Friday, January 04, 2019

Cats' Choices

Top Five Cottage Improvements According To The Cats


I know it's customary to do a "best posts" post of the previous year at the beginning of a new year on blogs. It's not that I'm rebel, but I don't think it would be interesting if I did that this year. It's not that I didn't work on Cottage in 2018... I did. A lot. But most of my work doesn't make for beautiful posts. 

La coutume sur les blogs en janvier, c'est de faire un article avec les meilleurs articles de l'année précédente. Je ne suis pas une rebelle, mais je ne pense pas que ce soit très intéressant cette année. Ce n'est pas que je n'aie pas travaillé au Cottage en 2018... J'ai travaillé. Beaucoup. Mais rien qui ne fasse des photos extraordinaires.

I finished painting the living-room walls... I can't tell you how happy I am about that... But as I painted the last wall the same Pordic white as the others... It doesn't make a huge difference on pictures. I also painted all the baseboards for this room... It's a tiring job to apply three coats of white scrawling on your knees, but again, not a huge transformation on picture. I painted the bathroom ceiling, but as this is the only thing done in this room, I'm not showing it to you. In 2018, I also placed an order for a huge piece that is to transform the living-room... But I can't really take a picture of an order, can I?

J'ai fini de peindre les murs du salon... J'en suis ravie... Mais comme j'ai peint le dernier mur du même "blanc Pordic" que les autres... Cela ne fait pas une grande différence en photo. J'ai aussi peint toutes les plinthes de cette pièce. Trois couches de blanc faites à quatre pattes. Un gros boulot, mais rien d'extraordinaire en photo. J'ai aussi peint le plafond de la salle-de-bains, mais comme c'est la seule chose finie dans cette pièce, je ne veux pas vous le montrer. En 2018, j'ai aussi enfin lancé la commande pour un projet qui me tient à cœur pour le salon. Mais je ne vais pas vous photographier un bon de commande, hein ?

So the cats offered their help. They suggested they could present their five favourite home improvements since we moved to Cottage.

Les chats ont donc proposé leur aide. Ils ont suggéré de présenter les cinq aménagements qu'ils préfèrent au Cottage.

 
#1. The shelf between the kitchen and the dining nook.
N° 1. L'étagère entre la cuisine et le coin repas.



When we bought Cottage, there was a wall separating the kitchen and what was a bedroom and became my dining-room. When the wall was removed, I chose, against the current trend, to rebuild a half-wall with a shelf  on top of it. To me, the idea was to be able to hide a cupboard behind it and to have a place to out a lamp and a vase. But Shadow decided the shelf was a perfect observation spot as he could see from there the kitchen, the road, the dining-room and the garden! 


Quand on a acheté Cottage, il y avait un mur entre la cuisine et ce qui était alors une chambre et allait devenir ma salle-à-manger. Quand le mur a été retiré, j'ai décidé, contre toute la mode actuelle, de reconstruire un demi-mur avec une étagère dessus. Mon idée était de pouvoir cacher derrière un placard et d'avoir un endroit pour poser une lampe et un vase. Mais Shadow a décrété que c'était un point d'observation idéal : de là, il peut voir la rue, la cuisine, la salle-à-manger et le jardin !

#2. The new couch & armchair.
N° 2. Les nouveaux canapé et fauteuil.


For the first years at Cottage, I kept my old couch that could be turned into a bed but was very uncomfortable. Then, I bought a couch and an armchair so that my guests would be more comfortable and also to make conversation easier (it's really difficult to share a conversation when everybody sits in a row like ducks). The cats do indeed find the new furniture very comfortable...  


Lorsque je me suis installée au Cottage, j'ai d'abord gardé mon vieux canapé-lit pas très confortable. Mais pour le confort de mes invités et pour faciliter la conversation, j'ai investi dans un canapé et un fauteuil que j'ai disposés en angle. Les chats adorent !



#3. The stove.
N°3. Le poêle.


Having a fireplace had been my dream since I was a little girl... It took some time to add it to Cottage as the chimney had been closed at some point of its history. It has become the cats' dream... They love sleeping in front of the fire. 


Avoir une cheminée, c'était mon rêve de petite fille... Cela a pris du temps de le réaliser car le conduit avait été bouché à un moment de l'histoire de Cottage... Et c'est maintenant devenu le rêve des chats. Ils adorent dormir devant le feu.
 
#4. The shelf  against the bathtub.
 N°4. L'étagère contre la baignoire.


 
The bathroom is a work in progress (not much progress yet). But as Shadow has always loved being in this room for some unknown reason, he's enjoying very much the basket on the shelf next to the bathtub.


Pour une raison que j'ignore, Shadow adore dormir dans la salle-de-bains depuis notre premier jour au Cottage. Il apprécie donc beaucoup le panier posé sur l'étagère créée contre la baignoire.


#5. The dormer windows.
N°5. Les lucarnes.


When we bought Cottage, the only way for the cats to watch outside was from the downstairs windows. Upstairs, there were only roof windows, which I didn't like as I was too short to see anything from them but the sky. Two dormer windows were added: one in the office and one in my bedroom. I love them, and so do the cats! Shadow spends a lot of time there and every night he has the same routine. When I go to bed, he comes purring against me while I read. When I turn the light off, he jumps on the dormer window sill to check everything is ok before crawling back in bed.


Au début, pour regarder dehors, les chats ne disposaient que des fenêtres du rez-de-chaussée. A l'étage, il n'y avait que des fenêtres de toit. Je n'aimais pas ça car elles étaient trop hautes pour que je puisse voir quoi que ce soit d'autre que le ciel. Deux lucarnes ont été ajoutées : une dans le bureau et une dans ma chambre. Je les aime beaucoup et les chats aussi ! Shadow y passe beaucoup de temps et il a un petit rituel. Tous les soirs, il ronronne contre moi pendant que je lis, puis quand j'éteins, il saute sur le rebord de la fenêtre pour vérifier que tout va bien dehors, puis il revient se coucher.


See you next time,

A la prochaine fois,

Hasta la proxima,


26 comments:

  1. So thoughtful to have renovated the Cottage purely for the cats' benefit!

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  2. I love all the kitties choices. I love seeing all your sweet cottage in one post. I love love love your sweet little kitchen. It is just adorable. Your cottage is just what a sweet cottage should be. Comfy, Cozy and cute. Happy Friday Magali. Have a good weekend.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  3. I so enjoyed this post Magali. Your cats are so precious and their routines crack me up!

    And I agree with Kris. Your cottage is what fairytales are made of.

    Question: do your dormer windows have screens? In the photos it looks so clear to the outside and I was wondering if not do you think Shadow might go on the roof?

    Happy New Year!

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  4. I love your kitchen I don't think I have seen a photo of it before I too have a half wall and the stove is on the kitchen side and also a cabinet with the microwave. You posted some shots this time that I have missed in the past - love the dormer windows too

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  5. What a lovely home you are creating for yourself and the cats. That photo of your kitchen is just beautiful...I love it. I could easily call your home my home...it would be perfect for me! Your cottage is beautiful.

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  6. Happy New Year you guys. I think the cats picks are fabulous, sure would like to ask Shadow in the 1st photo..penny for your thoughts..my Bitzi has that look too, I ask her all the time, I like that pony wall too, must come in handy when you have friends over. Your cottage is so cozy looking, and I really like the small table you're using as a side table with the sofa an chair, great idea, Brilliant actually for a small space. Hope you had a Wonderful Christmas.!

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  7. Happy New year!! May 2019 be a great year for you and your loved ones! Thank you for sharing all the updates you have done to Cottage! The cottage looks cheerful and happy. Fun fact: I just got a dna test done and to my surprise it came out 7% French. :) Take care and Cheers for the new year!

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  8. Very entertaining and so cute, i truly enjoyed this a lot, your cats make for a lovely post. Have a great New Year.

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  9. I love seeing how you have brought this cottage back to life. We have a new kitten, so I am all about cat routines and love these days.

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  10. Cats do tend to let us know what they like and want!!!

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  11. All wonderful improvements, Magali! It appears your kitties approve of your decisions!

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  12. Magali la primera ves que vi a Cottage me quede enamorada de tu cocina se ve tan bonita y los gatitos son preciosos gracias por tener un tiempo para dedicarlo a nosotros ...Hasta la Proxima :) Feliz 2019
    nelly

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  13. Love your cottage. You have done such wonderful upgrades. And the cats agree :-)

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  14. Magali you have mastered simple, practical, understated elegance at its finest.
    I loved the tour.
    Best,
    Susan

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  15. I am in an agreement that it's the Cats Cottage :). Mr. Cottage is very happy of your wonderful and practical improvements Magali:).
    A caring Steward you are,
    Kathleen in Az

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  16. C'est vrai que c'est une bonne idée de faire le bilan de toooouuut ce qui a été accompli durant l'année! Ca aide dans les moments où on trouve que ça n'avance pas aussi vite qu'on aimerait! Bravo en tout cas!!

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  17. jolies images : c'est un Cottage paisible qui respire le bonheur de vivre, à deux ou quatre pattes...
    bonne reprise pour demain !!! monique59

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  18. Your cats have excellent taste. Happy New Year!

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  19. It certainly looks like your kitties are very happy with the improvements in your cottage! Of course, it's all about them, right? :-)

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  20. Very happy cats, and they know how to make good use of the wonderful home improvements!

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  21. Such a sweet post! I don't know if our cats liked any of the changes we made. I do know that Lucy likes my spouse's leather office chair. I took it out of storage with his old desk, because I finally plan to fix the problem, however he left the chair outside, because he said he couldn't fit it with the other stuff currently in there. After a few days of waiting, I noticed the outside cats laying in it! The neighborhood cats are feral. At that point I got him to move it, but he moves it into the house instead of his office. Now, Lucy sleeps in it. Sheesh. xo Su

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  22. I loved reading this post - the cats know a good thing when they see it.

    We don't even have to ask our dog what her favorite things are in our house- she clearly points them out - the jute rug we added in the living room and our chaise lounges in the garden.

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  23. Such a sweet post! Cats always know where the best view is, and the most comforting places to sleep. We should all have a cat's life!

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  24. Bonjour,

    J'ai lu dans le dernier post, que vous aviez commande une Bibliotheque dans le sud de la France, j'habite le sud de la France et je recherche une Bibliotheque blanche, la votre (bien que je n'ai pas vu grand chose me paraît très chouette avec ses petits bois en fond 😀 Pourriez vous me donner les coordonnés de cette entreprise et son lieu
    Merci beaucoup petite Blonde
    ( j'adore votre blog )
    Violette

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    Replies
    1. Bonjour,
      Je vous remercie de votre commentaire. Votre adresse mail n'apparaît pas sur votre profil. Je vous réponds donc ici en espérant que vous ayez ce message. L'entreprise avec laquelle j'ai travaillé pour la bibliothèque s'appelle "Mas et Cottage". Elle est basée à Béziers, mais ils livrent dans toute la France.
      Je remettrai les informations à la fin du prochain article pour le cas où vous ne lisiez pas cette réponse.
      Magali

      Delete

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