Perhaps the big WOW! for me when I first saw the house was the early 19th century staircase. It is a magnificent example of how a small staircase can still be grand in every sense. Totally handmade and hewn from oak, each of the hefty bannister spindles is carved. It really is a work of Gothic beauty.
Photographed in 2007, the staircase at Colondannes is a beauty!The same staircase in 2015 after a fair bit of cleaning and waxing.For a two-hundred year old staircase this Old Girl is looking pretty good. There’s some damage here and there. At some point, some idiot felt the need to cut away a section of the first going. Apart from that and a few wormholes, she’s as tough as iron.
Lord knows why this was done. I’m going to have to find a way to fix it!When I was cleaning and waxing in August 2015 I saw something I hadn’t noticed before. On each of the five spindles there were scratchmarks, each corresponding to the order in which the spindles were to fit. Wonderful!
the magic of the maker’s mark is almost like shaking hands…
In which the author attempts to escape to la France Profonde with his Italian sweetie before the balloon goes up.