Year: 2019

How to do a home retreat and lose weight in the process

As some of you saw on Instagram recently, I have managed to drop a few more kilos since my article on intermittent fasting in October last year. Since I know how painful and miserable those extra kilos can make us feel, I just wanted to share with you what worked for me. Like a lot of you, stress and tiredness usually make me overeat on the wrong food (overeating on green beans never happened ha!). Those 3 months of intensive renovations to get CASA PYLA ready for the Summer, left me with a few extra kilos I had lost the year before. So at the end of June, I was feeling tired, bloated and worried that I would put back on all the weight I had managed to lose. At the same time, Mila had been diagnosed with a 20% scoliosis. Her job over the Summer was to do plenty of exercises like stand up paddle, physio sessions to strengthen her back and prevent scoliosis to get worse. Being a teen, she wasn’t taking things as seriously as I …

Our bathroom makeover with Tikamoon

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

I’m so pleased to share with you another makeover done in CASA PYLA. This bathroom makeover and this kitchen makeover were two of the biggest jobs in phase 1 of CASA PYLA. Luckily, the previous Owners had started renovating the bathroom a bit and it didn’t look as bad as the kitchen. However, it was far from being finished. Bearing in mind that it was only a 3-month project before we take everything apart and move the bathroom somewhere else, I did everything I could to create a modern, bathroom for people staying in CASA PYLA over Summer. The bathroom before Here is how the bathroom looked when we bought the house. The previous Owners had already re-tiled the walls with these dark grey tiles below (which was lucky!), but a strip of tiles was missing all around the room. The walls and ceiling were painted in an old pale green and had a few holes. Last but not least, there was no shower screen, bathroom floor, tap or shower fitted. What did I do? First, I filled …

Plaftorm wedges & maxi dress

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

I recently received these platform wedges which I ordered from Nordstrom and I wanted to tell you about it because I’m really loving them. Last year, after admiring Sincerely Jules legs wearing these gorgeous wedges, (and secretly hoping I would get the same legs by wearing them), I bought them. Needless to say, that didn’t happen but the shoes looked great and I loved them. The Queen Mother likes saying that I walk like an elephant, I like to think that I have a very decisive step. I basically march on… As such, I will kill any pretty, thin heels in a day, even in a matter of hours so the experience has taught me to go either for flat shoes, sneakers or heels that can stand my power walk. I thought wedges would be a great alternative but it turned out that this specific model wasn’t great for me. I twisted my ankle a few times and the upper strap came out in no time. I took them for repair twice and after the second time, I …

Kitchen makeover in CASA PYLA – phase 1

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

Following our garden makeover, I’m very excited to share with you today our kitchen makeover in CASA PYLA. For those who haven’t followed this new adventure on Instagram, earlier this year, we bought a very old house in Pyla, 2 minutes walk from the beach on the French Atlantic coast and 5 minutes walk from Le Moulleau (for those who know the area). The house initially named “Bagatelle” (renamed CASA PYLA by yours truly) was in the same family for over 50 years and as we say in French “dans son jus” meaning not much had been done in those 50 years to improve it. The worst room was the kitchen. It had a large hood (the only time I had seen something similar was in my great-grandmother house), a very old, chipped ceramic sink, old tiles on the walls, some Ikea kitchen units from the 80s and was looking pretty awful. While I was planning to freshen up the bedrooms with new paint, we really had to fit in a new kitchen and bathroom to make the …

Our guest bedroom makeover with plywood

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

This is the 3rd bedroom makeover I’ve tackled in our home in France since we left London and moved back to France. This room used to be a guest bedroom with a double bed and was decorated with pretty French vintage lights (for sale here). When we started living full time in what used to be our holidays home, I changed things a bit to suit our new living requirements. I first moved the two single mattresses out of Mila’s bedroom and replaced them by a comfortable super king mattress from EVE to make sure the ever-growing teen she is, would get good sleep. You may have seen the whole room makeover already but if you haven’t, you can read about it here and here for a desk area makeover. New living arrangement Steve now works in London again and sometimes works from home on Mondays and Fridays. As I seem to talk too much when we both work from the dining table, he set himself up a little home office in that guest room. This was fine …

Our contemporary garden makeover with Fermob

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

What better way to kick off a series of posts on the CASA PYLA renovations with the makeover of our outdoor space with FERMOB. I have been a huge fan of Fermob outdoor furniture for years and I’m hugely grateful to be working with such a beautiful brand and to be in a small way, one of the #fermobpeople For those not familiar with this fabulous French brand, it is THE brand when it comes to high-quality, durable outdoor furniture. You may have spotted their beautiful and very photogenic green metal garden chairs in Les Jardins du Luxembourg in Paris. If you haven’t, make sure you go for a stroll there next time you’re in Paris. In the UK, the Fermob collection is available from Amara. If you have a house near the Bay of Arcachon, the whole collection can be ordered from Zig & Puces in Le Moulleau. 24 colours available Fermob has a fantastic range of bright, cheerful colours but as you know by now, bright colours aren’t exactly my thing. I like muted, …

Before & After: Our white, minimalist bathroom makeover

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

This has been a long time coming but here is our white bathroom makeover. This is probably the most drastic makeover to date in our home. Although, if you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen our new renovation project: CASA PYLA where the kitchen was quite a beast too (more of this later). Basin, shower, and toilets were fitted at the end of June ’18. I finished painting the walls literally 5 minutes before our first guests arrived. We couldn’t lay down the floor tiles on time so as a temporary/emergency solution, I bought some waterproof plywood sheets to lay on the concrete slab and we fitted some lino on top with double-face tape. Unfortunately, over the Summer, we got a leak from the toilet pipe behind the newly fitted plasterboards walls and had to cut into the wall to replace the faulty part. At that stage, I was hugely grateful we hadn’t fitted the electric underfloor heating and floor tiles yet. Eventually, bathroom renovations resumed mid-October. We installed the Warmup underfloor heating system (you can see …

Camel trench coat and dark denim

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

A camel trench coat is one piece of clothing you will always find in my wardrobe. Belted like the classic Burberry trench coat or straight like mine (I have both versions in my wardrobe), they are both a fashion staple. Timeless, they look equally great with a pair of affordable denim from Mango or a feminine and sexy pencil skirt. This one is from Muji (old collection) but you can find some really nice trench coats here. BEANIE check these and these TRENCH COAT check here and here I have a soft spot for this one and this one from ARKET DARK DENIM (mine is from Bensimon AW18) but check these LEATHER BAG vintage (was my mum’s) but similar ones here DISCOVER THE NEW HUSH COLLECTION