Good morning peeps,

Earlier this year, we, hubby and I, decided that we needed a new project. An indoor project that we could work on when the Italian weather turns into winter mode and wet and windy days lay ahead. So, we are turning the top room in the small, unfinished, house into a rustic library.

In my mind I see a Harry Potter like room with tree branches as bookshelves, a face on the door making sure you are allowed to enter. Ok, so I might not be able to do it quite like that, but I reckon it’s going to be amazing. A log burner in the corner with a couple of armchairs in front, books all along the walls and an old fashioned desk facing the fire where I can sit and write my bestseller. You’ve got to stay positive right. 🙂

The trouble is that we’re doing it on an almost non existant budget and the only way to increase it is to rent the whole house out, just for a few weeks next summer. We’ve had so many friends and family stay over the years and they all love it. It might just have been our effervescent company, but hey, the house, pool and Prosecco probably helped. We did shillyshally around a bit about it as there are so many things to consider and organise – and we’d have to give up some of our time there.

Anyway, decision made, it’s online with a few popular holiday letting agencies now.

https://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/apecchio/11778741

The depressing thing is that once fees have been by these agencies (15% to 25% combined charges for the rental!!!!), taxes, insurance, cleaning, depreciation, utilities, pool stuff, welcome pack, local person etc. etc., we left with about 25% of the rental. Madness, right? Renters will see the price and think we get most of that money. I thought exactly that back in the days when we didn’t have Col Buttero and rented holiday houses all around Europe of a summer.

I might be a little nervous about renting the house out but, Col. Buttero itself thrives on having people stay. It really comes to life with happy, eating, drinking, chillin’, playing, dancing people.

Well, we’ll see how it goes – maybe nobody rents it and we’ll have to make the book cases out of stuff we find in the garden and settle for a cement only floor and that is fine too. There will be many more posts on the library in the future I’m sure.

Ciao, ciao, ciao

Marie