcefully - by the unmistakable odor of MILDEW! 

At first glance, I didn't see anything amiss, but as I looked around, I discovered that the closet ceiling was mottled with black mildew. YIKES! 

I called for Robert, and while he searched for the source of the obvious water leak from upstairs, (which turned out to be from a leaking pipe under a bathroom sink), I began hauling armloads of clothing, shoes, boots, and boxes of miscellaneous items from the closet to......you KNOW where.

Yes. My new, clean, organized workroom.

Robert immediately drilled holes in the closet ceiling to let the excess water drain out. Then we set fans and a dehumidifier in the closet and went to dinner. Nothing much spoils my appetite!

Afterwards, we assessed the damage. We don't know how long the pipe under the sink had been leaking and running into the closet ceiling. Obviously, we don't have occasion to go into that closet often. The water had been dripping long enough to cause mildew, but not to cause permanent damage. The powdery mildew adhered mostly to leather boots and jackets and brushed off easily, as it did from other items on which it had settled.

After a professional service determined that there was no mold growing and that we didn't have to remove walls and the ceiling, which we fully anticipated that we would need to do, we just allowed it all to dry out for two weeks or so with the aid of fans and the dehumidifier.

Then Robert began the cleaning and repair work - using Clorox, Kilz, spackling paste, sandpaper, and finally paint. (And, in his words, much skill and cunning!)

Soon - voila! The closet was right back where it started from and I was able to reclaim my workroom.

AND NOW

I am ready to start work on my Tuscan Villa Fattoria!

The French Farmhouse: Welcome to Our World

Welcome to the home of Marcel and Lisbette Filibert. They have looked forward to meeting you and showing you their farmhouse, where Marcel has lived for his entire life, and where he brought Lisbette to live after their marriage. Three daughters and one son were born to Lisbette and Marcel in this house, but their daughters have married and have established their own households. Only Etienne, Marcel and Lisbette's fourteen year old son, remains to help with the farm labor. There is always much work to be done, but there is time today for the family to greet visitors. Although theirs is a humble home, the Filiberts possess much pride of ownership and feel honored to share some bits of information about their home and its history.

 

Please come inside! Lisbette is waiting for you at the front door of the farmhouse, just underneath the wisteria vine. The door opens directly into the one main room of their house, which is sufficient for most of their needs. 

The heart of the Filibert's home is the fireplace. It is fitted with a crane and pot hooks. Cooking pots,  kettles, a trivet, and other cooking utensils are arranged along the hearth and in front of it.

Lisbette finds the shelves that are built near the fireplace useful for storing her crocks, pottery, and a few pieces of pewter.

Lisbette keeps the bread that she bakes weekly in the wall-hung bread box. Her wooden dough bowl and other baking supplies are close at hand on the top of the dough trough; she also has storage space inside the dough trough for other kitchen necessities.

After a hard day's labor, Marcel enjoys resting on the wooden settle, which has a  hinged seat that opens for storage. Marcel's pipe and tobacco are nearby, beside the one book that he owns. Marcel is very thankful that he was taught to read when he was young; he taught Lisbette to read as well early in their marriage. Together they tutored their daughters, and now Marcel or Lisbette spends some time daily teaching Etienne. Lisbette often listens to Marcel read as she sews or churns.

A trestle table, flanked by benches, is placed in the center of the main room, convenient for meals and for use as a work space. This is where Lisbette will invite you to sit presently when she serves you some refreshment. Customarily, you would be served a bowl of hot soup with crusty bread in the bottom of the bowl; but since you are a special guest, Lisbette has made a pot of strong, delicious coffee, which I'm sure you can smell already. I'm not at liberty to disclose Lisbette's source for the coffee that she serves on rare occasions; but you will not soon forget that rich, earthy flavor.

A shallow stone sink is built into the wall on one side of the fireplace. The sink must be filled by buckets of well water. The used water is drained into a bucket beneath the sink; it can then be used to water plants or for cleaning chores. Lisbette will soon use the sink to wash a pail full of newly dug potatoes. 

This is Lisbette's favorite chair, which she uses for many tasks, one of which awaits her now. Etienne has brought in a basket of apples from their tree, and although preparing the apples is woman's work, Etienne sometimes slyly takes a turn at the apple peeling so that he can enjoy a few tasty bites.

The curtained doorway near the clock leads to Marcel and Lisbette's bedroom. 

Lisbette takes great pride in the new bed, which they have owned for only a short time. Lisbette cannot get used to the spaciousness of the bedroom after sleeping for many years in the crowded space of the main room. Now that the three daughters of the house have married and moved to their own homes, the bedroom once again belongs to Marcel and Lisbette, who probably appreciate it more than their daughters ever did!

Marcel uses this chest for his shaving items, and Lisbette stores linens and clothing inside the chest; at the bottom is a drawer where Lisbette stores some of her most often used things.

Before you go downstairs to the "work" areas of the farm, Lisbette will be pleased to serve you coffee, along with new bread and sweet butter that she made earlier this morning, after she finished the milking. I'm sure that you will savor it all.

The stairs are steep and well worn, so please step carefully as you make your way down to the farmyard.

The farmhouse was built as a high house; the barn and storage areas are located underneath the upper-level living space. This end of the structure also houses the dovecote, which is reached by a tall ladder that hangs on the wall beside the dovecote door.

Marcel opened the dovecote door for you, because it can be a tricky maneuver if you aren't used to doing it. The ladder should be placed firmly on the ground and reach up to just below the door. Then you must climb up the ladder high enough to unlatch and open the door, leaning far to one side so that the door doesn't hit your head as it swings open. Continue to the highest rung on the ladder and sort of crawl into the dovecote. Easy, if you've practiced it for nearly forty years, as Marcel has done! 

Marcel keeps eight pigeons; by law, he is allowed one pigeon for each acre of tilled ground. I'm glad that it's September now, because in July and August all the pigeons in all the provincial dovecotes must be shut in to protect the harvest; one pigeon can consume fifty pounds of grain in a year! To avoid extensive damage during harvest times, each farmer must feed his own pigeons from his own grain supply. Now Marcel can allow his pigeons to fly freely again and forage for themselves, and you can go freely into the dovecote and look around.

I count three pigeons on the terra cotta nesting pots; the others must be away at the moment.

 Marcel and Etienne clean the dovecote floor daily to collect the pigeon droppings, which they use to fertilize their crops. Apparently, they do not clean the walls.

Now you will need to carefully back out of the dovecote door and find your footing on the ladder rungs. Then you can climb safely down. Ah. Terra firma! Did you breathe a sigh of relief? (Even simple things in life can be fraught with anxiety!)

 Marcel has brought in a load of grapes from their small vineyard. He will find time in a while to squeeze the juice from the grapes. It's an interesting, although messy, task. If you'd like to watch the process, remember to stand well away from the spattering juice.  

 You've reached the entrance to the wine store, which is located beneath the dovecote at the west end of the farmhouse.  

Because the ground floor temperature is fairly constant, this is a superior place for Marcel to store the wine for his family's personal use.

Lisbette's baking day has diminished the woodpile; Etienne will have an extra chore tomorrow.

 Lisbette has provided Marcel and Etienne with a convenient wash bench near the stairs that lead up to the family living quarters. Marcel has wisely removed his muddy boots before venturing into the kitchen; he has experienced Lisbette's wrath on the rare occasions when he wasn't so wise! 

One of the farm cats enjoys the afternoon sunshine on the sun-warmed garden chair. 

 An assortment of farm tools and implements are stored neatly out of the way on the walls at either side of the wide barn entrance.

 Someone unwittingly left a barrow of onions at the barn's entrance! Etienne should hurry to move them out of reach of the cows. No one in this family likes onion-flavored milk!

The two Guernsey milk cows seem unaware of the tasty onions within reach; they're content to munch on their dinner of hay.

This manger holds the daily hay; Lisbette's milking stool stands nearby. 

The farmhouse draws its water supply from a shallow "balancing well," which is operated by a lever  attached to a water bucket and a chain.

Two washtubs hang on an outside wall, convenient for Lisbette's washdays, which are less frequent than she would like; but water is at a premium at all times. The larger tub also serves as the family bathtub, which is seldom used; but Lisbette sees that her family makes liberal use of a washcloth and soap!

 Etienne can keep an eye on the rabbits from his room just a few steps away.

Only a low wall with a wooden gate separates Etienne's small room from the main part of the barn.

 Fortunately, he's too busy - and often too tired - to notice the lack of either space or privacy in his sleeping area at the end of the barn, which he shares with the workbench and tools for the farm.   

The upper and lower bedroom windows are visible from this end of the house.

Six hens and a rooster currently reside in the chicken coop that is located at the east end of the house.

The rooster presumptuously prefers a window roost to the one provided for him in the coop.

The modern-day construction of the French Farmhouse has drawn to a close, and this has been a farewell visit to Marcel and Lisbette's home. They are hereto transported back to the quiet contentment of a less hectic age and will resume their lives in the year 1853. Although their more primitive environment will hold great hardships and hard labor, their happiness and satisfaction with their lot will also be great. Life will be good.

********

This is the Real-World habitat of the French Farmhouse and the New Mexico Adobe House. The table that Robert built holds both the houses with just enough space to spare and resides in the basement family room of our Lincoln, Nebraska home. Above the adobe house hangs a large watercolor depicting the Taos Pueblo in Northern New Mexico. There is also a pencil sketch drawn by Robert of the same pueblo, and a smaller photograph of a portion of the adobe house that I owned when I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Above the French Farmhouse hangs an old print entitled "The Haymaking," by Leon Augustin L'Hermitte.