We are Hugo and Carianne Vonk, and we dreamed of starting a chambre d’hôtes. During vacations in our beloved France, we’d often sit by the tent in the evenings, daydreaming about how we’d go about it. Back home, you hold onto those thoughts for a while, but then you just fall back into your old routine.
That went well—until Hugo contracted a complicated case of pneumonia in the fall of 2013. He was hospitalized for twelve days. Afterward, we initially went back to our old routine and way of life. But a thought had been set in motion. Are we going to keep going like this for another 20 years, and will the dream remain just a dream? Or do we change course now?
The summer of 2014 was all about searching for a suitable house in an equally suitable location. Together with real estate agent Jan Kuik, we found the long-fronted farmhouse (longère) that we fell in love with at first sight. It’s not only a beautiful farmhouse with characteristic arched doors; its location, with a view of the Puy-de-Dôme, is also amazing.
We moved in October 2015. We got right to work, especially on clearing out the house, which was creaking under the weight of belongings accumulated over many generations. While living there, our plans changed more than once. We had the luxury that Hugo was still being asked to take on programming jobs. This created the ideal combination of working (to generate an income) and renovating.
Establishing contact with French tradespeople was a challenge. Explaining what you wanted in another language wasn’t easy, and it sometimes required a fair amount of patience on both sides. But this ultimately resulted in well-executed work, and new friendships were formed as well. Through trial and error, we learned how to lay bricks, plaster, tile, and grout. Our first project, the Lafayette mini-loft, was almost entirely completed by the two of us. It was made available for rent during the summer of 2019. Subsequently, the Le Petit Prince room was completed in 2020, and the Astérix room in 2023.