The Naked Decorator

As the rooms were being finished, J and I were decorating and furnishing. I was given 'carte blanche' for the decorating and opted for neutral colours for bedrooms on the ground floor (rez-de-chaussee) and blues / lilac for the upstairs rooms. I have been in rooms that have been too 'busy' - I wanted to create a comfortable/relaxing environment.

During the early summer of 2003 it was very warm, and my dear husband 'stripped off'' to paint the sloping ceilings in the upstairs rooms. His nickname was 'The Naked Decorator', we must admit it caused some amusement among our friends when they found out. They even offered him some work!! Working in the nude has its advantages... less laundry to worry about!!

Once the rooms were completed to my satisfaction I designed and printed off some leaflets and so armed we went to the Tourist Office in our local town.....

I asked if they could display my leaflets on their shelves.... "Non!" "Why?" I asked, "You are not labelisee" they replied. What did they mean? I was at a loss what to do. They had a very kind gentleman there who spoke some English. He explained that I needed to be approved by either Gites de France or Clevacances before they could put my leaflets in the office. I asked what do I need to do. He said to leave it in his hands......

A couple of weeks later he came to our home with a colleague from Clevacances....They checked the rooms and facilities. The beds were tested (gently by hand I hasten to add), bathrooms given a thorough going over and decor checked.. They liked what they saw and gave me 2 'keys' and were then happy to advertise my business for me, (at a price!) ..... Hooray - I am legal, have peace of mind, and it is not as difficult as I thought it would be.

Next thing was to let the Tax Office know what I am doing. I became a 'Micro-Bic Enteprise' and that only took 5 minutes to complete the form after being advised by two very helpful guys in the 'Hotel des Impots'. I had heard of some stories about the tax office not being helpful at all but I have had nothing but help from them. Mind you, you do have to ask all the relevant questions because they do not volunteer information.