Chalet renovation complete we finally have time to enjoy and to write about our experience. If you would like to read more then we have published a book about our chalet renovation here in Portes du Soleil – Barn to Boutique.
You can preview and buy it here. (http://www.blurb.com/b/8396674-barn-to-boutique)
When the building team started work in January 2016 it seemed like we had a very long way to go to transform our 1850s Savoyard barn to a boutique chalet and, what our designs promised to be, our dream home.
By mid December 2016 we were here…
Here are the key moments of our renovation of the barn to boutique chalet since my last update last May.
In May the reclaimed wood bardage/cladding on the outside was almost complete so that work could start in earnest on the interior.
Slowly the interior took shape with the apartment ready for us to fit the kitchen and floor and the electricians finishing off the lighting in the headboards we had built…
As the Tour de France arrived in June
we moved on to the building site and into the apartment where we had already fitted the wooden floor and kitchen so that we could more easily work each day on the house… 
In July whilst the builders were still on site I painted the stairs we had designed so that the reclaimed wood treads could be fitted in place…
and we took advantage of the many hands on site to install our rather large and delicate granite worktop for the main kitchen…
When the builders completed their part of the transformation of the barn at the end July we felt so near yet so far from our boutique chalet.
We then spent a fun, exhausting and fascinating five months completing the barn renovation ourselves. From fitting floors to building furniture, painting walls to making skirting trims.
Each day getting a step closer…
As the Mont Blanc Rallye transformed the town at the end of August…
Our barn was transforming with the arrival of our contemporary Focus fireplace…
Visitors in September prompted us to completely finish one bedroom
on the day they arrived!
A booking for the apartment in October put focus back on the apartment transforming it from our temporary living/work space …
to a boutique chalet apartment ready for our guests…
as we celebrated Adam’s birthday upstairs
just a little lacking in furniture and finishing touches.
Next priority, the main kitchen to be trimmed with reclaimed, and brushed old wood found in the barn or salvaged from the old bardage …
and coffee machine, hooray!
Realising our design for the master bathroom…
became a race against the weather when snow started to fall as we were fitting the glass.
but we made it a reality in November
By December we were exhausted but still determined to stick to the plan and completely finish in time for the winter. We had to get creative to fit the lights in our double height living room…
and enjoyed making bespoke furniture from old, gnarly wood we found in the barn
Adam, deservedly, put his feet up on his bespoke coffee table and admired his hand-made TV stand.
Finally by mid December we were almost done. Time for a quick trip to a funky, retro furniture shop to find breakfast bar stools (the two in the middle with the wooden seats)
and with our last bit of energy, reclaimed wood from the barn and time before Christmas we made storage boxes for the bedrooms…
We would go in to production if only we had more old wood…
Then we enjoyed very special times with family and friends in our new home, finally transformed from the old barn to boutique chalet.
You can read more detail and see more images of our renovation project in our book Barn to Boutique (http://www.blurb.com/b/8396674-barn-to-boutique)
Boutique Alps Chalet 