The creation of my “she shed” in 2019 was a fluke of genius ahead of the COVID19 lockdowns. A safe and creative space tucked into the butterfly cottage garden.

It was during COVID that I took up wet felting seriously and fulfilled a wish to learn nuno felting.

Wet felting takes over my life.

For five years, my little shed has become my place where fibre and textile transform into little pieces of magic.

I have always had a passion for textile and creating my own has been an awakening.

The felting bug bit hard are discovering how how to create my own. From wearables such as shawls, scarves and even shoes to homewares, sculptures, gifts to saleable pieces.
Learning the basics and then creating my own methods, shortcuts and cheats to produce stunning pieces has been great fun. From fibre to fabulous is my new mantra.

Lately I have run courses with other ladies in our region showing them how to create their own stunning pieces. This has been a true joy.

This December I will start to upload some of these courses and projects here. I will begin with wet felting basics and a couple of easy projects to try yourselves. I can’t wait. Stay tuned or write to me if you would like me to let you know when the content is up.

Be prepared to be hooked.

The post Fibre to Fabulous: Nuno Felting Art Projects appeared first on Our French DIY & more.

Here in South West France there is always a huge influx of citrus stalls that pop up along the roadsides at the end of summer. I cannot resist snapping up these crates of huge juicy healthy skinned oranges, lemons and other citrus from Southern Spain at low cost. This recipe for Chocolate Orange Thins is always hubby’s favourite.

Whilst delicious, most importantly Chocolate Orange Thins are a clever way to always have a much appreciated gift ready to grab and go. Simply freeze in airtight container and they will keep for months.

Options

This orange recipe can be adapted to any citrus fruit of your choice. Husband’s favourite is Pink Grapefruit Chocolate Thins. My neighbour loves the tang that comes from Lime Chocolate Thins. My recent experiment with cumquats has become my personal favourite and is mouth shockingly wonderful albeit fiddly to do with the small fruits.

Chcolate Orange Thins in your freezer ensures you are always have gifts to hand at a fraction of the cost of buying handmade chocolates or confectionery.

No waste!

• Be sure to use the best quality chocolate you can afford such as Valrhona or Lindt. However, you can opt for dark, milk, white or the new trendy ruby chocolate. Any good cooking/confectionery chocolate will do.
• Secondly, select your citrus fruits without blemishes. The thicker the skin/peel, the easier it will be to remove the bitter white pith during the preparation stage.
• Importantly, if using very strong citrus fruits such as limes or cumquats, make your strips smaller and more appropriate to the serving size.
• keep to one type of fruit per blanching batch.
• Do not skip any of the blanching steps, they are important.
• have lots of cookie racks or similar for the drying stage.
• the process is messy. I cover my island bench with grease proof/waxed paper for an easier clean up.
• Keep your eyes open for fun packaging to have on hand to present your gifts in. I love picking up little gift boxes at the various discount stores or clip top jars. Action stores in France are a great place to find containers and gift packaging.
• It is important to store them in the freezer where they will not be jostled or crushed. I use freezer safe plastic tubs, separating the peel layers with grease proof paper and add a small piece of paper towel to absorb any sweating and to a avoid freezer burn.
• Last tip! Do not reveal to your other half where you keep them. I hide mine under a bag of frozen spinach – it has worked.

Chocolate Orange Thins Recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• a good stock of chocolate (see tip above) – I find that 250 grams (one block) per 4-5 pieces of fruit is a good guide.
• Oranges or any form skinned citrus fruit. 4-5 pieces is minimum to justify the bother. I usually do around 5 kilos and take over the entire kitchen as simply one big mess
• white sugar – basic crystallised is fine approximately. Circa 500 grams per 4-5 oranges
• 1:25 litres of water per 500 grams of sugar for syrup stage, plus additional water for blanching
• Optional – vanilla powder or bean to add to syrup

METHOD – Step 1: the peel

• Firstly, wash all fruit well ensuring there is no bruising or other skin areas you would NOT want to eat.
• Set a large pot of water to boil and have colander and draining area ready. Lay out your wire racks ready for draining stage.
• Cut fruit in quarters and scoop out flesh (see note above if you don’t want to waste).
• Once you have just quarters of shell, start to trim away as much as the white pith as possible without cutting into the outer skin.
• Next, cut each piece into strips- this is personal preference. I usually find with a medium size orange I cut each quarter into 6 strips. For a larger fruit more strips and reverse for small fruits.

• Next drop strips into your simmering pot of water and keep it in a rolling slow boil for 3-5 minutes. Blanch only as many strips that can move freely in the boiling water as seen above.
• after five minutes drain into a colander. Discard water and repeat process twice with fresh water each time. A minimum of three blanchings is vital. The skin will start to look slightly translucent. Careful as strips begin to get fragile and will break if not handled gently.
• drain well after final blanching and lay strips out on paper towel to dry. Combine sugar and water – sugar 500 gms per 1.25 litres of water (plus a half teaspoon of vanilla powder or a halved vanilla bean if you wish).
• bring to a rolling boil
• Once your strips have dried on the paper towel, gently peel them off and drop them into the boiling syrup and gently swirl, stir, mix to ensure each is free moving in the syrup. Simmer/very slow boil for a minimum of 30 minutes until skin is virtually transparent/translucent and the liquid has slightly evaporated.
• carefully remove the strips from the liquid using tongs or a slotted spoon and carefully separate them over wire racks to dry. It is important that they can air dry freely. Leave a minimum of eight hours/overnight.

METHOD – Step 2: Chocolate dipping

After you have left your peel to dry into glacé peel, you can simply toss the strips in white sugar and preserve. These are also delicious sweet meats or as baking decorations.

Or to finish your chocolate orange thins, we need to add the chocolate.

• chop chocolate and place in the top of a double boiler or in a bowl that will sit well over the pan of water. The water in the pan should not touch the bowl. Gently melt the chocolate over simmering water careful to ensure no water splash or your chocolate will split. I stir my chocolate with a wooden chopstick to get it smooth.
• Now using tongs or clean fingers or a sate stick, dip each piece into the melted chocolate and lay on baking paper to set. It is your choice whether you fully dip of leave a portion of the peel exposed. I do the latter as I like the look of a section of the fruit revealed as shown.
• Wrap a parcel in cellophane for immediate gifting, box up or set in grease proof layers in freezer container. They defrost quickly and will store for up to a year in the freezer and keep for months on the shelf in an airtight container.
• Do NOT leave these Chocolate Orange Thins in a warm place. You will end up with a molten lump. Yep – left them in the car on the way to a party. The hostess and I both gasped when she opened the box.
  

Et voila

No matter what time or occasion, these treats will bring a smile. Enjoy and let me know how you went.

The post Easy Chocolate Orange Thins appeared first on Our French DIY & more.

However, renovating this old house took priority. That did not stop me from filling my “she shed” Pinterest page with inspirations and dreamy spaces of other lucky ladies.

The large hardware chains here in South West France ie: Leroy Merlin and Castorama, have limited kits suitable for a she shed conversion. I did a lot of door kicking and cheap flimsy window knocking only to come away disheartened. 

Optimism is a required quality for a French renovation. However, finding a reasonable kit with real windows to let in the light and my views all at a price I could afford continued to be a major fail. France has not yet come to terms with the growing wish of ladies for a dedicated she shed space. Lawnmower and tool storage are well catered for – what a surprise.

Rickety thin walls and thin plastic windows at silly prices was all I could find. As usual our renovation challenge kept me to a cheap and cheerful budget that would look expensive.

It was time to look beyond France and its limited offerings in the budget range.

Planning permission in France

A quick call to our planning adviser guided us to a maximum of 20 square metres and a roof height of 1.8m to keep permissions simple – a Declaration Prealable.

Any larger than this would require a full building permission – a costly and complex procedure as well as affecting our annual house taxes and the time frame.

Update at 2022, we now do pay land tax on my little space. It costs us €147 per year but worth it.

First challenge- Where to put it?

Whilst the kit search continued – the location decision was tackled. By the lake, pool or the dumping place?

This decision was easy. Cleaning up of this area was another matter. Husband and I had steadfastly ignored the site since taking on this reno project six years ago.

The area to the east of our new annex and pool area, behind a half height old stone wall was a dumping ground. It had been or centuries. Mountains of old tiles and trash, numerous animal and bird pens squeezed around a space where annual bonfires have raged for generations. Many visits to the tip later plus bringing in the digger and dumper and Husband and we started to make some progress. 

My she shed plot faces south to our lake and east to another with neighbouring vineyards to the west. With beautiful views it is an area that is both private and not too far from the house. The area was an under utilized 200 square metres of our two hectare space.

Whilst not offering much shade, the old maple nearby would help in summer. Landscaping will eventually solve this problem.

What to do with those old roof tiles?

Mountains of old roofing tiles were recycled to be the base for the foundation. After measuring our area and while waiting for the permission to build to be issued, we decided to crush the old now redundant roof tiles to make our hardcore base. Smashing these into a pit was strangely therapeutic. Husband then arrived with the heavy duty tools to finish the base.

Now a bed for my she shed to rest on

Next – the foundation. Nothing extraordinary here – husband and I and the trusty concrete mixer and elbow grease (and plenty of cups of tea).

All machinery needed were on hand due to our original Reno budget planning – https://www.ourfrenchdiy.com/?p=292

Many of the building instruction websites showed sheds on slabs, but I wanted something much more stable and permanent.

Delays in the permission being issued had husband tackling the mess of rocks behind. After a day of hard grunt, a fabulous dry stone wall appeared which further defined the space. Laurel hedge was then planted above and the landscaping project began. However, this is still a long way to go on that front.

Finding my she shed

Eventually, I went to Google and started my search further afield- from UK to Scandinavia and even USA. 

Finally, I found a brilliant site in Germany with cost effective solutions and began choosing the one for me.  The fact that they would not deliver to France did not deter me as I knew I would find a cost effective solution. Have a look at these: http://bit.ly/2N4Bqhg

After many phone calls with Gartenhaus and their patient answering of my many questions, we decided to go with their German engineering and manufacture.

The other dreamier ones available in other countries were forgotten. Hefty prices and complexities of construction had me re-think my expectations.  Whilst I loved the ones with dovecotes/pidgeonieres, complex decorative roofing designs and fully insulated walls and floors, I knew husband would have a heart attack at the five figure+ prices of them.

My She Shed Wish list – defining my decision

Seeing what a big budget could get, it was reality time. Finesse the wish list! (Compromise!)

I knew I wanted my she shed to have:

• French doors – on two sides if possible taking in the east and south views. My real dream was full concertina doors on at least one side
• double glazed glass
• thick-ish timber walls for added insulation – minimum 40mm thick.
• attractive roof line that tied in with the house and had a bit of heritage feel to it – not the boring cheap flat ones from the hardware stores.
• The ease of construction – something husband and I could do together.

The construction plans on many of the garden building websites were a quick hint at the work involved. Kits needing a number of burly men that would drain our sensible (tight) budget were avoided.

My chosen she shed kit

My chosen kit had me having to work with our local Mayor and prefecture on this one.  Ooops. Complications eventually came into play with our Declaration Prealable but it was worth it.

We had two choices in wall thicknesses, 44mm or 70mm. We chose the thinner. It still twice as thick as local shed kits. Also added to the order were treated timber and bitumen roofing tile kit options. There were many other add-ons we could have included. The sticking point was that they would not freight it for me. This was sorted out independently and the order placed. A bottle of local bubbly was opened to celebrate.

Excluding the freight (don’t ask) it cost at just €3000 for the entire kit. This was including floors, double glazed windows, premium roofing kit etc. A bargain.

Was construction easy

In short, no! This was because of a milling error in the wall beams. We did not realize until we were three layers up. Husband re-jigged the remaining beams and we were up and running in no time. However, those few millimeters of error at the base came back to haunt us at roof and window installation time.

The instructions were reasonably clear although mostly in German. Lots of diagrams and drawings of the various components helped, as did my basic grasp of their language had us breeze through the translations.

All in all – we got there. One very clever husband and his enthusiastic side-kick wife got this up on our own.

The finished product – et voila!

Still to do – works in progress!

Now I have my space the surrounds need to be tackled, such as the concrete surrounds gardens and greenhouse lean-to.

The picture above is my next she shed project and my attempt to use up the many square metres of floor tiles we left over from the house renovation. It will free up space in husband’s barn plus be the base of the planned outdoor day bed. I will post a picture as soon as it is completed.

Thanks for bearing with me on this long story for such a little project that has been worth all of the work. For me, it has been worth it. I love it and crafting and art already flowing out of its doors.

Update 2023

Hoping you can see the Tree of Life mosaic feature at the front of my she shed. The gardens and willows are coming along. All plants were propagated from other areas of the garden with an occasional gift from friends. The butterflies and bees in spring and summer are amazing.

Another upgrade was a small air conditioner. We really should have paid more attention to insulation options.

Update 2024

I love my she shed. Now a hive of activity of wet felted creations. Stay tuned for more news on this. The joy of felting will be uploaded from December 2024.

The post My She Shed dream appeared first on Our French DIY & more.

The traditional recipe is 1 part Orange Armagnac liquor to 6 parts of dry white wine bubbles (a dry Champagne or Vin Sauvage). When serving in a traditional “Pousse” glass, the Orange Armagnac is poured to the base of the sword (Rapier) and the dry bubbles to the top of the sword.  Optional is the addition of ice or orange slice.

The local Gersoise producer Monluc describes it best here.

The base of Armagnac adds an extra dimension and complexity to the flavour compared to using Cointreau or other orange based liquors.

Our recipe is adapted from those gathered from local French friends and to our own preference for very strong citrus notes. This super easy to prepare tipple is equally good poured over ice or used for classic Crepes Suzette. This is my favourite recipe although I confess, I cheat and use store bought crepes.

The White Armagnac base to this liquor is the classic regional eau-de-vie of South West France.  We use it in our Sloe Armagnac recipe which you can make here. White Armagnac is available in most good wine stores and large supermarket chains.

However, if you really cannot find it you can replace it with another eau-de-vie such as Grappa or even spirits such as vodka. It will not be the same but still delicious.

You will need:

A large glass bottle or sealable Jar to mature your “Pousse”

White Armagnac – 1 litre per volume of fruit and sugar below.

4 large washed oranges

2 limes

1 lemon

1/2 cup white caster sugar

To make:

Ensure all your fruits are well washed and dried.  Using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin from all three citrus. It is very IMPORTANT that you peel only the coloured part of the skin and none of the white pith below.  The pith makes the liquor bitter and citrus oils are only in the pigment portion.  It does not matter what size the skin comes away.

Squeeze the juice of half a lime, 1/2 small lemon and one orange. Strain well to remove any of the flesh. Combine juices with the sugar and gently heat in a heavy based saucepan until the sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat and add all your fine peels. Allow to infuse until cool.

Pour your sugar, juice and peel mix into your bottle or jar you will be using to prove your Orange Armagnac Liquor.  If your container is less than 1.5 litres, split the volume over two jars/bottles.

Making sure your juice base is absolutely cool, top up with your White Armagnac until you have just over a litre by volume.

To mature your Orange Armagnac liquor

Place your bottle/s in a cool dark place and swirl often.  After 4-5 weeks of maturing, your liquor base will be ready for the final step.

Finishing and bottling your liquor

Using a colander or sieve lined with muslin or a paper coffee filter and gently pour through all liquids and peels.

If your liquid is clear, you are ready for bottling.  If it is still a little cloudy, filter one more time.

That is it!  Choose attractive bottles and design yourself a label with one of the free label apps such as Jam Labelizer and start packaging up for presents or …..

Grab a glass, a bottle of bubbles and a cocktail measure and pour yourself a Pousse Rapier and savor your hard work.  MMMmmm good isn’t it.

The post Orange Armagnac Liquor appeared first on Our French DIY & more.

Unplanned Kiwi Fruit crop

When we moved here we didn’t give much thought to the large arbor at the end of the property covered in thick old  vines.  The little jungle was there as were so many other “new” plants and structures to be decided upon. Our focus was largely on big projects such as septic tank installations, electrics, plumbing and generally getting this major house renovation underway.

Evening walks around the lake and the occasional glance in the arbor direction eventually had us discover they were Kiwi Fruit trees vines. We had no idea how to manage them and much research was undertaken. Husband also announced he didn’t eat them.  Speechless but still overwhelmed with renovation priorities, I figured we could decide what to do with the fruits and/or the area later.

Our new found neighbours would often mention that they were annual recipients of a carton of kiwi fruit from the previous owner. We quickly interpreted these comments as the expectation that this would continue under our patronage. The kiwi fruit would have to remain for the immediate future.

Kiwi Fruit

As an Australian, kiwi fruit is almost mandatory on a pavlova or in fruit salad, but not much else.  However, the French are huge fans of this fuzzy berry and consider them as a breakfast health food.  A kiwi a day keeps the doctor away according to one French neighbour.

Some quick online research revealed the following:

When the time came to export the fruit, to avoid the high duties charged on berries, the name was changed to the kiwifruit.

It was nicknamed kiwifruit because of the shared characteristics with New Zealand’s national symbol, the kiwi bird, which is also small, brown, and fuzzy.

Kiwis are a nutrient-dense food, meaning that they are high in nutrients and low in calories.

The fuzzy little kiwi also packs in the vital nutrients vitamin E, copper, folate, vitamin K, magnesium, phosphorus and much more. The kiwifruit is apparently higher in vitamin C per ounce than most other fruits.

Depending on the websites I reviewed they can make you – more beautiful, reduce cancer risks, sleep benefits and so on.  I am not sure about any of that but what a great bonus is it turns out to be true.

However, neither Husband or I were too excited about our potential bounty and upkeep of the substantial vineyard of them.

Then came our first early Autumn here and it was time to harvest – over 3,000 of them!  A local farmer told us when and how to harvest and how to store them. We quickly understood why the previous owners were keen to give them away. Many visits to the supermarket to forage for cartons and cardboard trays and we were on our way to try to fulfill local expectations of a continued tradition.

Storing Kiwi Fruit

After picking in the last week in September through to the first week in October, comes the storage and then ripening when wanting to consumer. They are still hard and quite sour at harvest.  In this state they will keep for many months if kept in a cool dark place and away from any other fruits.

Ripening Kiwi Fruit

To ripen them, we place them in a plastic sack with either a banana or apple for a few days. Like magic they ripen in just a few days.

To make the following recipe fill a bag with a minimum half a kilo of Kiwi Fruits for four days and add a couple of apples and bananas.

What to do with Kiwi Fruit

Searches for recipes on Pinterest and favourite chef websites did not reveal much that inspired me.  A quick try at a liquor had us convinced they were useless for anything other than daily consumption and piled on a cream filled meringue. Our first liquor attempt was vile although we still keep a bottle handy for when guests wear out their welcome.  The high copper content tended to give off a metallic taste in some recipes we played with.

Managing the harvest

This year’s harvest is now in with over 4,000 of them transported to the cellars ready for distribution.

After harvesting, a bout of bad weather had me back indoors and I decided to try my hand more seriously at producing something delicious from these nutritious furry berries.

Sitting with other fruit recipes as well as some raw kiwis, I set about finding what they might be able to replace in traditional recipes and tasting them with other flavours to find complimentary ingredients.

The following recipe is one I am thrilled with and has our friends dropping hints for another jar or two. I serve it as a confiture/jam but it is also a great cheese accompaniment.

Kiwi Fruit and Lime Marmalade recipe

Equipment you will need:

A large heavy based pot

Clean sterilized glass jars (I wash mine with hot soapy water and then leave in the oven at 180°C (365°F) for twenty minutes.  I fill them whilst they are still fairly hot.)

Jar labels (I signed up to jam labelizer and produce simple labels free at home for all my conserves and alcohols).

Ingredients: (one batch below makes 2-3 jars – I tend to do 3 or 4 batches at a time – simply multiply the volumes below)

400gms (14 ozs) of scooped out flesh of very ripe kiwi fruit – avoid the skin as it is unsightly in your finished marmalade

300gms (10.5 ozs) white sugar

Juice of one lime

Fine zest of half a lime (approximately a heaped teaspoon) avoiding the white pith – green skin only.

Optional – half thumb size piece of fresh ginger

Optional – one sachet of jam setter such as Vitpris

Making your marmalade:

Place the kiwi fruit flesh, sugar, lime zest and lime juice in a large heavy based pot. If adding the ginger, add now in one lump for easy removal later.

Bring to boil slowly. Simmer at a slow boil for approximately 30 minutes, stirring frequently until flesh starts to break up and is a soft consistency.  As you are not adding any extra liquid, be careful that fruit does not catch to pan in the early minutes of cooking. Continue to a gentle rolling boil f your fruits need a little more cooking to get to your preferred consistency.

Whilst your jam is simmering, set up your bottling station with a ladle and jars and lids at the ready.

Now – Taste!

If you want to increase the lime-ness, finely zest in to taste at this stage and cook for another few minutes. Do not add more liquid.

If you added ginger, remove the piece with a slotted spoon.

Using a potato masher, gently squash up the flesh to your desired consistency.  I like mine thick without too many chunks – it is a personal choice.

The pectin in the fruit and citrus should be enough to set your confiture. Drop a teaspoon full on a cold saucer and when cooled, run your finger through and the jam should hold a trail.

Optional Jam setter additive:  If you would like a thicker consistency, the add your jam setter now and boil according to instructions. The local French brand Vitpris is about 6 minutes of boiling from this stage.  I tried this recipe with confiture sugar (one with the jam setter in) but it was too sweet and I lost the subtle lime and ginger flavours. 

Once you are happy with the texture and consistency, remove from heat.

If you have any foam or scum, gently skim it off with a spoon.

Ladle your marmalade into still warm sterilized jars and seal well.  I turn my upside down until cool – I don’t know why but that was how Nanna did it.

Leave to set overnight, then add your labels. Et Voila.

This marmalade keeps well in the pantry but refrigerate after opening.

Delicious with a tangy mature Cheddar, Gouda or soft creamy Brie cheese.

Or spread over my Kiwi Fruit Loaf – recipe coming in next days.

Enjoy!

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Using an Italian Gelato base and a syrup made from the discarded berries, the end result is a rich flavoursome ice-cream perfect on its own, with marinated fruits or puddings.  I love it served over a chocolate sponge pudding. A favourite of Husbands was when I used the Sloe Armagnac ice cream  as one of the layers in a chocolate ice-cream cake for our Great Gatsby party.

Naturally, serve it with a shot of your home-made Sloe Armagnac or other sloe based liquor. Recipe here.

Years ago we invested in a home ice-cream maker and it gets plenty of use here with our harvested fruits.

I have not tested this recipe for manual ice cream method. Make the ice cream/gelato base and syrup the day before you churn or freeze it. The colder your base, the smoother the result.

Prepare your Gelato base for Sloe Armagnac ice cream – makes 1 quart (1 litre)

Ingredients: US (metric)

2 cups (480 mls) Full cream/whole milk

1 cup (240 mls) heavy cream/double cream

4 large egg yolks

2/3 cup (150g) white sugar

Method:

In a heavy based saucepan, gently heat the combined milk and cream. Stir frequently to avoid a skin forming. Cream mixture will be ready when small bubbles appear around the edges and mixture reaches 170°F (77°C).

Meanwhile, in a heat proof bowl whisk your egg yolks until smooth and creamy. Whisk in the sugar gradually and keep whisking until the mixture is very thick and pale in colour.  I use the whisk ball on my KitchenAid for this process.

Tempering the egg yolks requires a gentle hand.  Whilst whisking continuously, gently and slowly pour the warmed milk mixture a little at a time into your egg and sugar mix.  If you add it too quickly you will curdle the egg yolks.

Return the mixture to your saucepan and over a low heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.  The ice-cream base is ready when it coats the back of the spoon and reaches a temperature of 185°F (85°C). DO NOT allow mixture to boil – it will curdle.

Pour the mixture  through a fine sieve into a clean bowl to remove any lumps and allow to cool to room temperature.  Stir every now and then to avoid a skin.  Cover and refrigerate until cold (overnight).

You now have your Gelato base. Use it with any liquors or fruit syrups or simply add a split vanilla bean into the milk and cream warming process to produce wonderfully rich vanilla ice cream.

Sloe Armagnac syrup

Ingredients:

The strained berries fresh from your Sloe Armagnac or other sloe based liquor making process

A quantity of white sugar to amend resulting syrup to your taste – approx 1/4 cup (55g) per kilo of berries

Hot water – approx 1/4 cup (60mls) per kilo of berries

Method:

With your berries in a heavy based saucepan, sprinkle half of the suggested white sugar over them and add enough hot water to reach 1 inch (2.5cm) of liquid into the base of your saucepan.

Cover saucepan and gently bring the berries, water and sugar to the boil.  I add a small portion of a cinnamon stick at this stage to infuse more flavour. However, like the Sloe Armagnac recipe variations, you may wish to experiment with other complimentary flavour notes or compliment any variation you have made. 

Once bubbles start to form in the liquid base, reduce heat to bring mix to a slow simmer – you do not want to boil dry. Do not mash berries but stir gently folding them every now and then. You are not looking to produce a jam but simply to steam out remaining flavour of your berries. You need to produce approximately 1/2-3/4 cup (120-180mls) of syrup per quantity of ice-cream base.

After an hour or so, taste the syrup. Add more sugar to taste if syrup is not sweet to taste. Add a little more water if your liquid has reduced to the extent that your berries are at risk of catching on the base of your saucepan.

Once happy you have the volume required, an intense flavour and rich colour, remove from heat and strain through a colander.  Leave to gently strain.

Refrigerate the resulting syrup overnight.

Making your Sloe Armagnac Ice Cream

Follow the instructions for pre-cooling your ice cream maker.  Add your Gelato base and begin churning.

Once your slush texture starts to form, slowly pour in 1/2 cup (120mls) of your cooled Sloe Armagnac berry syrup.

Churn until your gelato reaches a crystal free smooth ice cream.  My ice-cream maker reaches this point after approximately 30 minutes.

Pour your churned ice cream into a sealable freezer proof container.

It will keep at least six months in the freezer.  However, ours has never lasted that long.

Favourite Sloe Armagnac ice cream serving suggestions 

Spoon over warmed chocolate brownie

Pour blueberries macerated a couple of hours in your Sloe liquor over a scoop of this delicious Sloe Armagnac ice cream

Generous scoop alongside a chocolate lava cake

A dessertspoon sized scoop of Slow Armagnac ice cream into small cup with a hot fresh espresso coffee poured over. Accompany with biscotti or almond tuilles.

Review

The process for the syrup above may seem a little loose in detail but much depends on the Sloe based liquor you have made and the resulting flavours the berries have retained.

Regardless – the whole process is relatively fool proof – after all, I have mastered it.

This recipe can be adapted to any store bought liquor.  I also love to make it with 1/4 cup (60mls) “real” Armagnac added to 1/4 cup (60mls) of store bought caramel sauce.  The same base with 1/2 cup (120mls) of Baileys also makes a lovely spicy gelato.

If you do not have an ice cream maker – add it to your Santa list.  You will not regret it.

The recipe for Sloe Armagnac Jelly will be posted soon.

Have fun and let us know how you go.

The post Sloe Armagnac ice cream appeared first on Our French DIY & more.

Autumn brings on the final harvest of the year.  Along with the many fruit trees, vines and bushes that existed here that provide us in summer, we have many more requiring ladders and baskets in the autumn.

Jams, jellies, chutneys and relishes are always simmering away on the stove as we convert our bounty into pantry yummies and gifts for the coming year. However, it is the wine cellar and liquor cabinet stocking that gets husband most excited.

DIY Wine cellar stocks

This was all very new to us, two city dwelling people. Busy careers and urban lives left little time or inclination for the old sitcom Tom and Barbara “Good Life” existence. Although for both of us, we are now living the dream.

We live in a region famous for its Armagnac, liquors and wines.  We love producing unique goodies using local produce. Our concoctions and experiments aim to be regionally appropriate with local alcohol bases, fruits and herbs.

Foraging in autumn delivers us with wild raspberries, rose hips and sloes to bring indoors to convert into drinkables.

A protege of Sloe Gin

I loved sloe gin the moment I first sipped it on a UK trip where friends made their own. However, I had never seen the berry growing and had no idea at first that our border hedges here are full of them.

Once discovered, the excitement began.  When to pick, how to use, what we can use them for all became info missions to accomplish.  We received many tips from our foodie friends far and wide. When we asked our local French, they had no idea what to do – a surprise to us.

The prickly bushes that produce the hard black powdery coated berries are known in some countries as blackthorn and here in France, Prunelles. They are not for eating in their raw state.

Armagnac Blanc – white Armagnac

Armagnac, like cognac is a distilled spirit from grapes.  I will not go into the argument here about which is better or preferred, that is for the foodies to debate which they have been doing for centuries.  To know more about both and their various differences, read here.  Essentially, they are both French brandies.

Before either goes into the barrel after the distilling process they exist in their eau-de-vie (water of life) form. Like Italian Grappa and other strong digestives derived from grapes, it has a high alcohol percentage. Armagnac Blanc 

The Rolling hills of Armagnac Gascony

Living in the very heart of the Armagnac region of South West France, the regional beverage is often an integral part of our visitors’ experience.  With our base sourced from our vigneron neighbour, our Sloe Armagnac fulfills the dream of seeing the vines and bushes we are sipping from.

For those not lucky enough to have a productive neighbour, Armagnac Blanc it is available in most good wines stores or large supermarkets. It is delicious served chilled on its own as a digestive!

However, whilst this post uses sloe berries in white Armagnac, the process is the same for gin, vodka or any other eau-de-vie.

Gathering and preparing your Sloe berries

Our Sloe Gin friends from the UK advised us to pick the sloes in the autumn just after the first frost.  However they live in colder climes than us, so we pick in late September and freeze them in zip lock bags to emulate the frost process.

TIP: The freezing process also makes them split when defrosted saving us the laborious task of pricking them all as directed by many friends.

After rinsing off leaves and twigs and drying in a tea towel, freeze for a minimum of 48 hours. If there are any that are dehydrated, I include them as they are still full of flavour.

Compiling your Sloe Armagnac

The following recipe is for how we like our Sloe Armagnac with tips on making it to your own taste preference.

Friends here, inspired by our Sloe Armagnac now produce their own with differing intensities and sweetness.  Some produce a schnapps type intensity with a big hit of Armagnac Blanc and barely discernible berries whilst others have it thick and sweet like a true dessert liquor.

Please don’t tell them but we like ours best!  

We are generous with the sloe berry proportions and finish it to a medium sweetness. The more berries in your base, the stronger the flavour and colour.

If you prefer a schnapps/Grappa type intensity then reduce the amount of sloes and sugar per volume of the White Armagnac.

STEP ONE: Use a large clean glass seal-able container .  I use a huge French one that takes eight litres and comes with snug fitting snap on lid. However, any large glass jar that can be sealed will do.

Do not use a metal lid in case of rust or flavour distortion.

STEP TWO: Fill your container about 3/4 full with your frozen berries. There is no need to defrost as the trick with freezing them is that they will split and release their juices defrosting directly into the Armagnac.  Leave plenty of space for swirling during maturation.

STEP THREE: Fill with your Armagnac (or other spirit) until the sloes are covered.  They will float at first. Ensure your liquid is more than sufficient to cover them when they eventually swell up and sink.

STEP FOUR:  Give it a good swirl but do not shake. You do not want to produce excess sediment by breaking up the berries.

STEP FIVE: Add your white sugar. I only add about half the ultimate volume of sugar at this stage.  My final product is approximately 1/2  cup of white sugar per litre of spirit.  Sprinkle if over the berries and grog and again swirl it gently by swinging the jar/bottle.  Don’t worry – it will not not fully dissolve at this point.

Your final product will need two to three months to mature. See notes below on maturation.

Variations

There are many other notes of flavours you can add to create your own unique blend.  Here are some I have tried. I suggest you try a base recipe first and then you can experiment. Or split your base across a few jars and choose your own preference.

Add a stick of cinnamon (not powder) and or a star anise for a spicy high note.

Dried citrus peel infuses to produce a fruitier note.

My favourite variation was crystallized ginger (whole chunks) which produced a complexity to the fruit notes and added a deep heat.

Various dried fruits work well from currants to dried apple.  However, keep all pieces whole and do not be tempted to chop them up as this will make it harder to create a clear liquor.

Maturing your Sloe Armagnac

STEP SIX: Once you have sealed up your mix, leave in a cool dark place and swirl it often.  I leave mine in our kitchen pantry and give it a swirl whenever I walk past. I try to limit my tastings – it is powerful stuff – especially before noon.

After the first few weeks, give it a taste.  I usually wait a month before adding any extra sugars.  By this time the sloes will be giving off significant flavour and you can best decide if you want it sweeter. Do not add too much sugar at once. Like too much salt in soup – it cannot be undone.

Finishing your liquor

STEP SEVEN: Once you are happy with your flavour/s, it’s time to strain it off.

Commence by pouring off as much liquid as you can into a jug or bowl with a pouring lip without the sloes .

Next, line a large colander or sieve with muslin or cheesecloth and pour the rest of your brew including the berries gently into the muslin to drain.  I leave mine overnight but in reality you will have most of the liquid after half an hour or so.

DO NOT try mashing or crushing your berries as it will not add much liquid volume and simply add sediment and sludge to your liquor.

TIP: Put the drained berries to one side and consider making my Sloe Armagnac Ice Cream recipe or Sloe Armagnac Jelly.  After-all, it would be shame to waste all those beautiful flavours you have infused for months.

To clarify your liquor, place a paper coffee filter into a sieve and gently pour your liquid through it and allow to slowly drain.  If your liquor still has sediment, repeat the process.  Do not force it through this process.  Patience is required!

Bottling your liquor

FINAL STEP: (You are nearly there!) Choose your seal-able bottles to store your end result.  Clear glass will best show off the fabulous rich colour of your finished product.

Label it with the year, date and any other details that enhance your not so hard work.  We add the GPS location of the vines and details of where the sloes were gathered.

If you have added any additional flavours, then list them such as “hint of ginger and allspice”.

Consuming your Slow Armagnac

Ultimately it is a liquor.  However, some serve it chilled or over ice as an aperitif but we prefer to serve it at room temperature in a heavy based liquor glass after a meal.

Alternatively, serve it over fresh fruits – it is wonderful splashed over blueberries and/or strawberries an hour or two before serving and accompany with Sloe Armagnac Ice Cream.

Alcohol content

It should be noted that like any eau-de-vie, this is a strong alcohol and should be treated as such.  Definitely not for kids (unless you really want them to sleep well).

Enjoy.

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Our hall was something that most house-hunters never saw beyond when looking at our home. I must admit it was with some imagination and naive enthusiasm that I glimpsed its future potential.

After renewing every surface in the hall, it was time to take on the stairs.  The stone walls exposed, all trim and doors stripped and painted, new ceiling and underfloor heating and tiling was taken on very early on.  The opening up of the hall and adding French doors to the newly added terrace seemed to make the stairs look even darker and more foreboding.

Deciding on our look

The stairs are solid elm and stained dark brown, like so most things here in old Gascon France. They have very few redeeming features and in my heart, I wanted them gone.

I had dreams of a romantic reclaimed stone staircase with iron railings. However a quick word with a local stonemason and his ball-park figure given and that idea was quickly shelved.  A few glasses of red to drown the sorrows and it was time to move on to Plan B.

Our next idea of replacing them and perhaps re-configuring them, went the same way as my stone and iron plan due to budget sensibility. We needed a Plan C.

Wood bleach solution

I love browsing hardware stores and seeking out new DIY products. A visit to Leroy Merlin’s paint department had me discover something called Decolourant.  This Ebinistes product (I love their range) claimed it would bleach wood. You can read about it here

With my potential plan C purchased I began testing it on the underside of the stairs and was delighted to see it did what it said on the tin.

A quick warning here – if you use this product, ventilate the area well and wear a gas mask.  I didn’t and we nearly had to call the ambulance.  Anyway, we learnt our lesson and now approach using this stuff in a new and safer way.

Husband quickly came on board with the idea and the stripping and sanding began in preparation.  However, we still had the problem of very heavy horizontal heavy timbers up the side and around the top plus the ugly newel posts.

The thought of pulling them apart and adding a new look with spindles and perhaps nicer newel posts had me reeling.

We decided instead to remove two of the three horizontals and take it from there. If after the rest of the project was completed we still hated them, we would removal all of them and add new spindles or some other safety element up the sides.

The project scope

We decided to bleach the handrail and stair treads. Every other element would be painted in a light antique white eggshell.

It was also decided at this stage not to refit the cupboard under the stairs and leave it open. This meant that every surface had to be pre-prepared ready for a full reveal underneath.

Prepping the surfaces

First – remove the ugly horizontal balusters.

Second – fill all major the holes and damage plus the large holes left behind from removing the balusters.

Next – sand all surfaces top and bottom of the stairs and underneath as they were now revealed.  This job took ages! We allowed a couple of days but in reality it was double this.

The bleach will not work well if old shellac/varnish is not removed evenly.

Et voila – a clean raw set of stairs.

The bleaching process

As mentioned above, the bleaching solution is brilliant but it is highly toxic.  After a day on hands and knees applying with a brush I began to feel sick, could not get my breath and my heart began racing.  Decision time – Google the problem or call an ambulance?  Google confirmed the problem and with a lot of fresh air and coughing, I began to feel better. However it did take a few days to get all the nasty gases out of my system.  IDIOT!

I found using a natural bristle brush the easiest way to work in the bleach. It takes a while to perform its full magic (overnight) and to see the full effect. We applied two coats to most surfaces not being painted although there were two or three areas that had some additional touch up.

The end result of the bleaching was that the “wear and tear” was still visible and I was thrilled that their “antique” look was not totally lost.

Finishing to exposed wood elements

We were introduced to a wonderful wood floor finish in the early days of renovation here and it has been used on over 300 square metres of floors throughout the house and guest annex.  It is not cheap! Something magic happens when it reacts with the wood? You can read out it here

It was explained to me (in French) and I got the gist of the natural oil and cellulose reacting to create a new structure. Better than it forming a strong durable finish, it is also matt, natural, odor free, easy to apply with a brush or foam roller and relatively quick drying/setting. What’s more – brushes and rollers wash out in soap and water!

As most of our original floors were in pretty bad condition, it has not only protected the new finishes we have created but strengthened the wood in the process.

We used this product for both the stair treads and hand rail.

It was decided to oil the wood before painting the other areas for easier clean up and masking. Once the wood is sanded and bleached, it needs protection quickly.  Working on them and general everyday use meant that they were becoming marked and damaged without this protection.

Painting the remainder

The rest of the finishing was relatively easy if a bit fiddly in parts.  We used a slight contrast colour for the first riser (at front and underneath) to match our floor tiles.  In our case this was Autentico Almond Eggshell, the same colour we had chosen for our door trims.

The eggshell paint is lovely to use and gives an old worldly look – not too matt or glossy.  A few tips:

• eggshell paint does not like being overworked. You must not keep working over an area that is painted or you will get drag marks and clumping
• eggshell paint needs some weeks to fully harden and then is almost indestructible. Take care not to knock or kick the risers and balusters until totally hardened.
• Tape up your wood areas well – although any mistakes or brush overs on your oil finished wood will wipe clean fairly easily.
• A job this size will take some time to complete.  Keep your brush in a zip lock bag in between usages to save on washing out.

I use Autentico paints for furniture and fine finishes although there are many other brands jsut as good.  However, if like me you like to order it online and love the “current” colours, you can order it here

Time and costs

This project was completed over the winter months and took some weeks to complete.  However, all in all it was less invasive than having the old stairs removed and new ones installed and of course there was the cost comparison. No comparison really.

Cost of materials:

One bottle of Ebinistes Decolourant (wood bleach) €24.90

One 5 litre can of Blanchon Huile Environnement (natural floor/wood oil) €112.00

One 1 litre tin of Autentico Corfu White Eggshell paint €27.95

Other materials (sandpaper, painters tape and leftover Autentico Almond Eggshell paint) were part of our workshop stock.

Total cost of stairs less than €150.00 not including our time, which of course is FREE.

In my mind many thousands of euros were saved by taking on this Plan C and the end result well worth the effort.  However, I will let you be the judge!

Now on to the annex stairs – a new plan for these ones though.  Stay tuned!

The post Budget Stairs makeover appeared first on Our French DIY & more.

You can see the pantry project here Painted concrete part one – the pantry

Weight, budget and choice – decisions!

At over 75 square metres, the cost of finishing our terrace in tile such as thin travertine would add up to over €1500 for tiles plus glue, grout and sealant. The tiles I was eyeing up would have cost over €4000 so I was actually looking for an interim solution whilst we decided.

Budget, as usual, was the key driver in the decision. As chief procurer of all “decorative” things, it came down to me on both look and costs.

Husband kept reminding me to minimize the weight of paving to the terrace.  As we intended to host large parties on this terrace, weight was to be kept to a minimum.

The terrace is south facing with bright sunshine year round, so highly reflective surfaces were also off the list.

Seeking a WOW factor

Designed as a natural extension from the inside to outdoors, it forms our “FFI” factor (Fab first impressions), from the entrance out through the newly installed French doors to our lake.

We chose flagstone look-alike tiling from Pavan for the new hall and kitchen/living areas. It was important to me that this look flowed through to the terrace.

Of course following our aim of a rustic modern old French house was also important to the overall effect.

Painted concrete offered a low cost, low glare/low weight option even if a bit labour intensive to create.

A confession at this point.  It took nearly two years before I finally decided on painted concrete – even if just a temporary option. I am so glad I waited for the right inspiration.

The plan….

With our usual naivety and enthusiasm motivated by a budget relieving idea, the terrace was approached with a “can do” attitude, especially after the pantry test success.

Like the pantry, the plan was to mimic stone tiles. However, this time large Persian styled carpets would become feature areas left and right of the french doors.

Husband and I had both admired a very simple painted concrete idea at Bab al Shams resort outside Dubai. This became the basis for my inspiration.

Here is how we did it.

Step one – Preparation of surfaces

Basically it was the same process as the pantry – only many times the size. Also it was outdoors in the elements creating other complexities not the least being weather dependent schedule.

Husband was well and truly on board from the start and helped with the power washing, acid wash and vacuuming of the terrace. All of this was much easier on an outdoor project compared to the pantry prep.

He left me to the creative part in the later stages which I was secretly pleased with.

Step 2 – the base coat colour 

Husband agreed to be chief painter’s assistant for the painted concrete base colour. Both armed with rollers and extender poles, it was completed in a relatively short time.

We chose to use Taupe for the first coat as a darker “grout” look than the stone colour we had used in the pantry.

After painting the areas to have faux tile applied, we masked off the two large areas for the Persian carpets and painted them in a lighter contrasting colour.

Like the pantry, we added a lighter coloured contrast edging to get us a straight line around the exposed stone walls and step out from the doors.

Like any floor surface, plan where you will start and finish so as not to paint yourself into a corner.

Try not to apply first coat in the heat of the day but ensure your surface is bone dry and concrete well cured before applying paint.

Clean, dry and cured – a must for painted concrete projects!

Dampness under your paint will lift it over time – we learnt the hard way.

Allow to dry 24 hours without walking on it. Cats ignored this advice but luckily most concrete paints are touch dry in a few hours.

Step 3 – taping up the tile elements

As mentioned, we to create a flow from inside to out. We marked up the area immediately outside the french doors with the same pattern and dimensions as the interior tiles.

However, beyond this to the left and right we decided on a simple pattern to the larger size of tile from this pattern. The time and effort to try and replicate the “Versailles” tiling grid was mind numbing.

No one has noticed and it saved a lot of time, effort and masking tape.

As with the pantry, we made cardboard templates from our actual hall tiles to help with the laying down of the pattern and tape. We did the Versailles pattern strip first as shown here:

Ensure your tape joints neatly fit one another. Any gap or overlap will show up when you remove the tapes after the next step.

Step 4 – Painting the tiles

I applied the “tile look” paint to this area first to test the look. Using the same sea sponges, a scratchy brush and the assorted colours on plastic lids as I did in the pantry, the look emerged.

We finished the central “tiled” area and then I decided to get started on the carpets and after I would carry on with the “tiles” extending outwards from them.

Step 5 – Painting the concrete carpets

With a lot of the hard work out of the way, I was finally going to start on the area I was most looking forward to.

I chose strong Persian carpet colours for these areas that I had previously tested in the pantry. Red, dark blue, grey, yellow and soft green plus a few custom highlight colours I made from paint tints as I went.

Look for inspirations

At this point I could be seen running backwards and forwards between various actual Persian carpets inside the house for inspiration.

To form the base carpet pattern I taped off concentric portions from the outside in and painted alternate colours with a wide soft brush.

Be careful not to allow it to bleed under tape – although it can be touched up later.

Then came the feature areas in the centre of each carpet. The aim was for them to match in colour and style but be different in design.

I outlined some of the feature areas with pencil and painted the edges free hand, whilst more simple decals could be taped as per tile and stripe method.

Note the vacuum cleaner constantly on stand-by to keep surface clean of dust and grit.

The pantry painted concrete experiment proved that a large amount of stenciling wasout of the question. The size and nature of the concrete paint meant I had to devise alternate ways to apply the smaller details and design.

I used stencils at the corners of the carpets and in large motif areas in the centre of each carpet and then free hand, added simple colour highlights and details.

Experimenting with different ways of applying detail, I found lots of easy ways to create what looked like fine detail but was in fact simple to produce on a large scale.

By layering these up and repeating around between the solid colours, patterns that were simple gave an overall impression of fine detail and complexity.

The trick is to make sure you keep multiple colours in these design areas and make each stripe of design a repeat pattern or with some form of repeating element.

Easy home-made embellishment tools

Here are things I used to apply the decorations:

• The end of a chopstick dipped in paint made fantastic dot designs
• Various pencil erasers such as flower shaped etc from the dollar shop
• Cut up Wettex sponge into basic shapes could be smudged with paint and then pressed on stamp style.  I made simple circles, squares, diamonds and even a paisley inspired shape.
• Rubber key rings in various shapes
• Fine brushes for the occassional straight line or flick in conjunction with the stamps
• An old schnapps glass rim dipped in paint created small circles.

Layer up the design elements and colours

The trick is to use simple easy to apply in bulk shapes and colour elements and then layer them.  Below you can see a stripe, spot or serious of dots which when applied in various colours create a more complex effect.

If using a stencil, apply in one colour and go back to your various stamps or stabbers and make them look more complex by adding more colour and detail.  As per photo below.

Easy colour block elements by taping & painting as per your tiles and easy dot and dash design elements. When viewed closely here you can see they are a bit wonky, but from afar not being perfect actually makes them more realistic.

Raid the house for shapes to trace

I drew around plates, bowls and other kitchen items to get basic shapes and then added a stencil or stamping and a bit of fine brush detail for large decal elements.

When viewed as one it looks complex but actually it is very simple and requires no artistic skill whatsoever.  Please don’t tell my husband this though.

For the fringes, I used a piece of Wettex cut in a circle which I stamped all along each end to make the knots.  Then with a fine brush I added a white swish on one side of the spot and a grey swish on the other.

With white and grey I then flicked lines with a fine brush to make the fringes.

Note: You need to let areas dry before adding new colour over them.  So keep working colour by colour and come back to areas previously started once they are dry.

Step 6 – Completing your painted concrete floor

Finish off any tiles, detailing and area edges and stand back and admire.

Know when to stop – something my Husband doubted I was capable with this project.

Decide if you are going to use a sealer.  In hindsight, I wish we had but I was terrified of the shiny and reflective surface from the pantry project, something we were trying to avoid in this bright sunny area.

The colours have faded a little but only I would notice. There are also a few areas that are wearing but if anything it has made the area look more organic and authentic.

It is now four years since we painted the terrace and it looks nearly as good as the first day.  We love it.

Time and costs

It is hard to estimate how long this project took as I would only tackle it on fine days when it was not too hot.  I suppose in reality it was a week long project once the base colour was down.

We spent approximately €250 on paint, tape and paint tints. A clear finish would have cost another €40 for a single coat.

I already owned the stencils and various elements used for dabbing and stamping.

All in all, we are delighted with the result, the costs and the fun of having something original and unique.  With all we have done on the house here it is still the area that gets the most comments.

For a simpler look you could simply paint an area in one colour and add a carpet in one other single colour. Stripes, checks/plaid, wooden rocker patterns or even polka dots would all look great depending on your floor is situated.

Find an area to practice and have some fun.

Give it a try!

*Some notes on concrete paints in France

Over the various painted concrete projects undertaken, we have tried several brands in all their quality options.

In all instances we have opted for exterior paint only.

Whilst a little more expensive, the “intensive traffic area” paint proved best for large areas.

Decorative elements such as stencil highlights or small design areas are fine with the basic exterior concrete paint variety.

We only used the water based brands.  Ease of washing out, quickness of drying and ease to mix colours all proved best with water based varieties.

To avoid having to buy a large number of tins to give you colour variations, the small tubes of colour concentrates available in most hardware stores work well in concrete paint. Purchase creams, white and/or light grey paints and various paint tint tubes to colour up small quantities.

However, for larger areas I suggest you use off the shelf colour for ease of touch up or repairing any damages in the future.

Top/sealant coats are available and we have sampled several. However all gave a glossy finish even though stated as matt.  The non-slip variety did have fine granules in it but when dried, there was little visible or textural difference.

The best value and widest ranges of concrete paint we found here in France were at Castorama and Leroy Merlin.  Dependent on quality and brand, large tins cost from  €29- €60 and small tins cost  €12 upwards.

The finest width tape (14mm) was found at Castorama although I had to order in extra supplies due to amount needed. Explaining what I needed it for tested my basic French skills to their exhausted limit. Confusion from man behind counter was worth the effort.

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In my mind was a rustic yet natural finish of sandstone or terracotta.

At over 75 square metres, the cost of of the job with a tile was adding up. My basic choice began at €1500 for tiles plus glue, grout and sealant. The hand cut sandstone look I adored was €120 PER SQUARE METRE!!!!

Budget, as usual was a driver in the decision. As chief procurer of all “decorative” things, it came down to me on both look and costs.

The decision

The decision was made to try painted concrete. As usual with this house project, naivety and enthusiasm along with budget relieving ideas, I had no experience or real knowledge of how to do this so that it was both beautiful and low maintenance.

However, a quick look at Leroy Merlin’s website and learning about cost per square metre, I came up with a cost of €200-300 for all materials needed. In other words, the whole project could be completed for the price of two and a half square metres of my preferred sandstone slabs. Decision made!

The Look

I decided I wanted to try and mimic my much loved stone slabs and also add some featured elements that would look like Persian carpets. Hopefully it would not be too obvious as being only painted concrete.

However, it needed to be tested. Husband was fully on board with the idea although telling him it would be similar paint finish to a Formula One pit garage might also have helped.

Perfecting the idea – the painted concrete pantry test

Firstly, I lugged the four tins of concrete paint down into some old chicken coops we were about to demolish.  Their old concrete floors would be a great place to try out my skill. We bought these first tins at Leroy Merlin.  Here is a link to give you an idea of the colours and prices available. Leroy Merlin range of paints

The Ripolin brand is more expensive than the Luxens but seems to be a better quality.

Armed with various rollers, brushes, rags and sponges, some stencils and rolls of masking tape, I set up the laboratory of concrete painting.

My early attempts eventually had promise but the look on husband’s face showed he needed some more convincing. It may have been the way I was presenting it or the environment I had chosen among the old tangled chicken wire and overgrown brambles we had to climb through to view my test patches.

The pantry was an area that had been used to store fruit and veges over the winter by the previous owners. It also became a temporary tools storage/workshop during the massive kitchen project adjacent.

It was a very rough diamond to start with as you can see in the photos but it had a concrete floor and that was what inspired me to get on and renovate the area. Adjacent to the newly finished kitchen/dining and living area, the timing was perfect.

The Process

Obviously a tidy up was to come first.

We decided that the old freezer left behind by previous owners and move it around as needed.  It was full of our supplies and getting it out was just too hard for a husband and his mildly strong wife.

Then after a quick rendering of the walls, acid cleaning the floors to remove centuries of grease and grime, we had a blank canvas with which to work. Painted concrete tile floor – here we come.

What you need – materials

• a few tiles/stones or printouts of look you want to achieve.  (this helps you emulate the colours). I had bit of old limestone and a few cheap tiles I picked up out of a remnant bin.
• Cement acid wash/de-greaser – we used hydrochloric which we mixed to 5% with water.
• Base colour high intensity traffic concrete paint. Check tin for square metre coverage to judge quantity. Exterior paint is higher wearing but more expensive.  It would depend on the wear area you are painting.
• At least two highlight colours of concrete paint to create your tile look. Only small tins needed as you will not need as much as the base coat.
• If wanting to create more colour options but not the expense of whole tins, buy paint tint tubes – much cheaper and gives you plenty of options to mix your own contrasts.
• A tin of top coat if you wish to seal it – optional and again based upon intensity of traffic to area. The hardware stores do recommend it.
• Masking tape for “grout” areas.  Obviously the thinner the tape the more realistic the grout.  Unfortunately 14mm is the thinnest I can find here in France – I would love thinner and trying to cut the rolls down proved a disaster for us.

Tip:  If your masking tape tears as you unroll it, microwave it for 20 seconds. 

• Large roller and edge brush for the base coat.
• Sea sponges – different textures and densities produce differing patterns.
• Touch up thin brush for any grout touch ups later
• Cardboard or sturdy stencil of your tile shape
• Stencils and contrast colours for any more decorative elements such as a mat or carpet or decorative edging.
• Rags and paper towel to smudge with.
• Rubber gloves as the sponging is a messy business.

Step one: The base coat 

After all surfaces were spic and span, the first coat of Pierre (stone) coloured concrete paint was applied using a medium density roller and a smaller foam roller into the corners.  

The base colour/coat needs to dry for 24 hours.

Our concrete stains and wear shone through so we decided on two coats of the base colour.

Step Two – The masking tape to create your tiles

The laying down of the masking tape is important as it forms your tiles once painted over and a removed.

Ruling lines and measuring would have taken me ages, so I made a cardboard template of the size of “tile” I wanted. I decided on a 20cm x 40cm size.

I began my first tile at the furthest corner (as if a cut tile). This gave me a starting point to work backwards from.

Whatever your pattern, I suggest you start at the furthest end and work towards your entrance/exit area.

With a bit of contrasting coloured chalk and using my cardboard template, I laid down long diagonal strips (horizontal) directly along the edge of the template. Then I ruled lines for where each tile would finish (vertical).

Long lines of masking tape soon filled half the room and I went back to then divide each portion into its individual tiles.  You can see this in the photo below.

Laying down the painters/masking tape to form your tiles.

This photo shows the first areas of “tile” masked up and the contrasting edging I decided to do as the walls were far from straight.

I also had a play with masking up other shapes and feature areas as a rehearsal for the terrace. Photos below.

Working on the diagonal was much easier for me than trying to get straight lines across the room which would be more obvious if slightly our of alignment.

I also decided to make a light coloured border around the room to disguise the crooked old stone walls. By running this as a straight line and simply leaving the base coat exposed, it tricked the eye into seeing only straight lines.

Creating the tiles – trompe l’oeil

Now came the fun part – creating the tiles!

I decided I wanted a stone/travertine look after experimenting with terracotta tile, marble and other possible effects. My limited artistic ability and the time element involved all came together to help make this decision

After much trial and error in the old chook pen, I found using a sea sponge was the best and easiest way.

I used four different colours of concrete paint; light grey, taupe, cream and a pale yellow.  I dolloped a quantity of each colour paint on old ice-cream container lids.  Any plastic surface with a lip would do.

Then dipping the sponge in a colour, I started to dab it around. Alternating colours with each dob as I worked tile by tile around the room. I wanted to make sure that some “tiles would be darker/lighter than others to give a more natural look of “real stone” tiles. Different pressures of dabs and smudges will obviously create different texture looks.

Stand back and review your work regularly!

A good trick is to keep standing up and stepping back to see how your tiles are evolving. If too dark or too patchy simply layer on some more colour or smudge it more as you go.

REMEMBER: make sure you build up your paint up and over the masking tape or you will not get a definitive line of “grout” when you reveal your finished area.

Allow to dry 24 hours.  Then gently peel away all your masking tape to reveal your masterpiece.

Do any “grout” touch up with your base colour as needed with a fine brush.

Stencil features

I also played with stencils to create a door mat effect at the door using stronger colours of red, white, ochre and navy blue. At one stage I had thought I would do an brick style floor and played with other shapes under the soon to be installed wine racks.

At this point I learnt a lot about concrete paint and stencils. It is sticky stuff that forms a skin very quickly. The paint ruined my stencils and the concrete paint even in small quantities on my stencil sponge had a habit of bleeding. It was at this point that I knew a different method was going to be needed if I was not going to blow the budget buying the many very expensive concrete/floor stencils available.

I have compiled a large reference library of these stencils on my Pinterest page since this project and have a few ideas of where I can attack next, especially with smoother surfaces.  I have a wood floor upstairs that is crying out for some magic.  Stay tuned.  Here are some of my saved inspirations. Painted carpets Pinterest

The finished pantry

We added a nonslip top coat especially for painted concrete to the finished area. Although it said matt finish on the tin, it proved glossier than I would have liked.  However, I hardly notice this anymore.

Note the fun I had painting the old freezer with home-made blackboard paint for frozen food stock control. I always forget what’s in the freezer. This has helped enormously.

What goes in is chalked on and the family is under threat of death if they don’t wipe off what they have removed! It makes shopping a breeze and makes me feel organized – a bonus for anyone in renovation disarray.

Now for the terrace project…

So much learnt, it was time to take on the real painted concrete project that the pantry was a test for.  You can see the process and results here…Painted concrete Part 2 terrace

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