Welcome back and bienvenue to new subscribers – it’s lovely to have you here!

Let’s begin : )

Alethea x

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It’s been almost two and a half years since I moved from The Hague to France, and I hadn’t been back until now. Not because I didn’t want to (it was in the plan) but renovation duties last year meant I needed to be on-site, and this year’s head injury has limited most travel plans. 

So, it was lovely to return and spend a few days last week in Amsterdam with my brilliant clients at What The Future. They’re based in the Van Gendt Hallen, well, almost, as this extraordinary building has been undergoing renovations for six years now. It’s a monumental, cavernous space tucked in the old port and industrial area behind Centraal Station, and it was fun to don the requisite safety gear and get a tour of their new workspace. 📸⬇

With head pacing still essential, this trip was strictly work-focused, and I stayed in my little What The Future bubble the whole trip. At full capacity, I’d have been rushing around after work catching up with friends and ticking off appointments etc. Instead, I was in bed by 8.30pm! Next time.

However, it was good to get a dose of city life again. I was reminded of how wonderfully efficient the Netherlands is, especially when it comes to transport, and also of that rule-loving individualism that’s so uniquely Dutch! I’m still looking forward to a proper home-from-home visit back to The Hague visiting friends, old haunts and familiar streets – both for me and Romy.

Meanwhile, Romy had her own mini holiday, hosting her friends here in the sunshine while I was under classic Dutch grey skies. Coming home to blue skies, vibrant Autumn colours, and one ecstatic, bounding hound made the contrast even sharper. It was also quietly reaffirming to realise this is most definitely home now. 

Since returning, Autumn has truly arrived, complete with torrential rain (much needed but my least favourite weather). Here’s hoping the sunshine makes its promised return next week.

La Petite Maison is available for Autumn vacation rentals until mid November 2025. Between late November and March, it is available for longer term rentals by direct arrangement - so if you or someone you know is house-hunting, needs some peace to write or fancies a few week’s quiet - do get in touch via this email : ) 

Apparently, it’s one of the most loved homes available for rental on Airbnb 😄

A friend recently asked if I miss my half Netherlands, half France life. They’re at that crossroad themselves, still in shuttle mode and wondering whether to take the plunge and move full-time. 

The short answer is no, I don’t regret my decision to move to France full-time – mostly, haha! However, do I sometimes miss the Netherlands? Yes, absolutely. I miss my friends, the ease of city-centre and beach living, and my lovely old apartment where everything worked! I also miss Dutch efficiency. 

What I don’t miss is the in-between: that unsettled, limbo feeling, the constant longing for the other place no matter where I was. Juggling two very different lives, two countries, the associated household admin and bills (in two languages that aren’t my own) was challenging.    

At just over a thousand kilometres each way, I’d soon sussed a preferred and oft repeated route shuttling as often as I could between my life and work in The Hague and the beginnings of my new adventure in France. I had my favourite aires for coffee breaks and dog walks, the perfect overnight stop in Dourdan and I even managed the trip during a fuel strike on one full tank, and a back-up jerrycan!

In hindsight, the shifting of personal items - paintings, photos, clothes etc - was yet another sign that an eventual full shift was inevitable.

Romy, an over-eager co-pilot and frankly terrible back-seat driver, did not snooze contentedly whilst being chauffeured. Oh no, she stood to attention, watching the traffic intently, and developed a dangerous habit of popping her head through the front seats if she deemed our car too close to a lorry. Various seat barriers failed until, in desperation, I installed a concertina garden trellis. Inelegant but effective.

Still, there’s something about the self-sufficiency of roadtrips that has always appealed and the way the journey becomes more than just a transit between A and B.

Romy was mostly a great travel companion, save for one memorable hotel incident during her puppy days. She didn’t wake me when she needed to go out and instead I woke up to the …consequences. That 6am deep clean was not my favourite travel moment 🤦‍♀

During the pandemic, armed with three countries’ worth of travel documentation, I’d isolate on arrival in France for nearly a week. I was not going to be the one to bring any bugs into the village. With a bag of vegetables from Albert Heijn and the Les P pantry rations, self-containment was easy and strangely satisfying.

The excitement of that last stretch south never got old. Leaving the autoroute, the landscape softened: the river came into view, winding lanes and familiar village names began to appear. Windows down, countryside air rushing in, Romy’s nose twitching as she caught the familiar scents.

Whilst I lugged bags from the car and cluttered up the hallway, Romy would sprint from room to room checking everything was as she left it. Then as per her ritual, she’d do a quick garden patrol, unearth a yak stick she’d left to marinate months before, and settle on the terrace for a chew in the sunshine.

Those long shuttles shaped the slow trade of one life for another, my gut sensing that heading south to Madame was, increasingly, the preferred direction.

When I eventually made the move full-time, that unsettled, yearning feeling lifted. Whatever the logistics and challenges ahead, my heart was now, quite literally, in the right place.  

More Snapshots of the Domaine Les Plonges ‘journey’ every edition.

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Possibly you found your way here via Instagram? @domainelesplonges? If so, an extra Bienvenue! You’ll already know I love a good visual. So here I’ll share others and a little more context behind the images…

Whether it’s discovering unique work by artists and designers from near and far or rummaging through vide greniers, brocantes, and hidden treasure troves, I’m always on the lookout! I’ll be sharing my favourite artists, designers and sourcing spots here 😄

In this quieter stage of the renovation – gathering thoughts, energy and plans – I’ve started to turn my attention to the ‘maybe it will come in useful’ pile. Remnants of building materials, furniture patiently awaiting its place (or its verdict) and ‘stuff’ that seems to accumulate. It’s part of a gentle effort to take stock of what will realistically go where when I get to the next stages of renovation. 

Sometimes you just know that you’re never going to get to that particular upcycling project and with the grange a little more organised, I’ll be able to prepare for next year’s atelier experiments - think rustic, but clean, light and very airy!! Detritus from the renovation had reached a tipping point, too many bits being kept ‘just in case’. So, I’m rehoming furniture through friends, Le Bon Coin and the local free-shop.

The resident owl has not been a helpful grange resident, making quite the mess and seemingly changing roosts often. So, items have had to be moved repeatedly both to avoid bat pooh and the direct drop zone beneath the owl’s quarters. Meaning the grange is organised according to its inhabitants, country living!

For some of the larger pieces I decided to try my hand as a first-time seller on Le Bon Coin – that classic French institution. I was hesitant due to a bad experience with Marktplaats, the Dutch equivalent. Buying was fine, but as a seller… urgh, tedious. Humanity doesn’t show its best side through online marketplace messaging apps does it? It’s been a similar experience here, with flaky messages, cancelled RDV etc but… a few items have been sold, and most brilliantly, taken away by buyers happy with their finds. There’s still some roof tiles if anyone is looking : )

This won’t be the last Grange clear-out, nor is it the first. My predecessor wisely held a vide grenier on site before she moved – much easier. Then an Argentinian family who stayed one Winter did a great tidy-up so much so that the grange was able to double as a makeshift scooter park for their son. 

Personally, I prefer being on the buying end of these platforms. That said, they can become a little addictive… I have two friends who went down the Catawiki auction rabbit-hole (they know who they are!) and at one point, while they were travelling my place became the delivery depot for their auction wins. Cue a lot of wall-mounted console tables, including, memorably, one that turned out to be a doll’s house version 🤣 A slight misread on the measurements – we’ve all done it, no?!

Simply put, for two key reasons:

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If you’re interested in the tech I’m using for this, it’s Beehiiv. I did a LOT of research on platforms and I’m happy to explain why etc in more detail, just ask. They’ve also given me a partner link, and this gives anyone using the link a 30-day free trial and 20% off your first three months on any paid plan. Note, it’s an affiliate link and I may receive commission on any purchases made through it.