Before the paintbrush came the hammer...

First renovation at Le Fresnay  focussed around the permissions to return the barn to its original farmhouse status, a process made easier by the fact that the remnants of the hearth & old chimney inside survived 

Built 1650's it seems its impossible to get an accurate time scale in France; the response is always the same.. its an old French farmhouse...'ce'st tres ancienne'.

Summer 2006 son Tom & two friends, all skilled design / craftsmen came over to start the grand task. All that oak,all that history & all that work, we needed to asses priorities.