The Landscaping Project!!!

IT IS DONE!! We've been waiting for this for over two years and it is finally COMPLETE! It looks SO wonderful and feels so great to have an actual finished entry at last!

The landscapers worked NINE FULL DAYS on this. It was a HUGE undertaking. They were here each day at 7 in the morning and finished at 5 pm. They only took 30 minute lunch breaks...nearly 10 hour work days!! There was a lot to do..They stipped down the makeshift stairs and compacted the land leading up to the door. Our front door is about 1.35 metres higher than the street level so there was quite a distance to go up. The entry starts at the bottom of the driveway and consists of 4 levels and 10 steps. The levels make the entry feel gradual and on both sides the of the project there are plants held in by granite block planters. There are 4 large retention areas, one of which is a hiding place for the trashcan! Small granite decorative stones fill the planting areas. There are at least 20 different plants on each side...The finishing touch is an integrated door mat at the front door which has been carved into the granite tiles. Of course the entire driveway had to be paved as well. First the land was compacted and bricks were layed ONE BY ONE. The entire 125 square meters is composed of handlayed bricks. We selected an antique paver by Kronimus that just looks fabulous with the house.

The reason why we waited to do this project is two-fold. Firstly it costs a LOT of money...and the tax in France is nearly 20% if you make renovations during the first two years. After the two year period, the tax for house renovation drops to only 5%. This in itself saves a lot of money so we decided it would be worth waiting the 24 months. In the fall when we reached two years we were ready, but the landscaper had a full schedule.. I'm so glad he waited until now to do it though. With spring here it just feels so wonderful to have a fresh and new exterior, plus he was able to plant all of the decorative plants at the same time as doing the driveway and entry.

The materials used for this project were massive. HUGE and heavy slab blocks of granite were used for the steps, and granite tiles of 40 cm by 40 cm square, were used for each landing area. We chose light grey granite for the steps and a very dark grey (anthracite) color for the landings. I'll do a step by step of the project, but for now here is a before and after picture! You won't believe the difference!!

BEFORE


















AFTER!

BEFORE (Ariel view from our window)

AFTER ( same ariel view from our bedroom window)