Craftsmanship – noun. The quality of design and work shown in something made by hand; artistry.
Mike and I both appreciate design and the big reveal. Mike is able to create most things I imagine. I honestly don’t recall him ever not creating something I asked him to. It’s amazing what you can sketch and build with just wood. Here in Italy, it’s a bit different. Obviously Mike doesn’t have all of his tools. Our front door was authentic, solid wood and beautiful. Why change it, right? The issue, it allowed absolutely no natural light. There is not a window in our kitchen either, so in the winter, it felt like a cave with the door shut. I often chose to leave the door open, losing what little heat the space heaters were given off. Not ideal.
We thought a lot about renovations here, where did we want to put our money into. Obviously not things Mike could himself fix, repair or customize. We knew a new front door was going to be top on our “to do list”. We didn’t realize how pricey it would be, however, we are so pleased with the final project. It was built by our local welder, our neighbor Lallo. His brother Guillio happened to be the local plumber we required on our first trip.
Our new door is not only beautiful, it is now functional. Our old door was 2 narrow doors that opened in. Carrying in bags or groceries was not that easy. The new door, we chose 1 solid glass panel. The door we had installed to open out, toward the castle wall. This will allow coming inside easier, especially carrying bags. We were also finally able to install our new keyless entry lock on the new door. This will be super easy to give neighbors, friends and family a simple code, instead of exchanging ancient keys…praying nobody loses the key.
The old 2 piece door now needed a new home. What to do……how about building a kitchen island! Perfect. More prep space, additional storage and another project for Mike. Off to Bricoman we go….hi ho, hi ho.
The front of the house has now this beauty, a new mailbox and some beautiful flowers. We stopped at a local florist and purchased this wall mounted planter and some gorgeous pink flowers. The flowers in our village are simply stunning. You can walk around for an entire day simply looking at the flowers. The smells of wisteria and jasmine fill the air. It’s truly a beautiful sight. We plan on planting more once we get some other bigger projects out of the way.
Attached is the new black iron door. A full glass panel with the original existing door knob- reused. I love it! I thought it may take away from the character of the house, however, I feel it blends in beautifully.
The cost for those looking to renovate your Italian dream home: We have no idea what a new door would have cost at say Leroy Merlin or Bricoman, we never priced it out. Obviously that route would’ve been a special order anyway. Our old door was pretty original and custom sized. Add delivery charges. So, this route was a local welder who did an amazing job! It also felt great to give the work to someone in our village, a resident. The cost for the new door installed was 1150.00 euros. It’s solid double paned glass, iron frame and truly created by skillful hands. It adds character to our already charming facade. It is functional and will no doubt be less drafty in the winter months. Money well spent, Camilla loves it too. She can now see inside to let us know she is patiently waiting for us to greet her.
“So, I close my eyes to old ends and open my heart to new beginnings”.
