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19th March 2010
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Renovation & Decoration in France Welcome to our renovation zone, the complete guide to renovating and decorating your home in France. Our aim is to make this site the best place for information on renovating your home, from advice on hiring an artisan in France, whether a builder, electrician or plumber, to building methods and materials plus where to buy DIY and furnishings. The zone also covers getting planning permission and the VAT rules affecting renovation. Our Topic Host is Sophia Mose, an interior designer and home stager in the Lot and Dordogne. Although Sophia practiced law for many years, her real passion always has been renovation and decoration. So when she moved to France with her husband and young son, she finally followed her dream and founded Pays d'Oc Design - where you can read more about Sophia and her activities. If you have any renovation or decoration questions for Sophia, ideas for topics you would like covered, or if you would like to contribute to the zone do email sophia@frenchentree.com. We’re always interested in hearing about your own renovation project too. Visit our new Eco Homes zone Renovation Forum Renovation and Decoration Dictionary Houses to inspire you... My Renovation in France More... French antiques for sale What better way to give your new French property that immediate touch of Gallic "je ne sais quoi" than with some well-chosen objets d'art or some lovingly crafted French furniture? Browse, bid or buy from the comfort of home now with FrenchEntrée's new online listings: including many items of furniture, collectables, decorative art, maps and other treasures from France. Check out........ French antiques for sale
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Wood burning Stoves & Cookers
 Sales and installations of quality woodburners, boiler stoves, cookers including Rayburn, chimney systems and parts throughout France. Shop on-line or visit our showroom
Energy Saving Pool Covers
 Covers4pools offer a wide range of energy saving swimming pool covers that are made to measure for your pool. We can also offer Covers that meet the strict AFNOR rules Learn More.
Stop septic tank smells!
 The STUDOR® MAXI-FILTRA™ is specially designed to eliminate bad odours produced by your fosse-septique. Easily fitted to an existing ventilation pipe, its replaceable filter allows the septic tank to "breathe" but stops the bad smells from reaching the atmosphere. Learn More.
Swimming pools at affordable prices
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Latest French DIY and Decorating Forum Postings HELPFUL BOOKS Your Metric ConverterFrance is metric - which means working in grams, kilos, hectares and celcius |
Whether they like contemporary interior design or prefer a more traditional French look, most house hunters looking to buy a house in France put a premium on interior features such as exposed stone walls, original terracotta floors and beautiful ceiling beams. Sophia Mose of Pays d'Oc Design reveals a few interior design secrets on how to get the authentic look without having to break the bank.
Looking to bring new life and character to old beams? If so, Beam Renovation is at last a viable alternative to stripping or sand blasting beams, and as an added bonus it’s environmentally friendly.
What is the best approach if you're planning to put your house on the market, or if your house has lingered on the market for a while without receiving any offers? Sophia Mose of Pays d'Oc Design, a professional Home Stager operating in the Lot and Dordogne, sets out three steps savvy sellers can take to make their property stand out from the competition.
After 10 years spent living and working in London as a painter and decorator, Giles Stonor moved to France and established himself as an artisan. Amongst his biggest projects was the restoration of a Chartreuse in the Dordogne. Here Giles tells FrenchEntrée his story.
While renovating and decorating a house in France is similar in many ways to doing the job in the UK, there are significant differences too - especially when it comes to methods and materials
There is no doubt that during a financial crisis we all need to pull our belts in a little and conserve our pennies. However this does not stop us wanting to carry on improving our homes, as this is often the biggest investment we will ever make in our lifetimes. Here, Karen Johnson, gives her top ten tips for saving money on DIY...
Unfortunately today in France there are a number of unscrupulous artisans, a number of them British. To help you find the artisan who will help you realise your dream of living in France - rather than wreck it - Topic Host Karen Johnson gives some advice on choosing an artisan, as well as what to do if it does go wrong. 
If you're hiring an artisan or builder in France do as the French do and keep it official. Anne-Marie Gordon of Anglo-French Lawyers advises on what to do - and not do - to ensure you're legally protected when getting work done on your French home
Visit our swimming pools in France zone devoted to purchasing, installing and maintaining swimming pools and spas in France. It doesn’t matter whether you want a small on ground pool to splash about in, or an olympic sized pool, there are a great number of pools on the market to suit numerous needs!
It is both dangerous and financially risky to employ someone illegally in France. To make sure you're protected, you need to understand the SIRET system
The French government has issued new forms for people entitled to pay just 5.5 per cent tax on building work rather than 19.6 per cent; the rules have been clarified and the onus is now on householders to show they qualify
Termites, which eat your house from the inside out, can be a problem in France so it's best to find out whether your house is at risk. 
Hélène Mézin, a French qualified notaire at Sykes Anderson solicitors LLP in London, discusses the implications of purchasing a building that does not comply with French planning regulations...
French planning law is a huge topic however the rules and procedures were somewhat simplified by new legislation with came into force on 1 October 2007. The resulting rules apply throughout France. Here, legal experts from Heslop & Platt explain the procedure...
Lawyers Jérôme Frances-Lagarrigue and Julia Jones examine how French planning law works and consider what you need to know before you get started – and what to do if planning permission is refused ...
With the cost of energy – and especially fuel – rising and with many people concerned about doing their bit for the environment, we asked Lee Coleman, the distributor in France for renewable energy company Navitron, what the options are for cutting heating and electricity bills
You dream of big farmhouse tables, grand armoires and gorgeous chandeliers? Here's how to put it all together to achieve the French Country Look
If you're renovating an old house, you will have to use older style materials that work with the methods and original materials
It's not difficult to get it right - but it is very easy to get it horribly wrong! Trevor Morris, a successful UK builder in France and author of Vivé La Rénovation explains how to do the external pointing on your traditional stone property 
When considering what tools were used in your renovation project, take the time to find out about those that were used when your home was built...
France is a paradise for those who want to obtain secondhand or reclaimed materials or who merely enjoy hunting through ‘antique’ shops. Nevertheless, outlets aren’t always easy to find...
Sarah Andrews had been an artisan tiler in the UK but it took her a lot of time and patience to become registered in France. But now her designs are popular with the French as well as expats
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