Judith de Graaff, a Dutch graphic designer living in France, celebrates places, spaces & faces on her blog and portfolio website.

Vintage Sapique 14

One of the toughest things while renovating Studio Sapique, was the lack of central heating. We moved in just before winter. On our first day we had no running water, so that was the first thing we took care of. I remember my husband was working on the new plumbing with a friend. It was freezing outside and they wore gloves while using the gas torch. It was almost impossible to finish the job because the butane inside the torch became liquid, which happens at < 4°C... 

That first winter we heated one room with electric heaters, which cost a fortune & we were cold all the time because the capacity was insufficient. Imagine cooking dinner in a cold temporary kitchen. Every. Single. Day. Or taking a shower when the bathroom's temperature is about 5°C. I can tell you your shower gel isn't liquid anymore ;o)

Because of French bureaucracy & the enormous amount of work we survived 7 (!) cold winters at Studio Sapique. A "little" longer than expected. But last winter was bliss. We could finally invite people over between november & march! And DO stuff at home. Because you're too busy keeping warm when it's cold inside.

Otta & Dwjareb ( two of our 3 cats ) love floor heating just as much as we do. They prefer laying down on the floor as flatcats. In the summer when the heating is not on, they prefer sunbathing, as seen above.

Anyway: as for the upcoming winter, I don't fear the view below anymore!



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