renovating burnout

Step by step, we said. Unhurriedly, we thought. But the gallop of demands from guests spurred us into speed renovation. Without a breath - we moved on from plumbing, painting, wood work, boxing, ceilings, roof, interior to rooms.

The chaos, the choosing of colours, fabric, uphoslstery was a long process. The odd quip from my family "she is not working, just looking at websites". Yes, but which ones ? I poured through websites of Riba, Fired earth, Dulux Heritage, Interior design books, historical books - hoping to glean some idea of colours. I was not content with a colour scheme from the past so I chose a new look- that was a fusion of Indian and English. The paints are RIBA and all the heritage colours highlight the beauty of the architecture. It is elegant and colourful. We took some surprised guests who had stayed in some of the rooms before the renovation. Hah. Their gasps of awe were satisfying.

Then the Cottage - we broke down walls - built a self sufficient house for us - away from the frenetic pace of the hotel.
The geographical separation matters- oh, yes. If not the public would become private and vice versa. A nightmare in hell!!
We often wonder how people who manage B&B's survive. The lack of privacy - no "usness''. To us this is a principle part of our unity - what makes us one family, it is the space that enables us to relax, fight, argue, love, teach and to be.

The chaos from disrupting living accomodation is hell. I feel fragmented, all the bits of myself in boxes.Dust everywhere, fine and thin- covering the silks, towels, sliding inside the cracks of the wardrobes- all soft toys clammy with dust and moisture. And it is the beginning of the tourist season, at the same time.

In the midst of the chaos are guests who enrgise us. Their insight, their appreciation, their understanding of our values, the reasons for doing what we do, their constant motivation- keeps us afloat. If it were not for these wonderful people who stay with us, full of appreciation for the standards we set, we would have seen a burn out.