Think this is the one...

We went back to see the house in Bréal this morning with a couple of friends who've lots of experience in renovating etc. They think it's a perfectly feasible project, and requires less work than we previously thought! The upstairs is much more habitable than downstairs, and as it was flats before it's fully independent with kitchen, bathroom etc. The idea is that we'd live upstairs until the downstairs is done, then do the opposite, which avoids us having to rent another house at the same time as doing the work. So full speed ahead! we'll be putting in an offer first thing Tuesday morning. I took a few more piccies while we there:

Fireplace in the left back room downstairs (the really dark one)

This is the view from the dark room at the back through to the front. The floor's really not bad, although there's a bit of woodworm in the front room.

The Stairs - from the ground floor to the first floor...

First floor to the attic....

And looking down the stairs from the attic.

The corridor upstairs, seen from the top of the stairs.

Righthand side as you come up the stairs, front to back.

Front bedroom, righthand side as you come up the stairs.

The children love this house, and their favourite part is the cellar - it's still got the original beaten earth floor, traditional in our region. H's parents both lived in houses with beaten earth floors, no running water or electricity...and that was only 45 years ago! The cellar is huge, and an absolute museum - there's all sorts of things that've been left and forgotten, including this bike, and about 40 bottles of wine dating from the 60's...! Not that the wine's got anything to do with our decision to make an offer, of course...