Escape to the Chateau DIY (2018–2021): Season 6, Episode 10 - Episode #6.10 - full transcript
Across France there are
thousands of beautiful
Chateaus...
Many forgotten and abandoned.
Now, they're being brought
back to life...
It looks amazing.
By adventurous Brits.
Yoo-hoo! It's always fun!
They're taking on
the challenge...
-Hahaha!
-That'd be dangerous
...to transform these
once-unloved buildings...
Waheeey!
Into incredible homes...
Oh my God!
That ceiling is amazing.
And businesses.
[applause]
There'll be triumphs...
That's the way to do it!
...and setbacks...
[clang]
I was expecting
you to catch that one.
...but however hard
the going gets...
-Argh!
-All good?
...those who've
made the move...
Cheers!
Get to live the dream
as custodians
of their very own castle.
Today...
....one couple...
...Get heavy handed.
When you've got the
right tools and the will power,
there's not a great deal that
will stand in our way.
Feathers are ruffled
at this chateau...
How do you feel about
dead birds?
Oh my God, that's disgusting.
Do you mind cleaning that all?
-No, I'm going to leave
that to you!
-Okay.
And familiar faces get to work
on one of their bedrooms...
I really hate
wallpaper steaming.
...In order to surprise
a very special person
We hope that by doing this
room for nicely for JB's sister,
will persuade her to come
and visit more often
and give us more of a DIY hand
All over France,
ambitious Brits have made
a life changing decision
and sunk their savings
into a dream chateau.
Among them are
property consultant, Donna,
from County Durham
and her Scottish-born husband,
construction director, Paul.
They snapped up the beautiful
Chateau de Saugé
16 months ago
for just £279,000.
Set in four acres of land,
complete with turrets,
and 45 rooms, parts of
the Chateau date from 1607.
I think when you are
looking for a very old chateau,
it's got to feel warm,
it's got to feel like home,
and this has felt
like home from day one.
Located near La Rochelle
in western France,
the chateau was divided into
four separate apartments
by previous owners and now
requires extensive renovations.
So far this winter,
Donna and Paul have removed
one of the original
four staircases...
Right, get out from
underneath it.
To create a new
salon for guests.
The salon is looking
fabulous, love it.
Now they're ready
to continue work on their
B and B accommodation.
We'll have five suites in total
and I always wanted everyone
to come and have a totally
different experience
depending on which room they
come and stay.
So, they can come back
effectively like five times
and stay in five separate rooms!
Donna and Paul are ready
to make a start on what
will be the Victoria Suite.
Situated above the salon
and with the staircase gone,
they want to incorporate
the now redundant
corridor into the suite.
-So, this whole wall
will come down.
-Mm-hmm.
It would allow us to take
advantage of the whole area.
Today, we need to
remove this wall.
We also need to remove the
stud partition wall around
the small toilet as well.
Integrating the old corridor
space will allow them to create
a large ensuite bathroom
and is all part of
Donna's grand plan.
The Victoria suite is
going to be flamboyant,
over the top,
which he is a bit worried about.
-Where do you want me?
-Well, that side. I'm going
to knock it that way.
The first task is to get
rid of the wall between
the bedroom and corridor.
When you got the right
tools and the willpower
there's not a great deal
that will stand in our way.
This room is just great.
Time to get ideas buzzing.
It's great, it's going
to make a beautiful suite.
Now, the old walls are down,
they can work out where
the new bathroom walls will go.
So, what have we got?
We've got a bath which is 700.
Well, that toilet is going
to turn round there as
well, isn't it?
Well, that's smart. So, you
need 700 for the bath, yeah?
Yeah. Sit down
on that toilet and see.
And that's the paper, right.
So...
for say, 300,
because it is only
got a commode,
maybe, a bit more -- sink.
Yeah. It is certainly
a balancing act with
regard to the ensuite.
You know, I want
it to be luxurious,
but at the same time,
I don't want to
give it too much space,
which then takes away
from the actual suite itself.
I think that is fine, don't you?
Okay. No, you're the boss.
Only when it suits.
Measurements done
and Paul can start building
the framework
for the walls of
the new ensuite.
We seem to have accomplished
quite a lot today,
which is always good.
Yeah, pushed a few walls,
ceilings, floors, tiles,
bath, toilet, plumbing,
electrics, wallpapering,
paint,
and then that will be complete.
So, yeah, not
intimidating at all.
It's a long list, but they've
certainly made a solid start.
This is the magnificent
Chateau de Bourneau
Dating back to 1464,
it was rebuilt
in mock Renaissance style
in the 19th century.
Located in western France,
in the Pays de la Loire,
it has 50 rooms,
40 acres of land
and the fairy tale
look is completed
with its very own moat.
Anesthetist Erin and
her French-born fiancé, JB,
bought the chateau
16 months ago for £560,000.
There are those moments when you
get this sort of wow feeling
and it is the first feeling
when I ever saw this
chateau was this,
kind of as the French say,
Coup de Foudre,
this moment of love
at first sight when
you first see something
and you just think,
Wow, this is the one.
Since moving in, they've
renovated the solarium
and their honeymoon
suite is almost complete.
They've also hosted a number
of successful events including
several themed parties.
[speaking in French]
People walk down our
drive and have this wow moment
and honor us by wanting
to host their special day,
whether it's a birthday
party or wedding
and that's incredibly
flattering for us.
Most recently, the Chateau
was a nursing home.
So, they have a lot
to do to return it
to its former glory.
Things seem to take a lot
longer than first expected.
Usually, when we
tackle our projects,
because there is just
the two of us here,
we have a lot to look after.
It's winter and the perfect
time for some DIY.
They're turning their attention
to the west wing
and focusing on renovating
a small bedroom for
JB's sister, Helene.
From the minute they moved in,
Helene has been on hand
to help them at the chateau.
Giving her a room of
her own would be a great
way to say thank you.
She comes and helps us so much.
So, we're really very pleased
to have the opportunity
to do up a room just
for her, as a surprise.
A great idea,
but one that comes with
a huge amount of work.
We'd like to bring back some
more chateau feel to this room.
Part of the idea was to
re-create an illusion of wood
paneling.
We've done that before
for the honeymoon suite.
Before the wood paneling
can begin, they need to get
the old wallpaper off,
which has been up
for about 50 years,
I really hate
wallpaper steaming.
I always have this expectation
that it will come off
in this lovely nice strip
and it never does.
We hope that doing this room
nicely for Helene, JB's sister,
will persuade her
to come visit more often and
give us more of a DIY hand.
Here's hoping!
After an hour of hard work,
they've managed to strip half
of the old wallpaper.
Cool.
You never know what you're
going to find when you
strip off wallpaper so
it's actually a relief
that we don't have to re-plaster
this whole wall.
With some of the
walls now stripped,
Erin and JB are keen to start
planning the wood paneling.
We should decide the
height of the de la route
and what the boxes are going
to look like in the paneling.
Okay. And how many
boxes do we need?
With each of
the walls varying in size,
the wood paneling will
be different on each section.
Let's make it three boxes.
We'll start this section and,
you know, I think this wall,
we could even do something
slightly different
an even see,
with different sizes of boxes.
Okay. Cool. Yeah, yeah. Okay.
Every room is different.
So, you can't just use exactly
the same kind of calculations.
You need to I guess,
think aesthetically what the
look you want to achieve is?
I guess it is bespoke. I mean
a chateau is always bespoke.
Every chateau is unique and
with these kind of buildings,
comes plenty of hard work.
Coming up, at Le Fleur...
Philip battles to restore
an old fireplace.
It's not really healthy,
that brickwork.
To be honest, I'm a bit shocked
I didn't expect it to be so bad.
At this chateau...
I mean this isn't really
going to be seen anyway. Ooooh!
There's a fabric faux pas.
I think the needle snapped,
it's part of the challenge.
And at Chateau de Saugé...
Aaaahhh.
Go and turn the water off.
There's a problem
with the plumbing.
-Quickly.
-Where abouts?
The two valves that we put on.
In northern France
is the stately la Fleur,
set in 15 acres and
boasting 16 rooms,
the chateau is home
to fashion designer Anna
and her Italian-born
husband Philip, and their
two daughters, Lily and Ella.
It was just the dream of having
a beautiful building like this.
We have got amazing
grounds and so much space.
So, it's just an opportunity
for us to bring up our family
and our children in a beautiful
place, a beautiful home.
Set near the Normandy coast,
the couple bought the place
9 months ago for £900,000
and have taken out a
huge loan to finance it.
To be able to pay it back
they have to stick to schedule
and open as a B and B
in just four months.
The rooms have to be ready,
so there is obviously
a little bit of pressure now
to advance on the works
as quickly as possible
But the B and B accommodation
is being used as their
makeshift sleeping quarters.
They still haven't finished the
renovations on their
top floor family apartment
and are running
three months over
their original deadline.
It's like the last push
now to get it finished,
so we can move up there,
but in terms of the
rest of the chateau, which would
be where all the guests will be,
we haven't really done much.
So, these days were as
overwhelming and you think,
Oh my goodness, what are we
doing and will we manage,
but I feel like we'll just have
to work night and day to get it
done if we have to so.
With the apartment
almost complete,
Philip can finally start
work on one of the principal
rooms on the ground floor.
This is our future breakfast
room for the guests.
There is a fireplace and
what I am going to do is I'm
going to take out the old one
and find a way to put
in the new marble pieces
that form the new fire place.
I have never done that.
So, I don't know exactly
what I will find underneath
all these all-broken bits
of marble and wood.
Philip has bought a new marble
fireplace online
that's more in keeping with
the period of the chateau.
It smells quite moldy
in here though and that is --
you can tell that it's not
really healthy that that brick
work--
to be honest, I'm a bit shocked.
I didn't expect it to be so bad.
I might have a word with
the masons and ask them for
the best way of restoring that.
It's a setback for Philip
and means a delay
to fitting the new fireplace,
but he still needs
to unblock the chimney.
The problem is there
is a piece of metal in there,
but now on top of that place,
there is a huge, huge layer
of this stuff, whatever it is.
So, it's really hard to lift
it up and if you can't lift
it up, you can't get it down.
This calls for some good
old-fashioned elbow grease.
Oh, now, it moved.
It's not what I was expecting.
Now, it's a dead bird frozen
and some -- made fire, charcoal
and by the looks of it,
it died quite a long time ago.
It has a date, 1989.
How would you like
your pigeon cooked?
Welcome to our breakfast room.
Oh, another one. Oh, God.
That was a bird cemetery.
Oh, wow.
Look how beautiful.
How do you feel
about dead birds?
Oh my God, that's disgusting.
Where was that?
Inside the chimney?
Well, the good news is,
we know the date of his birth
because he got,
one of them got a year
mark and it says 1989.
Oh, my goodness!
Oh, he is a couple years older
than me -- younger than me.
Younger than you
and then we have a lot of prey.
Oh, wow. Oh God.
I don't think we need to keep
them really. We can throw them.
Yeah. Do you mind
cleaning...?
-No, I will leave that you.
-Okay.
This is the first little step
that I think is going
to make a big change.
It looks a bit of a
mess right now,
but I'm confident that it will
look really nice afterwards.
It will definitely make
a beautiful breakfast room
for future guests,
as long as it's not served with
a side order of wildlife.
Over 200 miles south
at Chateau de Saugé,
Donna and Paul are continuing
to work on the Victoria suite.
They've already installed
the new walls
and are ready to tackle
the bathroom furnishings
What we've got to do
is solve the challenge
of creating a sink out
of a sewing machine base.
Yeah.
-Have you got it?
-Yeah.
-That's nice...
-Don't you like it?
I don't like
the color of the top.
Oh, I think it matches
the grey of the tiler.
Tight on funds, they're hoping
to create a statement sink
using a paving slab.
They bought for 18 euros,
about 15 pounds.
If we measure the distance there
and put the same distance
there, do you think?
So, it just depends how
much of an overhang you
want at the front?
But turning an old sewing
machine stand
into a sink base isn't
a straight forward job.
There's not much room
is there, isn't it?
-Sit on the loo.
-Yeah.
So, with this,
what we can do...
-Oh, gosh that moved.
-The seat does yeah?
-The seat does, yeah.
-Well lift it up.
I just think the
basement will look nice,
kind of centered with side,
which is roughly
about there actually.
Following Donna's orders,
Paul needs to cut
the slab to size.
Right one there.
Try for size. See if it fits.
Oh, it looks nice.
I am thinking that we might
need to shift that way a bit.
Yeah, we could move
that way a touch.
-Sit on the loo.
-You try it. You've got
longer legs than me.
It is all right though,
actually, I can put it--
Plenty of room, isn't it?
Could put me gin
and tonic there.
With the positioning
of the sink perfected,
they can now work out
where to place the fixtures.
So, the tap will have to
-- Will it go there?
-No.
-I mean... on this
spout, isn't it?
No, no. Because you got the
cast iron support it is
going to have go in here.
[both] Aaah.
-Can you turn the water off?
-Where at?
In the corridor,
over there, quickly.
Where abouts?
The two valves have been put on.
Two vales, okay.
[laughs]
ctually did?
-Turned it on.
-No. Yeah. Lifted the tap.
-Lifted the tap, yeah.
Okay. Before it washes off,
human error.
I'm glad he did
that and not me.
I'd never hear the last of it.
Let's hope the rest of
the work goes to plan.
Thirty miles to the west,
at Chateau de Bourneau,
JB is continuing to work
on the wood paneling in his
sister Helene's bedroom.
I know it looks a bit
patchy at the moment,
but once it will be painted
you won't see
the difference, so, yeah.
Erin is also working on
Helene's room
by repurposing some
old curtains she bought
in to a bed canopy.
So, for Helene's bedroom,
I have this idea of creating
this ciel de lit,
which is basically a French
traditional canopy bed
I think originated in
the Court of Louis the XIV.
So, it is the perfect addition
to the chateau bedroom, I think.
To back, behind
the wall side is here.
I have got this lovely piece
of Toile de Jouy,
which is actually a very
French traditional fabric.
And it's even more special
because Helene and JB's mom is
actually from Jouy-en-Josas,
which is where
this fabric is made.
This will make the
backwall panel like this
and then will have
the curtains like that.
Sounds great in theory,
but time to put those
ideas into practice.
I mean this isn't really
going to be seen anyway. Ooh.
What has happened?
I can see that the needle is
not moving --
the needle is unfortunately
fractured because I called
financial section of needle
and it may well be
that part of the needle
is inside the machine, so,
it's just a bit annoying,
because all of these things
do hold you back
when you're trying
to complete the job,
but, part of the challenge.
A case of one step
forward and two steps back.
A good opportunity to
see how JB is getting on.
Aha. So, this is finished now.
Yeah. What do you think?
Excellent. I think it really
does bring back those period
features into this room,
which will make the chateau
back to its former glory.
So, yeah, I think
it is really nice.
I think we've made a
really good start,
but we have three and a half
more to replicate this one.
-[indistinct] All four walls.
-Yeah.
-Cornicing back in...
-Cornicing.
-Ceiling rise.
-Painting ceilings, wallpaper.
Yep. Awning for the bath.
Yes, of course,
these things.
Yes, not much to do.
Not forgetting the rest of
the wallpaper stripping.
They certainly have
an extensive to do list before
the room is ready for Helene.
Coming up -- Artistic
flair is put to
the test at this chateau.
I'm not sure what
you're going for, but I
don't think you've got it yet.
Yeah.
At Le Fleur...
things aren't going to plan.
I think it is just going
to take a very long time.
And for Erin & JB --.
It's quite a busy
wallpaper, so...
There's a clash of tastes.
I think sometimes, JB's vision
doesn't always correspond with
mine, I really like it.
At Le Fleur, with
only three months to go
till they open as a B and B,
Anna and Philip are
up against it.
We'll just have to work flat
out to get the rooms done.
I think we're prepared for that.
Today, Philip is
starting work on the blue room,
which will be one
of their guest suites
on the first floor.
We're going to try and
put back the wooden paneling
that we took off
in order to move those walls
because behind these two walls,
there a shower room on this side
and a toilet on the other side.
Now, originally, that was where
cupboard space is, but they
were too tiny,
so in order to make them
workable for people to use
shower
and then go to the toilet,
we decided to slightly move
the wall just to get
these two little rooms to an
acceptable size.
It seems to be a lot of
work just to gain a couple
of centimeters,
but it is those 10 to
15 essential centimeters
that makes the difference
between like little cupboard
space
and an okay toilet
and shower room.
We're going to put
back the paneling,
so the room looked
exactly as it does before.
Since the walls aren't
perfectly straight,
fixing the panels back
on is a challenge.
Luckily Philip's
father-in-law, John,
is here to help.
I think it is going to
take a very long time.
Whilst John insulates
the new walls,
Philip organizes the
wooden panels
to ensure they go back
in exactly the same order.
This was a bit silly, I should
have marked the pieces
to put them together easily,
which we didn't.
It is only like six, seven,
pieces I think,
one, two, three,
four, five, six, seven
so, I'm not good at math,
but I think that only gives you
a limited
amount possible of
combinations.
So, I think we will just
do it by trial and error.
-It is this side.
-Okay.
This goes, this leads here.
That embellishment matches
that embellishment.
So, I would've thought this is
the door to go there, this one.
So, swap these 'round.
So, this is what we have here,
is here.
So, this whole thing --
all of that goes here
and now we found that.
-Yes.
-Yes. Okay.
This is good, so we just have
to swap the whole thing.
-Yeah. Right.
-So, this is the furthest.
Yeah.
How boring would it be if we
just had numbers on these doors?
How is it going?
Hey, it's good.
Do you have pictures of this
room? How it looked before?
Have you forgotten
how it looked?
No. I have not. I have --
I took the pictures rather
than the numbered the pieces.
Of course, yeah.
There were rather good
pictures of it.
Is it not fitting?
It does, it does fit.
I just want to be sure that
that's exactly as it was.
Yeah. I sent it to
you. Just in case.
It is fine that an untrained
eye could think that we will
never be finished in two months,
luckily experts like us,
we see this and we know...
It's going to be done
in five minutes. Yeah.
It is going to be done in five
minutes, if not in four.
I think Philip probably
told me it would go
back in half a day
because he always likes
to be optimistic.
But, yeah, these things
always take longer than usual,
don't they?
With the panels finally
in the correct order,
they need to ensure they fit
flush against the new section
of wall
and turn one of the panels
into a door to access
the shower room.
This is much better,
do you see?
This should be -- this is good.
This is 2 cm.
Look that's perfect.
At least, there's
no damage done.
Since the panels
date from 1829,
they would be hard to replace.
So, I think this now
is rock solid.
Success.
Let's just straighten it up.
So, this is the moment
of truth then?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's see.
Wow, it works, eh?
It does. I think that is good.
What do you think?
Great. Well done.
-It is pretty good.
-Now, you have seen how
to do it, John.
-For the other half, you might.
-Yeah, of course.
Yeah. I can help
you after lunch.
How is that going
to take, Philip?
About half an hour.
Half an hour it
takes for it all.
-It takes Phillip's
half an hour.
-Phillip's half an hour.
-Half an hour job.
-Which is half a day or two.
It's a great start,
but will probably take more
than half an hour
to finish this job.
Over at Chateau de Bourneau,
Erin and JB are cracking on
with the bedroom renovations.
Now the wood
paneling is complete,
they can finally start
hanging the new wallpaper.
I think it's going to look nice
when it's all up on the wall.
I think we'll have more
of an idea about
how much more wallpaper
we should add on to this room.
They're continuing
the wood paneling style
to create a border around
each section of wallpaper,
an effect that was particularly
popular in the 19th century.
It's quite a busy wallpaper.
So...
I like it. It is very French.
I think it is quite chic.
I think sometimes JB's
vision doesn't always
correspond with mine,
but actually when I
see it on the wall,
it is 19th century appropriate.
I really like it.
I hope Helene does. We'll see.
Leaving JB to it,
Erin can finally move on
to the fun part of the job
and start thinking
about furnishings.
So, we're in the attics
of chateau de Bourneau.
I use this as a place
to store various treasures
that I found on the way.
So, I am hoping that there will
be a few things that we can use
to dress up Helene's bedroom
and make it look beautiful.
Let the treasure hunt begin.
Yeah. That's nice isn't it,
bit of blue and pink.
So, I really like this
chandelier and I think
it will work really well
in that bedroom because
it's quite a 19th century chic.
Time to show JB
what jewel she's found.
So, these candle sconces
I got from a brocanteur.
So, I was thinking what
if we put them actually
in these two frames,
one like this and
the other one over there?
Sure. That's a good
contrast of color as well.
-Yeah. I framed some
wrapping paper a while ago.
-That's cool.
And it's, um, a map or Paris
and I thought, you know,
as a sort of nod to TLM.
Yeah, so kind of the
pink and blueness.
Happy, so I've got a few more
things, I found a nice chair,
and then I can come and
help you finish with upholstery
and whatever needs doing.
I think we have made
a reasonable progress actually.
Haven't we?
-Yeah.
-The pink is painted
on the walls
and we have completed
all the wallpaper.
It's been a long day,
but we're nearly there.
The finishing line is in sight,
fingers crossed it all
comes together.
30 miles east at Chateau de
Saugé,
Donna and Paul's Victoria
Suite is taking shape.
It's been five weeks
and they've managed to install
the shower and tiled
the bathroom floor.
We're nearing on being able to
decorate
and put the wallpaper
and the paint up,
that's the bit I get
really excited about.
Donna may be excited about
wallpaper going up...
Oh yeah, that's going
to look nice, isn't it?
aul's not convinced.
I don't like
the wallpaper at all.
It is going to make
the ensuite look really dark
and small, but...
Yeah, it should be dark
in a way because it should be
restful and relaxation and...
-Restful I get, but satanic
is slightly different.
-[laughs]
Continuing her lavish theme,
Donna wants to add a touch
of opulence to the ensuite.
My plan is to try and put a
bit of gold highlight
on some of the beading
to kind of match the gold taps,
the gold plumbing
and then put
the wallpaper next to
it and see how it marries.
It is an idea in my head.
So, whether it will pan out,
I don't know yet.
There's no harm in trying.
I'm not sure what you
are going for, but I don't
think have got it yet.
No.
Time for a different approach.
Yeah, I'm liking that already.
Really?
Well, it looks better
than the other two.
Donna has one final option,
for ultimate luxury,
a touch of gold leaf.
I've used some before
on some picture frames,
but I have never used it
on anything like this.
It looks better. You want to be
opulent, so it is option
buffet or option fake gold leaf.
Let me put the wall paper
up against it and see
what it looks like?
Yeah. I want to ask you
to improve this a bit...
I will get it for you though.
Dun dun dun.
Ready?
Look at that.
Isn't that beautiful?
Actually, it doesn't
look that bad.
[both laugh]
Thank you.
It does look nice, doesn't it?
-The gold leaf on it. I think
that's the one to go for.
-Okay.
I will have to get it
done as quickly as I can.
I mean it is really down
now to how quickly Paul
gets all this work finished.
-Just this all?
-So, I start doing
the pretty things.
And Paul's first job is to
fit an elaborate bathroom tap
that Donna bought
online for 50 pounds.
Donna's Alibaba tap
that she loves.
It looks like something that
you'd perhaps rub the top
and ask for the chateau genie to
come in and finish all the work
for you.
So, let us just check.
No. Gonna have to do it myself.
[chuckles]
Wow, that looks nice.
My bling top.
Oh, yes. that is nice,
isn't it? It is so nice.
It does match the basin.
It does, doesn't it?
Isn't it pretty?
Yes. It looks, okay.
I mean up to... and above that.
So, reserving judgment.
Take the paper and go.
Thank you. I think we
have done really well today.
I think we still can work in
terms of gold leafing
all the paneling. So...
I think it will be worth it.
I think it will look nice.
Yeah, I will remind that to you
when you are up at 10 o'clock
at night gold leafing.
[laughs]
Donna and Paul have
singlehandedly
achieved a great deal
over the last three months,
with their salon transformed.
Another big step forward.
And their first event
of the year.
But these two are
just getting started.
Next on the agenda is
to finish the Victoria Suite.
We have probably got
a four-week window
in which to get that completed
because after that we really
need to get on
-with extending
that terrace area.
-Yeah, sure.
That's kind of priority
for the tea room. No pressure.
Yeah. We need these,
you know, eight-week months,
they would be helpful.
Yeah. Yeah.
There's still a way to go,
but we'll be back
to see the finished result
and if their hard
work pays off.
Coming up... It's the moment
of truth for Erin and JB.
-Are you ready?
-Ooh.
-Oh my God!
-What do you think?
And at Le Fleur,
it's time to move.
The sooner we can get
out of here the better.
This is holding us up.
We can't advance on the
renovations of these rooms
for our guests until
we're out of them.
At Chateau de Bourneau,
Erin and JB are busy
finishing the West wing bedroom
for JB's sister, Helene,
and there's no time to waste.
JB's sister has
already arrived.
She doesn't know what we're
doing. So, we are secrecing
away to do this room up for her.
The first job is to
secure the chandelier.
-Got it?
-Yeah.
Ooh, nice.
Good news. The hook
is strong enough.
It looks great.
It would be even better if
it worked, but trying now.
-Okay?
-Yeah.
That's the good way.
You know, it's fine.
Doesn't matter,
it's lovely. Great.
Just a few more
finishing touches to go.
So, this was a table
I actually found
in the attic of the chateau
and I just painted
it and changed the ceramic
and drawn off and added
little bit of gold on it.
So, it is kind of shabby chic,
but it goes with the bed,
which I painted.
So, hopefully, it will work.
All right. So, you tell me,
how you wanted
it to be installed?
So, I will plug it to that.
Are you on your toes?
I am.
[indistinct]
Yeah. It looks very nice.
-Yeah. What do you think? Yeah?
-Well done. It's cool.
Eleven weeks ago, this bedroom
was an abandoned space,
50 years' worth of wallpaper
was hanging off the walls
and the room was drab
and unwelcoming.
Now, it's a luxurious space
brimming with 19th century
French charm,
a perfect place
fit for a princess.
The upcycled ciel de lit
takes center stage
along with furniture Erin
has beautifully restored
and brought back to life.
The biggest transformation
are the walls,
which boast
the new wood paneling
plus chic wallpaper ideal
for a fairytale chateau.
I really hope Helene
likes her bedroom.
It's quite sort of
girly and feminine
with the 19th century
feel like a chateau.
I hope she enjoys it.
Time to find out.
-Hello?
-You ready?
-We're ready.
-All right. Go.
Ooh. Oh my God.
What do you think?
It's a secret project.
We have actually done it
for you. This is --.
-It is my room?
-Yes.
And it is really to say thank
you for all of the times
-you've helped us
out and everything.
-Oh my God.
And we hope that this
is a home from home for you.
Yeah, yeah. I am going
to move here. This is.
-Yeah.
-What, what.
[all laugh]
Thank you very much guys
for my lovely bedroom.
I love the wallpaper.
new you'd like it.
I was worried
it would look grim.
Even that, it's new.
Yeah, we did it just out.
We did. We did it all.
Oh my God. That's fabulous.
We always had you in
mind for this room
because it is
actually my favorite room
in the chateau. So.
It's mine now as well.
Thank you, the French way.
-Wow.
-Thank you for that.
Our pleasure.
With Helene over the moon
with her new bedroom
their hard work
has been a success.
This is exactly what I had
in mind for a feminine 19th
century chateau
appropriate bedroom
and I think it is really nice
that and we have
done something for Helene.
So, now every time
Helene comes to stay,
I feel, oh, I'm
so embarrassed for putting
her in some terrace bedroom.
We can also see how design is
starting to shine through
and I'm almost motivated
to start the, all
the 22 bedrooms.
Yeah, two down, 20 more to go.
Erin and JB show no signs
of slowing down,
and have already started work
on completing their
honeymoon suite and bathroom
to be ready
for wedding bookings.
I think we will always be
doing some element of DIY
whatever our working
lives are like.
Not bad. Do you mind bringing
me a glass of champagne
or a nice cup of tea?
Oh, I see. I see.
Right. Back to work.
-Yeah, back to work.
Don't get used to it.
-One can dream.
If anyone can achieve
their dreams through
hard work, it's these two.
At le Fleur, it's a special
day for Anna and Philip,
as they are finally able
to move into their
renovated apartment.
For the past nine months,
they've been sleeping
in makeshift quarters
on the first floor,
which has held them back from
refurbishing
these rooms for B and B guests.
I'm very excited to get all
of these cardboard boxes,
move everything upstairs,
all of our things,
and empty these rooms
out as well because
this is holding us up.
We cannot advance from
the renovation of these rooms
for our guests until
we're out of them.
The sooner we can get
out of here the better.
Anna and Philip are determined
to have the apartment ready
by the time their daughters
get back from school
and there's one key element
that has finally arrived.
It doesn't look like
it's a mattress, does it?
Especially not something that
costs several hundred pounds.
I think we should have
taken the lift.
We had finished the apartment
and we are ready to move in.
And then, we figured out
that we have not got a mattress.
We forgot to order the mattress.
We just forgot in all
the rush and craziness.
One little detail.
So, finally, it is here
and it is really exciting
and I am really excited
to get it to finally move
into the apartment.
Huh, it's good.
With the mattress in,
it's just a case of
a few finishing touches
before the girls get home.
Okay. I mean they've obviously
been here through whole process,
Lily especially because
she is the older.
She has a bit more of
an understanding of it
and I think she has
seen the process of her room,
you know, from when it
was a complete mess
and all through the stages
and over quite a long period
of time us working on it.
I promised her that
when she came back today,
it would be ready for her.
So, I just wanted
it to look perfect.
It's been nine months since
they moved into the chateau
and started work
on the apartment.
In disrepair, parts
of the top floor hadn't been
lived in for nearly 30 years.
Now, it's been transformed
into a beautiful
and stylish apartment.
A warm and inviting space
perfect for a young family.
The master bedroom complete
with ensuite has been
superbly restored.
The natural seagrass flooring
has now been fitted
and the boudoir chair
Anna lovingly refurbished
adds a touch of luxury.
Now Philip
has fixed the electrics,
they finally have
lighting and heat
for the whole apartment.
After a long wait,
Lily and Ella
have a finished cozy
bedroom to call their own.
Fingers crossed; they love it.
-Close your eyes Ella.
-No.
Okay and open.
Ella.
And what do you think?
Ella, look, there is a...
[children babbling]
Are you happy with that?
And whose names are these?
-Lily and Ella.
-Yeah.
-Anna, well done.
-I think it was a success.
It is really very nice.
I did all of the bed.
-Oh. And so, am I sleeping
in your bed tonight?
-No.
They've had a long wait,
but their renovation work
has been a triumph.
It feels really good
to finally be here.
We have got our little
kind of heaven up here,
our little private space,
which is really important for
us and it just feels really cozy
and it feels homely,
doesn't it?
A heated bathroom?
Yes, oh yes.
A heated bedroom.
What more do you need?
Finishing the apartment
is just the beginning
of Anna and Philip's
chateau journey.
Having done an apartment gives
us also a sort of a preview
of what the
chateau could become once
renovation is finished.
They've already started work
on two of the B and B suites
and with the new skills
they've learnt renovating
their apartment,
they hope to soon be welcoming
their first paying guests.
I need Philip to do,
you know, the electrics,
all the, you know, hard graft
and I'll just do the
nice part of just finishing
and doing the decorating.
It sounds like they have
it all planned out,
but for now, they
can relax and settle
into their new apartment.
Next time...
We've had a bit of a setback.
A big build hits a brick wall.
Look how dense this wall is.
Two new chateau
shoppers begin the search
for their dream home.
Probably not good for your
sleeping pattern with that
thing glaring at you.
And the bathroom renovation
leads to crossed wires.
No, no, no. I don't want it in
the center of the granite, do I!
thousands of beautiful
Chateaus...
Many forgotten and abandoned.
Now, they're being brought
back to life...
It looks amazing.
By adventurous Brits.
Yoo-hoo! It's always fun!
They're taking on
the challenge...
-Hahaha!
-That'd be dangerous
...to transform these
once-unloved buildings...
Waheeey!
Into incredible homes...
Oh my God!
That ceiling is amazing.
And businesses.
[applause]
There'll be triumphs...
That's the way to do it!
...and setbacks...
[clang]
I was expecting
you to catch that one.
...but however hard
the going gets...
-Argh!
-All good?
...those who've
made the move...
Cheers!
Get to live the dream
as custodians
of their very own castle.
Today...
....one couple...
...Get heavy handed.
When you've got the
right tools and the will power,
there's not a great deal that
will stand in our way.
Feathers are ruffled
at this chateau...
How do you feel about
dead birds?
Oh my God, that's disgusting.
Do you mind cleaning that all?
-No, I'm going to leave
that to you!
-Okay.
And familiar faces get to work
on one of their bedrooms...
I really hate
wallpaper steaming.
...In order to surprise
a very special person
We hope that by doing this
room for nicely for JB's sister,
will persuade her to come
and visit more often
and give us more of a DIY hand
All over France,
ambitious Brits have made
a life changing decision
and sunk their savings
into a dream chateau.
Among them are
property consultant, Donna,
from County Durham
and her Scottish-born husband,
construction director, Paul.
They snapped up the beautiful
Chateau de Saugé
16 months ago
for just £279,000.
Set in four acres of land,
complete with turrets,
and 45 rooms, parts of
the Chateau date from 1607.
I think when you are
looking for a very old chateau,
it's got to feel warm,
it's got to feel like home,
and this has felt
like home from day one.
Located near La Rochelle
in western France,
the chateau was divided into
four separate apartments
by previous owners and now
requires extensive renovations.
So far this winter,
Donna and Paul have removed
one of the original
four staircases...
Right, get out from
underneath it.
To create a new
salon for guests.
The salon is looking
fabulous, love it.
Now they're ready
to continue work on their
B and B accommodation.
We'll have five suites in total
and I always wanted everyone
to come and have a totally
different experience
depending on which room they
come and stay.
So, they can come back
effectively like five times
and stay in five separate rooms!
Donna and Paul are ready
to make a start on what
will be the Victoria Suite.
Situated above the salon
and with the staircase gone,
they want to incorporate
the now redundant
corridor into the suite.
-So, this whole wall
will come down.
-Mm-hmm.
It would allow us to take
advantage of the whole area.
Today, we need to
remove this wall.
We also need to remove the
stud partition wall around
the small toilet as well.
Integrating the old corridor
space will allow them to create
a large ensuite bathroom
and is all part of
Donna's grand plan.
The Victoria suite is
going to be flamboyant,
over the top,
which he is a bit worried about.
-Where do you want me?
-Well, that side. I'm going
to knock it that way.
The first task is to get
rid of the wall between
the bedroom and corridor.
When you got the right
tools and the willpower
there's not a great deal
that will stand in our way.
This room is just great.
Time to get ideas buzzing.
It's great, it's going
to make a beautiful suite.
Now, the old walls are down,
they can work out where
the new bathroom walls will go.
So, what have we got?
We've got a bath which is 700.
Well, that toilet is going
to turn round there as
well, isn't it?
Well, that's smart. So, you
need 700 for the bath, yeah?
Yeah. Sit down
on that toilet and see.
And that's the paper, right.
So...
for say, 300,
because it is only
got a commode,
maybe, a bit more -- sink.
Yeah. It is certainly
a balancing act with
regard to the ensuite.
You know, I want
it to be luxurious,
but at the same time,
I don't want to
give it too much space,
which then takes away
from the actual suite itself.
I think that is fine, don't you?
Okay. No, you're the boss.
Only when it suits.
Measurements done
and Paul can start building
the framework
for the walls of
the new ensuite.
We seem to have accomplished
quite a lot today,
which is always good.
Yeah, pushed a few walls,
ceilings, floors, tiles,
bath, toilet, plumbing,
electrics, wallpapering,
paint,
and then that will be complete.
So, yeah, not
intimidating at all.
It's a long list, but they've
certainly made a solid start.
This is the magnificent
Chateau de Bourneau
Dating back to 1464,
it was rebuilt
in mock Renaissance style
in the 19th century.
Located in western France,
in the Pays de la Loire,
it has 50 rooms,
40 acres of land
and the fairy tale
look is completed
with its very own moat.
Anesthetist Erin and
her French-born fiancé, JB,
bought the chateau
16 months ago for £560,000.
There are those moments when you
get this sort of wow feeling
and it is the first feeling
when I ever saw this
chateau was this,
kind of as the French say,
Coup de Foudre,
this moment of love
at first sight when
you first see something
and you just think,
Wow, this is the one.
Since moving in, they've
renovated the solarium
and their honeymoon
suite is almost complete.
They've also hosted a number
of successful events including
several themed parties.
[speaking in French]
People walk down our
drive and have this wow moment
and honor us by wanting
to host their special day,
whether it's a birthday
party or wedding
and that's incredibly
flattering for us.
Most recently, the Chateau
was a nursing home.
So, they have a lot
to do to return it
to its former glory.
Things seem to take a lot
longer than first expected.
Usually, when we
tackle our projects,
because there is just
the two of us here,
we have a lot to look after.
It's winter and the perfect
time for some DIY.
They're turning their attention
to the west wing
and focusing on renovating
a small bedroom for
JB's sister, Helene.
From the minute they moved in,
Helene has been on hand
to help them at the chateau.
Giving her a room of
her own would be a great
way to say thank you.
She comes and helps us so much.
So, we're really very pleased
to have the opportunity
to do up a room just
for her, as a surprise.
A great idea,
but one that comes with
a huge amount of work.
We'd like to bring back some
more chateau feel to this room.
Part of the idea was to
re-create an illusion of wood
paneling.
We've done that before
for the honeymoon suite.
Before the wood paneling
can begin, they need to get
the old wallpaper off,
which has been up
for about 50 years,
I really hate
wallpaper steaming.
I always have this expectation
that it will come off
in this lovely nice strip
and it never does.
We hope that doing this room
nicely for Helene, JB's sister,
will persuade her
to come visit more often and
give us more of a DIY hand.
Here's hoping!
After an hour of hard work,
they've managed to strip half
of the old wallpaper.
Cool.
You never know what you're
going to find when you
strip off wallpaper so
it's actually a relief
that we don't have to re-plaster
this whole wall.
With some of the
walls now stripped,
Erin and JB are keen to start
planning the wood paneling.
We should decide the
height of the de la route
and what the boxes are going
to look like in the paneling.
Okay. And how many
boxes do we need?
With each of
the walls varying in size,
the wood paneling will
be different on each section.
Let's make it three boxes.
We'll start this section and,
you know, I think this wall,
we could even do something
slightly different
an even see,
with different sizes of boxes.
Okay. Cool. Yeah, yeah. Okay.
Every room is different.
So, you can't just use exactly
the same kind of calculations.
You need to I guess,
think aesthetically what the
look you want to achieve is?
I guess it is bespoke. I mean
a chateau is always bespoke.
Every chateau is unique and
with these kind of buildings,
comes plenty of hard work.
Coming up, at Le Fleur...
Philip battles to restore
an old fireplace.
It's not really healthy,
that brickwork.
To be honest, I'm a bit shocked
I didn't expect it to be so bad.
At this chateau...
I mean this isn't really
going to be seen anyway. Ooooh!
There's a fabric faux pas.
I think the needle snapped,
it's part of the challenge.
And at Chateau de Saugé...
Aaaahhh.
Go and turn the water off.
There's a problem
with the plumbing.
-Quickly.
-Where abouts?
The two valves that we put on.
In northern France
is the stately la Fleur,
set in 15 acres and
boasting 16 rooms,
the chateau is home
to fashion designer Anna
and her Italian-born
husband Philip, and their
two daughters, Lily and Ella.
It was just the dream of having
a beautiful building like this.
We have got amazing
grounds and so much space.
So, it's just an opportunity
for us to bring up our family
and our children in a beautiful
place, a beautiful home.
Set near the Normandy coast,
the couple bought the place
9 months ago for £900,000
and have taken out a
huge loan to finance it.
To be able to pay it back
they have to stick to schedule
and open as a B and B
in just four months.
The rooms have to be ready,
so there is obviously
a little bit of pressure now
to advance on the works
as quickly as possible
But the B and B accommodation
is being used as their
makeshift sleeping quarters.
They still haven't finished the
renovations on their
top floor family apartment
and are running
three months over
their original deadline.
It's like the last push
now to get it finished,
so we can move up there,
but in terms of the
rest of the chateau, which would
be where all the guests will be,
we haven't really done much.
So, these days were as
overwhelming and you think,
Oh my goodness, what are we
doing and will we manage,
but I feel like we'll just have
to work night and day to get it
done if we have to so.
With the apartment
almost complete,
Philip can finally start
work on one of the principal
rooms on the ground floor.
This is our future breakfast
room for the guests.
There is a fireplace and
what I am going to do is I'm
going to take out the old one
and find a way to put
in the new marble pieces
that form the new fire place.
I have never done that.
So, I don't know exactly
what I will find underneath
all these all-broken bits
of marble and wood.
Philip has bought a new marble
fireplace online
that's more in keeping with
the period of the chateau.
It smells quite moldy
in here though and that is --
you can tell that it's not
really healthy that that brick
work--
to be honest, I'm a bit shocked.
I didn't expect it to be so bad.
I might have a word with
the masons and ask them for
the best way of restoring that.
It's a setback for Philip
and means a delay
to fitting the new fireplace,
but he still needs
to unblock the chimney.
The problem is there
is a piece of metal in there,
but now on top of that place,
there is a huge, huge layer
of this stuff, whatever it is.
So, it's really hard to lift
it up and if you can't lift
it up, you can't get it down.
This calls for some good
old-fashioned elbow grease.
Oh, now, it moved.
It's not what I was expecting.
Now, it's a dead bird frozen
and some -- made fire, charcoal
and by the looks of it,
it died quite a long time ago.
It has a date, 1989.
How would you like
your pigeon cooked?
Welcome to our breakfast room.
Oh, another one. Oh, God.
That was a bird cemetery.
Oh, wow.
Look how beautiful.
How do you feel
about dead birds?
Oh my God, that's disgusting.
Where was that?
Inside the chimney?
Well, the good news is,
we know the date of his birth
because he got,
one of them got a year
mark and it says 1989.
Oh, my goodness!
Oh, he is a couple years older
than me -- younger than me.
Younger than you
and then we have a lot of prey.
Oh, wow. Oh God.
I don't think we need to keep
them really. We can throw them.
Yeah. Do you mind
cleaning...?
-No, I will leave that you.
-Okay.
This is the first little step
that I think is going
to make a big change.
It looks a bit of a
mess right now,
but I'm confident that it will
look really nice afterwards.
It will definitely make
a beautiful breakfast room
for future guests,
as long as it's not served with
a side order of wildlife.
Over 200 miles south
at Chateau de Saugé,
Donna and Paul are continuing
to work on the Victoria suite.
They've already installed
the new walls
and are ready to tackle
the bathroom furnishings
What we've got to do
is solve the challenge
of creating a sink out
of a sewing machine base.
Yeah.
-Have you got it?
-Yeah.
-That's nice...
-Don't you like it?
I don't like
the color of the top.
Oh, I think it matches
the grey of the tiler.
Tight on funds, they're hoping
to create a statement sink
using a paving slab.
They bought for 18 euros,
about 15 pounds.
If we measure the distance there
and put the same distance
there, do you think?
So, it just depends how
much of an overhang you
want at the front?
But turning an old sewing
machine stand
into a sink base isn't
a straight forward job.
There's not much room
is there, isn't it?
-Sit on the loo.
-Yeah.
So, with this,
what we can do...
-Oh, gosh that moved.
-The seat does yeah?
-The seat does, yeah.
-Well lift it up.
I just think the
basement will look nice,
kind of centered with side,
which is roughly
about there actually.
Following Donna's orders,
Paul needs to cut
the slab to size.
Right one there.
Try for size. See if it fits.
Oh, it looks nice.
I am thinking that we might
need to shift that way a bit.
Yeah, we could move
that way a touch.
-Sit on the loo.
-You try it. You've got
longer legs than me.
It is all right though,
actually, I can put it--
Plenty of room, isn't it?
Could put me gin
and tonic there.
With the positioning
of the sink perfected,
they can now work out
where to place the fixtures.
So, the tap will have to
-- Will it go there?
-No.
-I mean... on this
spout, isn't it?
No, no. Because you got the
cast iron support it is
going to have go in here.
[both] Aaah.
-Can you turn the water off?
-Where at?
In the corridor,
over there, quickly.
Where abouts?
The two valves have been put on.
Two vales, okay.
[laughs]
ctually did?
-Turned it on.
-No. Yeah. Lifted the tap.
-Lifted the tap, yeah.
Okay. Before it washes off,
human error.
I'm glad he did
that and not me.
I'd never hear the last of it.
Let's hope the rest of
the work goes to plan.
Thirty miles to the west,
at Chateau de Bourneau,
JB is continuing to work
on the wood paneling in his
sister Helene's bedroom.
I know it looks a bit
patchy at the moment,
but once it will be painted
you won't see
the difference, so, yeah.
Erin is also working on
Helene's room
by repurposing some
old curtains she bought
in to a bed canopy.
So, for Helene's bedroom,
I have this idea of creating
this ciel de lit,
which is basically a French
traditional canopy bed
I think originated in
the Court of Louis the XIV.
So, it is the perfect addition
to the chateau bedroom, I think.
To back, behind
the wall side is here.
I have got this lovely piece
of Toile de Jouy,
which is actually a very
French traditional fabric.
And it's even more special
because Helene and JB's mom is
actually from Jouy-en-Josas,
which is where
this fabric is made.
This will make the
backwall panel like this
and then will have
the curtains like that.
Sounds great in theory,
but time to put those
ideas into practice.
I mean this isn't really
going to be seen anyway. Ooh.
What has happened?
I can see that the needle is
not moving --
the needle is unfortunately
fractured because I called
financial section of needle
and it may well be
that part of the needle
is inside the machine, so,
it's just a bit annoying,
because all of these things
do hold you back
when you're trying
to complete the job,
but, part of the challenge.
A case of one step
forward and two steps back.
A good opportunity to
see how JB is getting on.
Aha. So, this is finished now.
Yeah. What do you think?
Excellent. I think it really
does bring back those period
features into this room,
which will make the chateau
back to its former glory.
So, yeah, I think
it is really nice.
I think we've made a
really good start,
but we have three and a half
more to replicate this one.
-[indistinct] All four walls.
-Yeah.
-Cornicing back in...
-Cornicing.
-Ceiling rise.
-Painting ceilings, wallpaper.
Yep. Awning for the bath.
Yes, of course,
these things.
Yes, not much to do.
Not forgetting the rest of
the wallpaper stripping.
They certainly have
an extensive to do list before
the room is ready for Helene.
Coming up -- Artistic
flair is put to
the test at this chateau.
I'm not sure what
you're going for, but I
don't think you've got it yet.
Yeah.
At Le Fleur...
things aren't going to plan.
I think it is just going
to take a very long time.
And for Erin & JB --.
It's quite a busy
wallpaper, so...
There's a clash of tastes.
I think sometimes, JB's vision
doesn't always correspond with
mine, I really like it.
At Le Fleur, with
only three months to go
till they open as a B and B,
Anna and Philip are
up against it.
We'll just have to work flat
out to get the rooms done.
I think we're prepared for that.
Today, Philip is
starting work on the blue room,
which will be one
of their guest suites
on the first floor.
We're going to try and
put back the wooden paneling
that we took off
in order to move those walls
because behind these two walls,
there a shower room on this side
and a toilet on the other side.
Now, originally, that was where
cupboard space is, but they
were too tiny,
so in order to make them
workable for people to use
shower
and then go to the toilet,
we decided to slightly move
the wall just to get
these two little rooms to an
acceptable size.
It seems to be a lot of
work just to gain a couple
of centimeters,
but it is those 10 to
15 essential centimeters
that makes the difference
between like little cupboard
space
and an okay toilet
and shower room.
We're going to put
back the paneling,
so the room looked
exactly as it does before.
Since the walls aren't
perfectly straight,
fixing the panels back
on is a challenge.
Luckily Philip's
father-in-law, John,
is here to help.
I think it is going to
take a very long time.
Whilst John insulates
the new walls,
Philip organizes the
wooden panels
to ensure they go back
in exactly the same order.
This was a bit silly, I should
have marked the pieces
to put them together easily,
which we didn't.
It is only like six, seven,
pieces I think,
one, two, three,
four, five, six, seven
so, I'm not good at math,
but I think that only gives you
a limited
amount possible of
combinations.
So, I think we will just
do it by trial and error.
-It is this side.
-Okay.
This goes, this leads here.
That embellishment matches
that embellishment.
So, I would've thought this is
the door to go there, this one.
So, swap these 'round.
So, this is what we have here,
is here.
So, this whole thing --
all of that goes here
and now we found that.
-Yes.
-Yes. Okay.
This is good, so we just have
to swap the whole thing.
-Yeah. Right.
-So, this is the furthest.
Yeah.
How boring would it be if we
just had numbers on these doors?
How is it going?
Hey, it's good.
Do you have pictures of this
room? How it looked before?
Have you forgotten
how it looked?
No. I have not. I have --
I took the pictures rather
than the numbered the pieces.
Of course, yeah.
There were rather good
pictures of it.
Is it not fitting?
It does, it does fit.
I just want to be sure that
that's exactly as it was.
Yeah. I sent it to
you. Just in case.
It is fine that an untrained
eye could think that we will
never be finished in two months,
luckily experts like us,
we see this and we know...
It's going to be done
in five minutes. Yeah.
It is going to be done in five
minutes, if not in four.
I think Philip probably
told me it would go
back in half a day
because he always likes
to be optimistic.
But, yeah, these things
always take longer than usual,
don't they?
With the panels finally
in the correct order,
they need to ensure they fit
flush against the new section
of wall
and turn one of the panels
into a door to access
the shower room.
This is much better,
do you see?
This should be -- this is good.
This is 2 cm.
Look that's perfect.
At least, there's
no damage done.
Since the panels
date from 1829,
they would be hard to replace.
So, I think this now
is rock solid.
Success.
Let's just straighten it up.
So, this is the moment
of truth then?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's see.
Wow, it works, eh?
It does. I think that is good.
What do you think?
Great. Well done.
-It is pretty good.
-Now, you have seen how
to do it, John.
-For the other half, you might.
-Yeah, of course.
Yeah. I can help
you after lunch.
How is that going
to take, Philip?
About half an hour.
Half an hour it
takes for it all.
-It takes Phillip's
half an hour.
-Phillip's half an hour.
-Half an hour job.
-Which is half a day or two.
It's a great start,
but will probably take more
than half an hour
to finish this job.
Over at Chateau de Bourneau,
Erin and JB are cracking on
with the bedroom renovations.
Now the wood
paneling is complete,
they can finally start
hanging the new wallpaper.
I think it's going to look nice
when it's all up on the wall.
I think we'll have more
of an idea about
how much more wallpaper
we should add on to this room.
They're continuing
the wood paneling style
to create a border around
each section of wallpaper,
an effect that was particularly
popular in the 19th century.
It's quite a busy wallpaper.
So...
I like it. It is very French.
I think it is quite chic.
I think sometimes JB's
vision doesn't always
correspond with mine,
but actually when I
see it on the wall,
it is 19th century appropriate.
I really like it.
I hope Helene does. We'll see.
Leaving JB to it,
Erin can finally move on
to the fun part of the job
and start thinking
about furnishings.
So, we're in the attics
of chateau de Bourneau.
I use this as a place
to store various treasures
that I found on the way.
So, I am hoping that there will
be a few things that we can use
to dress up Helene's bedroom
and make it look beautiful.
Let the treasure hunt begin.
Yeah. That's nice isn't it,
bit of blue and pink.
So, I really like this
chandelier and I think
it will work really well
in that bedroom because
it's quite a 19th century chic.
Time to show JB
what jewel she's found.
So, these candle sconces
I got from a brocanteur.
So, I was thinking what
if we put them actually
in these two frames,
one like this and
the other one over there?
Sure. That's a good
contrast of color as well.
-Yeah. I framed some
wrapping paper a while ago.
-That's cool.
And it's, um, a map or Paris
and I thought, you know,
as a sort of nod to TLM.
Yeah, so kind of the
pink and blueness.
Happy, so I've got a few more
things, I found a nice chair,
and then I can come and
help you finish with upholstery
and whatever needs doing.
I think we have made
a reasonable progress actually.
Haven't we?
-Yeah.
-The pink is painted
on the walls
and we have completed
all the wallpaper.
It's been a long day,
but we're nearly there.
The finishing line is in sight,
fingers crossed it all
comes together.
30 miles east at Chateau de
Saugé,
Donna and Paul's Victoria
Suite is taking shape.
It's been five weeks
and they've managed to install
the shower and tiled
the bathroom floor.
We're nearing on being able to
decorate
and put the wallpaper
and the paint up,
that's the bit I get
really excited about.
Donna may be excited about
wallpaper going up...
Oh yeah, that's going
to look nice, isn't it?
aul's not convinced.
I don't like
the wallpaper at all.
It is going to make
the ensuite look really dark
and small, but...
Yeah, it should be dark
in a way because it should be
restful and relaxation and...
-Restful I get, but satanic
is slightly different.
-[laughs]
Continuing her lavish theme,
Donna wants to add a touch
of opulence to the ensuite.
My plan is to try and put a
bit of gold highlight
on some of the beading
to kind of match the gold taps,
the gold plumbing
and then put
the wallpaper next to
it and see how it marries.
It is an idea in my head.
So, whether it will pan out,
I don't know yet.
There's no harm in trying.
I'm not sure what you
are going for, but I don't
think have got it yet.
No.
Time for a different approach.
Yeah, I'm liking that already.
Really?
Well, it looks better
than the other two.
Donna has one final option,
for ultimate luxury,
a touch of gold leaf.
I've used some before
on some picture frames,
but I have never used it
on anything like this.
It looks better. You want to be
opulent, so it is option
buffet or option fake gold leaf.
Let me put the wall paper
up against it and see
what it looks like?
Yeah. I want to ask you
to improve this a bit...
I will get it for you though.
Dun dun dun.
Ready?
Look at that.
Isn't that beautiful?
Actually, it doesn't
look that bad.
[both laugh]
Thank you.
It does look nice, doesn't it?
-The gold leaf on it. I think
that's the one to go for.
-Okay.
I will have to get it
done as quickly as I can.
I mean it is really down
now to how quickly Paul
gets all this work finished.
-Just this all?
-So, I start doing
the pretty things.
And Paul's first job is to
fit an elaborate bathroom tap
that Donna bought
online for 50 pounds.
Donna's Alibaba tap
that she loves.
It looks like something that
you'd perhaps rub the top
and ask for the chateau genie to
come in and finish all the work
for you.
So, let us just check.
No. Gonna have to do it myself.
[chuckles]
Wow, that looks nice.
My bling top.
Oh, yes. that is nice,
isn't it? It is so nice.
It does match the basin.
It does, doesn't it?
Isn't it pretty?
Yes. It looks, okay.
I mean up to... and above that.
So, reserving judgment.
Take the paper and go.
Thank you. I think we
have done really well today.
I think we still can work in
terms of gold leafing
all the paneling. So...
I think it will be worth it.
I think it will look nice.
Yeah, I will remind that to you
when you are up at 10 o'clock
at night gold leafing.
[laughs]
Donna and Paul have
singlehandedly
achieved a great deal
over the last three months,
with their salon transformed.
Another big step forward.
And their first event
of the year.
But these two are
just getting started.
Next on the agenda is
to finish the Victoria Suite.
We have probably got
a four-week window
in which to get that completed
because after that we really
need to get on
-with extending
that terrace area.
-Yeah, sure.
That's kind of priority
for the tea room. No pressure.
Yeah. We need these,
you know, eight-week months,
they would be helpful.
Yeah. Yeah.
There's still a way to go,
but we'll be back
to see the finished result
and if their hard
work pays off.
Coming up... It's the moment
of truth for Erin and JB.
-Are you ready?
-Ooh.
-Oh my God!
-What do you think?
And at Le Fleur,
it's time to move.
The sooner we can get
out of here the better.
This is holding us up.
We can't advance on the
renovations of these rooms
for our guests until
we're out of them.
At Chateau de Bourneau,
Erin and JB are busy
finishing the West wing bedroom
for JB's sister, Helene,
and there's no time to waste.
JB's sister has
already arrived.
She doesn't know what we're
doing. So, we are secrecing
away to do this room up for her.
The first job is to
secure the chandelier.
-Got it?
-Yeah.
Ooh, nice.
Good news. The hook
is strong enough.
It looks great.
It would be even better if
it worked, but trying now.
-Okay?
-Yeah.
That's the good way.
You know, it's fine.
Doesn't matter,
it's lovely. Great.
Just a few more
finishing touches to go.
So, this was a table
I actually found
in the attic of the chateau
and I just painted
it and changed the ceramic
and drawn off and added
little bit of gold on it.
So, it is kind of shabby chic,
but it goes with the bed,
which I painted.
So, hopefully, it will work.
All right. So, you tell me,
how you wanted
it to be installed?
So, I will plug it to that.
Are you on your toes?
I am.
[indistinct]
Yeah. It looks very nice.
-Yeah. What do you think? Yeah?
-Well done. It's cool.
Eleven weeks ago, this bedroom
was an abandoned space,
50 years' worth of wallpaper
was hanging off the walls
and the room was drab
and unwelcoming.
Now, it's a luxurious space
brimming with 19th century
French charm,
a perfect place
fit for a princess.
The upcycled ciel de lit
takes center stage
along with furniture Erin
has beautifully restored
and brought back to life.
The biggest transformation
are the walls,
which boast
the new wood paneling
plus chic wallpaper ideal
for a fairytale chateau.
I really hope Helene
likes her bedroom.
It's quite sort of
girly and feminine
with the 19th century
feel like a chateau.
I hope she enjoys it.
Time to find out.
-Hello?
-You ready?
-We're ready.
-All right. Go.
Ooh. Oh my God.
What do you think?
It's a secret project.
We have actually done it
for you. This is --.
-It is my room?
-Yes.
And it is really to say thank
you for all of the times
-you've helped us
out and everything.
-Oh my God.
And we hope that this
is a home from home for you.
Yeah, yeah. I am going
to move here. This is.
-Yeah.
-What, what.
[all laugh]
Thank you very much guys
for my lovely bedroom.
I love the wallpaper.
new you'd like it.
I was worried
it would look grim.
Even that, it's new.
Yeah, we did it just out.
We did. We did it all.
Oh my God. That's fabulous.
We always had you in
mind for this room
because it is
actually my favorite room
in the chateau. So.
It's mine now as well.
Thank you, the French way.
-Wow.
-Thank you for that.
Our pleasure.
With Helene over the moon
with her new bedroom
their hard work
has been a success.
This is exactly what I had
in mind for a feminine 19th
century chateau
appropriate bedroom
and I think it is really nice
that and we have
done something for Helene.
So, now every time
Helene comes to stay,
I feel, oh, I'm
so embarrassed for putting
her in some terrace bedroom.
We can also see how design is
starting to shine through
and I'm almost motivated
to start the, all
the 22 bedrooms.
Yeah, two down, 20 more to go.
Erin and JB show no signs
of slowing down,
and have already started work
on completing their
honeymoon suite and bathroom
to be ready
for wedding bookings.
I think we will always be
doing some element of DIY
whatever our working
lives are like.
Not bad. Do you mind bringing
me a glass of champagne
or a nice cup of tea?
Oh, I see. I see.
Right. Back to work.
-Yeah, back to work.
Don't get used to it.
-One can dream.
If anyone can achieve
their dreams through
hard work, it's these two.
At le Fleur, it's a special
day for Anna and Philip,
as they are finally able
to move into their
renovated apartment.
For the past nine months,
they've been sleeping
in makeshift quarters
on the first floor,
which has held them back from
refurbishing
these rooms for B and B guests.
I'm very excited to get all
of these cardboard boxes,
move everything upstairs,
all of our things,
and empty these rooms
out as well because
this is holding us up.
We cannot advance from
the renovation of these rooms
for our guests until
we're out of them.
The sooner we can get
out of here the better.
Anna and Philip are determined
to have the apartment ready
by the time their daughters
get back from school
and there's one key element
that has finally arrived.
It doesn't look like
it's a mattress, does it?
Especially not something that
costs several hundred pounds.
I think we should have
taken the lift.
We had finished the apartment
and we are ready to move in.
And then, we figured out
that we have not got a mattress.
We forgot to order the mattress.
We just forgot in all
the rush and craziness.
One little detail.
So, finally, it is here
and it is really exciting
and I am really excited
to get it to finally move
into the apartment.
Huh, it's good.
With the mattress in,
it's just a case of
a few finishing touches
before the girls get home.
Okay. I mean they've obviously
been here through whole process,
Lily especially because
she is the older.
She has a bit more of
an understanding of it
and I think she has
seen the process of her room,
you know, from when it
was a complete mess
and all through the stages
and over quite a long period
of time us working on it.
I promised her that
when she came back today,
it would be ready for her.
So, I just wanted
it to look perfect.
It's been nine months since
they moved into the chateau
and started work
on the apartment.
In disrepair, parts
of the top floor hadn't been
lived in for nearly 30 years.
Now, it's been transformed
into a beautiful
and stylish apartment.
A warm and inviting space
perfect for a young family.
The master bedroom complete
with ensuite has been
superbly restored.
The natural seagrass flooring
has now been fitted
and the boudoir chair
Anna lovingly refurbished
adds a touch of luxury.
Now Philip
has fixed the electrics,
they finally have
lighting and heat
for the whole apartment.
After a long wait,
Lily and Ella
have a finished cozy
bedroom to call their own.
Fingers crossed; they love it.
-Close your eyes Ella.
-No.
Okay and open.
Ella.
And what do you think?
Ella, look, there is a...
[children babbling]
Are you happy with that?
And whose names are these?
-Lily and Ella.
-Yeah.
-Anna, well done.
-I think it was a success.
It is really very nice.
I did all of the bed.
-Oh. And so, am I sleeping
in your bed tonight?
-No.
They've had a long wait,
but their renovation work
has been a triumph.
It feels really good
to finally be here.
We have got our little
kind of heaven up here,
our little private space,
which is really important for
us and it just feels really cozy
and it feels homely,
doesn't it?
A heated bathroom?
Yes, oh yes.
A heated bedroom.
What more do you need?
Finishing the apartment
is just the beginning
of Anna and Philip's
chateau journey.
Having done an apartment gives
us also a sort of a preview
of what the
chateau could become once
renovation is finished.
They've already started work
on two of the B and B suites
and with the new skills
they've learnt renovating
their apartment,
they hope to soon be welcoming
their first paying guests.
I need Philip to do,
you know, the electrics,
all the, you know, hard graft
and I'll just do the
nice part of just finishing
and doing the decorating.
It sounds like they have
it all planned out,
but for now, they
can relax and settle
into their new apartment.
Next time...
We've had a bit of a setback.
A big build hits a brick wall.
Look how dense this wall is.
Two new chateau
shoppers begin the search
for their dream home.
Probably not good for your
sleeping pattern with that
thing glaring at you.
And the bathroom renovation
leads to crossed wires.
No, no, no. I don't want it in
the center of the granite, do I!