It’s now the end of October 2017 and we are about to see the renovation progress on Fonte Martino for the first time since July. However, before we get to that, we have been teasing you about a secret that we are going to announce. Well, mark your calendars, on Thursday, April 12th, we will be making our BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
Arched Door Renovation – Ellen’s Door…
Now let’s talk about Fonte Martino…
Renovations, renovations, and more renovations. We were hopeful to stay in our home for the first time, but unfortunately it was not ready yet, so we stayed in a nice apartment in Montepulciano. During this visit, we brought our dear friend Cathy. She was the first to visit Italy and Fonte Martino with us! We had many great adventures during this visit, but more on those later.
It’s impossible to explain the overwhelming feeling of walking into Fonte Martino and seeing our new home taking form. Maurizio and his workers have been very hard at work. The biggest surprise was that the large arched window in the dining room was removed. Our house was wide open to the elements and anyone who wanted to walk in could! The window was being transformed into an arched doorway inspired by a photo we saw of Ellen DeGeneres’ home.
Our Magical Little Visitor…
Quick story: When we first found Fonte Martino, out of nowhere, a little black kitten came up to us and was being very affectionate. While black cats are seen as unlucky by some, Cristina told us that they are very good luck because they only go to magical places – a.k.a. Fonte Martino! While we were at the house taking measurements, we heard a meow and to our surprise, the now fully grown black cat strolled into our home through the opened arch doorway! Just as affectionate as when she was a kitten, she decided to make Fonte Martino hers. We really had no say in the matter because firstly, there was no door to keep her out and secondly, she had brought us lots of luck so far! We look forward to seeing her on our upcoming visits.
Now back to the renovation – one of the biggest changes was that the new floor tile throughout the ground floor was finished. What a transformation! In addition, walls have been removed, windows and doors have all been renovated, and there were no shutters on the outside of the house. Lucca, our carpenter, removed them and they were being completely refurbished, including a fresh coat of paint in a traditional local color – the unpleasant green they were painted had to go!
Our magical little visitor checking on the renovation…
We had the honor of visiting Lucca’s workshop. Not only was he working on rehabbing the shutters, windows, and doors, but Lucca was building our new kitchen and all the cabinetry for the bathrooms. When we arrived, we saw our hand-crafted kitchen cabinets laid out in his shop with our appliances. Lucca built the cabinets to Maurizio’s specifications and the appliances fit like a glove. He would be installing the entire kitchen and appliances once some of the other work was completed in the house.
As the days passed, we saw tiles go on the walls and floors, paint go on the walls, and we decided on a number of fixtures, outlet switches, and faceplates. We spent a good amount of time with Maurizio and Fonte Martino was really taking shape. We could finally start to see a butterfly emerging from the cocoon…