Bienvenue — Welcome to Our Normandy Stone House Renovation
Somewhere between the apple orchards and the sea, a house remembers what it was.
We're restoring an old stone farmhouse in the heart of Normandy — one fireplace, one wall, one window at a time. This is a record of that journey: the dust and the discoveries, the setbacks and the small victories, the craftsmanship of the past meeting the needs of the present.
Normandy has always known how to endure. Its stone houses have weathered Viking raids, world wars, and the slow passage of time. Ours is no different — stubborn, beautiful, and full of stories we're only beginning to uncover.
Follow along as we peel back layers of history, work with local artisans, and try to honour what was built here long before us.
This is not a quick renovation. It's a conversation with a very old house.
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A house, a dream and a very long to do list.
We're Fidelma and Bill — and a few months ago, we fell in love with a crumbling stone farmhouse in Normandy, France.
It wasn't sensible. The roof needed replacing, most of the original features were long gone, and the walls had angles all their own. There was something about the way the light fell through the old shutters, the thickness of the stone, the feeling that this place had held generations of lives — that made it impossible to walk away from.
So we didn't.
What This Site Is
This is our record of the renovation — honest, unfiltered, and occasionally humbling. We document the process of restoring an old Norman farmhouse as faithfully as we can: working with local craftspeople, sourcing traditional materials, and trying to make decisions that respect the history of the building. Getting the balance right between saving the planet and saving the house.....
Why Normandy
Normandy is a place where history is not kept in museums but lived in — written into the stone of its houses, the names of its villages, the silence of its military cemeteries, and the unhurried rhythm of its markets and tides. Vikings settled here. William the Conqueror rode from here to change the known world forever. Allied soldiers died on its beaches so that Europe might be free. It is, in the truest sense, a landscape with memory.
Normandy is a place of extraordinary quiet beauty — hedgerows and half-timbered villages, apple orchards and clear fresh air. Normandy has always known how to endure. Our old place is no different — stubborn, beautiful, and a history we will uncover. It's also a region with a deep tradition of stone building, and restoring a house here means engaging with that tradition directly and making it fit for the 21st century.
We wouldn't have it any other way.
Follow Along
Whether you're dreaming of your own renovation, curious about Norman architecture, or just here for the before-and-after photos — you're very welcome here.
Pull up a chair. This is going to take a while.