Holiday Cottage in Tuscany update April 2023

For years I dreamt of owning a little Holiday Cottage in Tuscany and in 2019 that finally came true. And then along came a global pandemic. Three long years after I was there in February 2020, I finally got to go back. And wow, it is still as incredible as I remember it! So I’m going to attempt to share it with you how it’s taking shape…

Yes, just one pandemic later and I finally got over to see Woodfarm Tuscany after all this time. The idea was that I finally jump on a plane, and head over to check on the work to the house. In the lead-up to the pandemic hitting, and whilst out of lockdown over there, the builders have done all the work that I asked for.

Whilst these photos are still very basic, as the place is completely unfurnished, and not quite finished, hopefully you will get the idea. There are some panoramic shots, which do have the effect of making the walls look curved, but I can assure you they are not.

What I am attempting to do here is to demonstrate to you how the house will look. I have uploaded loads of photos, and I’ll try to use them to give you a sort of virtual tour.

There is also a video on here in which I tour the house, so hopefully you can start to get an idea of how it is beginning to look.

As I write this on Easter weekend in 2023 I hope to be going over sometime in May with my builder mate Darren, to equip and fit a kitchen, as well as take all the furniture and furnishings that I have been building up over the last few years and storing in Suffolk.

What I’m going to do is to make Woodfarm Tuscany feel like Woodfarm Suffolk, but with a Tuscan twist. And those views. Oh my god, those views!

Features you’ll enjoy:

• Huge, East & South facing terrace with Pizza oven and BBQ
• Fully equipped kitchen with valley views
• Dining room with open fire and views over the valley
• Double East facing bedroom with valley views
• Lounge with two South facing windows looking across the valley towards Lucca
• Wet room with roll top, ball & claw-footed bath overlooking the valley
• Loo with a view!
• Air conditioning in every room
• Shutters on all windows
• 45 minutes from Pisa airport
• 20 minutes from the stunning medieval city of Lucca

As it stands I’m the only one that really knows all of the contents of the lock-up, and how the house feels. What I can tell you is that it’s going to be amazing! Anyway, here you go…

First things first, we are in a tiny hamlet called Piazza Di Brancoli, and this is a pic of the entire hamlet! Trebbio, our little Tuscan hideaway, is the white one with a yellow house tucked beyond it.

As you approach the house on foot, this is the view that greets you. We are the white one to the left, and there’s that neighbouring house to the right.

All with commanding views over the valley!

The house kinda looks like a bungalow as you approach, as the accommodation is all on the top floor of three. The other floors are lower down the hillside. We may make these habitable in the future.

The first thing you’ll smell is this fragrant rosemary bush…

This is a panorama, which does distort the terrace, but you can see how breathtaking these views are!

Ok, we venture inside. This is the kitchen. Please ignore the dangling wires in every room, I’ve not had any light fittings installed yet. The opening at the far end is the dining room.

Panorama showing the end of the kitchen. The door and window overlook the terrace and the East. The terrace is bathed in the sun as soon as it comes up, and all day. it drops behind the house late in the afternoon, and we will have another, smaller patio on the West side of the house, so you can chase it round for the evening sun!

Then you walk through from the kitchen to the dining room. The table will sit in the window, again looking to the East. Traditional Tuscan fireplace on the left. You will also notice the air-con unit in this photo, which is heating as well for the colder months.

From the dining room, there’s a corridor leading to the bedroom (that doorway to the left), and then it opens up in the lounge at the end.

This is the bedroom. Views to the East again, so it’s sunny in the morning and all day. You’ll notice that all the windows have internal shutters, which do keep the house cool in the hot weather if you want to close them.

This is the lounge. Two South facing windows with commanding views down the valley towards Lucca. It’ll have a big, four-seater leather sofa, Smart TV, etc.

Panorama of the lounge looking towards the bathroom. That window frame is the old bathroom window!

And last, but by no means least, here’s the bathroom. As you can see, it is a wet room, with a roll top, ball & claw-footed bath. I had a new window put in, and had it lowered so you could get more of that incredible view! You can take a shower, have a bath, brush your teeth, or even sit on the loo, with the most beautiful view to the South, down the side of the valley towards Lucca.

This is the view from the loo! I was only sitting on it to take the pic. I did have my jeans on!

And this is what it looks like when the sun goes down…

So, videos. Pleeeeeease be aware that these are NOT professional vids, they are just shot (badly) with my battered iPhone. But you will hopefully get the idea.. Here’s the outside…

And here’s the inside…

Trebbio, Via Ombreglio, Piazza Di Brancoli, Lucca, Toscana

We will be aiming to offer 3-night weekends from a Friday, 4-night midweeks from a Monday, and full weeks from a Monday or Friday. We haven’t finalised pricing, etc., just yet, and I don’t yet know when we will be open for bookings. I will tell you though!

Want to make sure you are amongst the first to know the minute we release our availability calendar? Just make sure you are signed up to our VIP Tuscany list. We don’t share your details, or sell it or anything. We work way too hard to do dodgy stuff like that, I promise!

Make sure you have a good look around the rest of the Tuscany section of the website, and rest assured we will be putting together all the info you could possibly need to enjoy a break in Tuscany.

EDIT OCTOBER 2024 – If you want to see the whole story of renovating Woodfarm Tuscany, we have a blog and video for you.