- 2 weeks ago
Chateau DIY S11E23
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00:01Across France, there are thousands of spectacular chateaux,
00:06often neglected and run down...
00:09Do you want a stick of dynamite?
00:10It would help, but it's less controlled than I am, so...
00:13..in desperate need of loving restoration.
00:17Things have definitely been living up here.
00:19..now being brought back to life by brave new owners.
00:24It is emotional.
00:25Flippin' is!
00:26..who are turning them into extraordinary homes...
00:30It's actually unbelievable. It's amazing.
00:33..and exciting businesses...
00:37..taking on monumental challenges...
00:40Only, what, a thousand miles, probably.
00:43..with highs...
00:44Victory approaches.
00:47..as well as lows.
00:49There's times like this I wish I knew what I was doing.
00:52..but with daring ideas...
00:54I'm gonna do something that you can't buy in a shop.
00:57..and hard work comes great joy...
01:00Oh! That is beautiful!
01:03..as they fulfil their dream...
01:05This is gonna be our bedroom.
01:07..as custodians of their very own castle.
01:11It's gonna be amazing.
01:16Today, can the owners of a medieval castle...
01:20..this room's too small.
01:21God, I know how Houdini fell.
01:24..make a bathroom fit for this century?
01:28Another reaches new heights...
01:30Forget ladders, this is fab.
01:32..but will rain stop play just before the final innings?
01:36Oh, no!
01:38Everything's getting wet.
01:41..and will others find their dream chateau?
01:44There will be a stretch of eye.
01:46..the eye of my skills.
01:55Situated amongst the lush landscape of south-west France...
01:59..stands the picturesque Chateau d'Aaron.
02:02..the 19th-century property sits in four acres...
02:07..and boasts 17 stylish rooms...
02:11..and several outbuildings.
02:15Nice, I see.
02:16Oh, too far.
02:17..its owners are fund manager Carlton and wife Alicia...
02:22..who live there with their three children...
02:25..Tiago, Vigo and Saskia.
02:29..the space is the favourite part about living here...
02:33..because you've got areas where you can be alone,
02:37you've got areas where you can be together,
02:39you know, you can be outside and enjoying yourself.
02:42It's almost like our little island.
02:45..and just being able to sit there and, you know,
02:48and soak it up when you're not renovating and working and parenting.
02:56Located close to the Pyrenees,
02:58it's been home to Carlton and Alicia since 2023...
03:04..when they bought the Chateau for £690,000.
03:10..they now plan to turn it into an events business...
03:14..and have their first wedding booking.
03:17Can you take them both?
03:19Yeah.
03:19..this one, this piece.
03:21..the last time we saw them,
03:23they had cleared years of rubbish and dirt
03:26from what will be their wedding barn.
03:29Oh, look at that. OK.
03:32..they'd refreshed its huge wooden doors...
03:35..I like challenging myself.
03:38..and started to tile the floor of their tower en suite.
03:45Today, with the wedding deadline a priority,
03:49Alicia needs to finish decorating the tower bathroom.
03:54The floor's pretty much finished now
03:56and so the wallpaper and the cupboards
04:00will sort of complete the look.
04:07First time in a very tight space,
04:10in a hexagonal space, which is...
04:13It's easier.
04:14Yeah, and three metres high.
04:16If you're going to learn, that's the way to learn, I think.
04:19Yeah, I don't set myself easy tasks, but let's see.
04:26You can see that it's a hexagonal tower room.
04:29You've got angles everywhere.
04:32You've got three metres high.
04:34You've got lots of recipes for disaster.
04:38But, no, so far, so good.
04:44The wedding party had basically hired our entire property
04:49and this bathroom was probably in the worst conditions.
04:54so I wanted to sort of spend some time making this better.
04:58Walls are not straight, ceilings are not aligned,
05:02there's gaps and holes, cracks.
05:05It's a little bit tricky, but I've managed.
05:09I thought it would take three or four days
05:11and sort of two weeks in, I'm still wallpapering.
05:21While Alicia gets to grips with wonky walls,
05:26Carlton is about to take on a first.
05:29Wow, this is old.
05:31Using a cherry picker.
05:35Right, it works.
05:36This is a critical one for the wedding
05:38because basically, as you drive in,
05:41come round the corner, bang, the house is there.
05:44At the moment, it doesn't look uniform,
05:46but we've done most of the shutters.
05:47These are the last two.
05:48They're pretty old, pretty dilapidated.
05:51They are huge.
05:53Try to take them off, just too heavy.
05:55It's going to be painting in situ.
05:57It's going to be fun.
06:01So, the test.
06:03Did I pass my driving lesson or not?
06:10Right.
06:12Let's see.
06:18Oh, I don't like that one.
06:21It's slow progress, but Carlton is on the move
06:25and edging closer to having wedding-perfect shutters in time.
06:38From turreted towers to rustic ruins,
06:42France is home to thousands of chateaux.
06:47And many dream of owning one of their own.
06:54Jewelry maker Eleanor from Hull and her French husband Ben,
06:59an IT director, are two such people.
07:03They're looking for a grand home for themselves,
07:06their five-year-old daughter and Eleanor's retired parents.
07:11I'm just looking forward to be wowed by property on time.
07:14I mean, I was like, yeah, hopefully we can find one that goes like,
07:18oof, yes.
07:20The chateaux are just nice and grand and big
07:23and I just love the history of it all.
07:26And, I don't know, I just want to glide down the stairs
07:30and just imagine I'm back in that period of time as...
07:34..as a...
07:35..lady of the manor.
07:39The couple have a budget of £600,000
07:42plus £200,000 for renovations.
07:46That's as big as a chateau.
07:48And their ideal property needs to have space for a jewellery workshop,
07:54as well as outbuildings for converting into gite.
08:04They've seen two chateaux so far.
08:07The first, a picturesque property at the base of the Pyrenees,
08:12on sale for £484,000.
08:16So, I'm driving you to the beautiful house of the chateau.
08:20The grand salon.
08:22Wow, that's nice size.
08:24Just in the side of the wall.
08:26Oh, gosh, yeah.
08:28But weren't sure, it gave them the separate space
08:31for their extended family.
08:34And the second, this charming chateau in Marinac.
08:39Wow, look at the ceiling.
08:41Oh, my gosh, it's beautiful.
08:42Which comes with a steeper asking price of £620,000.
08:49Whoa, look at the pink!
08:53Their next stop is 40 miles from Toulouse in Mauvais-Ain.
09:01Wow.
09:04That looks old.
09:06Very old.
09:10This elegant pile dates from the 16th century,
09:15with 30 rooms packed with the original features
09:19Eleanor and Ben are looking for,
09:23as well as two and a half hectares of parkland
09:26and a magnificent pigeonnier.
09:29Hello.
09:30Hello.
09:31Hello.
09:31Welcome to Maramat.
09:33Hello, Eleanor.
09:34Hello.
09:34Agent Martina is here to give them the tour.
09:38Wow.
09:39Wow.
09:40The chateau.
09:40Yeah.
09:42It's big.
09:43Yeah, it's big.
09:45The big chateau has three periods.
09:47Okay.
09:48So, the 17th for the west side,
09:50the 17th and 18th centuries.
09:54Wow.
09:55And each facade is aligned
09:56on the cardinal points.
10:01The chateau does need extensive renovation,
10:04but comes in comfortably under budget
10:07at 575,000 pounds.
10:12Oh.
10:14Ah.
10:15Oh, yes.
10:17Wow.
10:17It's huge.
10:21So, this is the principal piece of the chateau.
10:25It's nice, though.
10:26It's a nice room.
10:30It's practically untouched,
10:33making it a perfect clean slate
10:35for keen renovators.
10:41Oh, really?
10:46Yes.
10:46Is this the 16th?
10:47Yes.
10:49Wow.
10:51I just like everything about it,
10:54like the size, the grandeur,
10:56the grand staircase,
10:57place up to it,
10:58the rooms,
11:00all the original things,
11:01like the original doors.
11:02The original doors, yeah.
11:03It's just more real, isn't it?
11:05With the rest of the chateau still to explore,
11:08their fairytale ending might be just around the corner.
11:18Coming up.
11:19I have to try and lose all of this.
11:22One owner faces a massive cover-up job.
11:25The whole thing is a bit of a mess.
11:28It's wet.
11:30It's damp.
11:31And Carlton faces the elements to make the chateau wedding ready.
11:36Everything's getting wet.
11:47In the breathtaking region of the Auvergne,
11:51in central France,
11:53within a small village setting,
11:55lies the imposing,
11:57part 14th century,
11:59Chateau d'Azerra.
12:02Inside, there is currently a dining room,
12:06and a great hall which doubles up as a bedroom,
12:10while the serious restoration work continues.
12:16The massive task,
12:17to bring what was mostly a ruin back to life,
12:21proved the perfect project
12:23for Cotswold antique dealers Catherine and Steve,
12:27who snapped it up in 2022
12:30for less than £100,000.
12:35Being here is like escapism for us, isn't it?
12:38It's hard work.
12:40It's really exciting.
12:42Yeah.
12:43This isn't possible in the UK.
12:45No.
12:45We could not find a building like this.
12:47It's a bit kind of fairytale.
12:49It doesn't feel real at all.
12:51It just feels like you can come up with the wildest of ideas
12:56and then go, yeah, let's try that tomorrow.
12:58Why not?
12:59It is.
12:59I've said before, it's a giant toy box.
13:02It is.
13:02That we get to play with.
13:04Yeah.
13:07Located in the Haute Loire département,
13:10the last time we saw Catherine and Steve,
13:13they had finished restoring the first room in the whole chateau.
13:17The kitchen, with its bespoke apothecary-style cupboard front.
13:26It is emotional.
13:28The flippin' is.
13:30Yeah.
13:31We flippin' did it.
13:40Today, they're hoping to progress the next job in their bijou bathroom,
13:45but plumbers have left Steve with a bit of an eyesore.
13:50I have to try and lose all of this.
13:54The space we have is so restricted in here
13:56that they couldn't find a way to make my life easier
14:00by putting these elsewhere.
14:01So, I'm going to use plywood in a section here
14:04running up behind the width of the sink unit.
14:08So, we're going to come up and it's going to lose these
14:11and all these joints and this cable that's running across.
14:14The whole thing is a bit of a mess.
14:32Right, all I've got to do now is find a way to get that attached.
14:36I mean, it's far from ideal, but...
14:39Yeah, but it's going to work.
14:40Yeah.
14:40So, I love the decaying walls and that kind of thing,
14:45but kitchen and bathroom is not ideal.
14:59We spent the first year we were here having to use the toilet on the fosse.
15:04Going across the village square and using the public toilet.
15:10Yeah, it's just fun in the winter in the middle of the night,
15:14but those days are done, thank God.
15:17Yes, this is luxurious.
15:25We knew this room was going to be one of the trickiest to deal with in the whole chateau.
15:30It was originally just the meat store.
15:33We've squeezed the bathroom in.
15:36And it is only a downstairs bathroom, it's not the main bathroom for the building,
15:40which will be on the top floor.
15:49It still looks like a hot mess, but it looks less of a hot mess.
15:53Yeah, I think I probably need to spend another couple of days on the walls.
16:00We are getting there.
16:02Each even tiny little bit feels monumental at the moment.
16:09There's plenty of work ahead,
16:11but Catherine and Steve are slowly smoothing the way towards a finished bathroom.
16:24Five hours south, would-be Chatelain, Eleanor and Ben
16:29are continuing to explore this stately 16th-century home.
16:35This sleeping beauty is waiting to be brought back to life by the right renovators.
16:41Wow, that wallpaper's beautiful.
16:44I can't believe it's that old.
16:46The chateau comes with vast empty cellars,
16:49where the original kitchen was located.
16:53Oh, well, well. Oh, gosh.
16:55In each room you can just have, like, a self-contained mini flat.
16:58Yeah.
16:59You can put a bedroom, bathroom and a kitchenette in each of them.
17:04Look at this.
17:06Look at this.
17:07So, here we are really in our juice.
17:09We have just removed the lattes.
17:11We have all the points of the lattes.
17:14And we find the poutres working.
17:16The possibilities are endless.
17:19But these two are looking a little daunted
17:22at the sheer scale of the work at hand.
17:25For the renovation part, there will be a stretch of DIY skills.
17:29Because there's no kitchen that's touching there.
17:31There's really no kitchen.
17:32Oh, no, there isn't, is there? Oh, yeah.
17:33You have to do the kitchen first.
17:33The bathroom is really the only one.
17:35It's not really livable as it is.
17:36So, that's a bit of a drawback.
17:39Merci beaucoup.
17:39Avec plaisir.
17:42Eleanor and Ben will have plenty of time to think it over on the two-hour drive to their
17:48final stop, just outside the medieval walled city of Carcassonne.
17:57This 19th century Maison de Maître features a more manageable six bedrooms and four reception
18:06rooms, set in two hectares of walled gardens.
18:13Wow, that's nice.
18:15Yeah, it's a nice tree-lined root.
18:19Wow, look, it's got gates as well.
18:21Oh, it's nice.
18:23It's also the most affordable property they're viewing, with an asking price of £480,000.
18:32That's £120,000 under budget.
18:37Hello.
18:38Bonjour.
18:39Benjamin.
18:40Agent Olivia is waiting to show them around.
18:43Welcome to Saint-Jean-de-Gresse.
18:45It's a very whole house.
18:47It has been renovated in the 19th century.
18:50OK.
18:50OK.
18:51OK.
18:54So you are in an entrance that has been done in the 60s with marble and the nice house.
19:03OK.
19:04OK.
19:05You have the dining room here.
19:07Oh, wow.
19:07This is really pretty.
19:08Yeah, it's pretty.
19:09You can see the park through the window.
19:11Oh, yeah.
19:12Yeah, this is nice.
19:13Everything is from the 19th century, even the curtains and the walls, all the furniture
19:18also.
19:19Yeah, it's lovely.
19:19I see the little fountain, is that?
19:21Yes, it was to wash hands.
19:23Really?
19:23Yes, of course, in marble.
19:24Yes.
19:25Wow.
19:25Yes.
19:26I've never seen that before.
19:30Leading off the dining room is a large salon.
19:34A big room with beautiful ceilings.
19:37Yes.
19:42I can see it's got central heating in there.
19:45Yes, you have central heating with shul and it works very well.
19:49With the mod cons already in place, perhaps this is the home to steal their hearts.
19:56This is a very nice house, isn't it?
19:59I'm quite surprised by it.
20:01Ticks all boxes.
20:02Ticks a lot of boxes.
20:03Quite scarily in a way it ticks the boxes.
20:06But with the bedrooms and gardens still to explore, it's not a done deal quite yet.
20:17One hundred and sixty-four miles away in south-west France.
20:21Forget ladders, this is fab.
20:23Carlton is on a high, painting the massive Chateau shutters in time for their first wedding
20:30booking.
20:30The cherry picker.
20:32It's quite good fun actually.
20:33It's...
20:36I've now started on the first coat.
20:39It's wet.
20:41It's damp.
20:43My strategy is I'm going to open it out to protect it from the rain because it's covered up there.
20:53It's too...
20:54It's huge.
20:55It's a huge undertaking.
20:56We're thinking we're a custodian of something which is 200 years old.
21:00We're utterly crazy.
21:02Hey-ho.
21:03We've started now, so we can't stop.
21:10Having finished wallpapering the tower bathroom, Alicia is upcycling cupboard doors to finish the room
21:18and daughter Saskia is lending a hand.
21:24Now the walls are done.
21:25Now I'm looking at the cupboard thinking, mmm, that's not so great.
21:29So they were basically plain cupboards and so I've added the wood to give it a little bit of texture
21:36and design
21:37and just to take the focus off of how sort of very ordinary the sink unit is.
21:44I've got some gold strips to put down the centre just to give it a little bit more pizzazz.
21:59By the children, I'm generally the creative one.
22:03I'm the one who will come up with ideas.
22:07As we get closer to the wedding day, the stress levels will rise.
22:13But I keep having to remind myself that, you know, we're not doing the full decor.
22:18We're basically renting a space to them for them to do their own creations.
22:23This is making sure that the house is working, that it looks pretty.
22:32Beautiful, nice work.
22:37Outside, the threat of impending rain is putting pressure on Carlton.
22:43Oh, no!
22:46All right, let's shut that quickly.
22:51Because the rain is running.
22:55All right, I think it might be a bit of a problem.
23:00Everything's getting wet.
23:09I think that will probably do for the minute.
23:15The good news is everything's sanded.
23:17We've got the first coat on.
23:19Fingers crossed that in the morning it's all cured and dried
23:22and there's not too many rain marks and we'll see.
23:26I'm loving the renovations, learning new skills.
23:29There's moments when you are very sort of tired and thinking,
23:33what are we doing?
23:35But when you see the end result, you think, yeah, I did that.
23:39I've just got a little bit of painting to do to finalise
23:42and then I'm pretty happy with the bathroom.
23:45Carlton and Alicia are making headway as the big day looms,
23:50but with Chateau Shutters needing a second coat,
23:54there's still a long way to go.
24:00Coming up, surprise finds for Ben and Eleanor.
24:05It's the bathroom.
24:05That's the nice bath.
24:07Look at the pipes. Amazing.
24:09While Alicia whips up some wedding magic.
24:12We're going to create a curtain all the way along.
24:15It should look a little bit more wedding-esque.
24:26On the outskirts of Carcassonne, Eleanor and Ben are continuing
24:32to look around an elegant 19th century property.
24:36It is the last and smallest on their list,
24:40but not every room still has its original features.
24:45So here's the kitchen.
24:47OK.
24:48Slightly different to the rest of the house.
24:50It's from the 60s.
24:52Very different.
24:52You even have the formica here that was very refreshing.
24:56Yeah.
24:57I like the size, even though there's a lot of decoration to do.
25:00It looks like good in terms of the structure.
25:03If I don't have to pin walls and things like that,
25:07that's the worry.
25:08So at the moment now, it looks all right.
25:09It looks good.
25:11Upstairs, there are six generous bedrooms,
25:15enough for themselves, their daughter and Eleanor's parents.
25:20Here is the main bedroom.
25:22That's nice, nice.
25:23So you have a beautiful view on the park.
25:26I need to ride on a lawnmower.
25:29I think you need more than that.
25:31The bathroom from the 60s, you have a...
25:35That's a nice bath.
25:36That is very funny because...
25:38The pipes are amazing.
25:38But it doesn't work.
25:40Oh, okay.
25:41So you could do it...
25:42Yeah, I can fix that.
25:43You could, like, yeah.
25:44Do something with it.
25:45Do something to, like, keep it.
25:46Yeah.
25:46No, that's an unusual bath.
25:47I love it.
25:50In the grounds, checking another item off their list
25:53is a large outbuilding with excellent sheet potential.
25:58So, bigger, because it's really old.
26:02Yeah, slightly different to the main house.
26:05Yeah, you have four rooms.
26:07You can make a big room if you want.
26:09Obviously, to me, it looks like a lot needs to do in.
26:11It's not the structural work, so I think it'll be all right.
26:14It's just putting the electric bucket, a bit of decorating.
26:17A bit, a lot.
26:18But no, no, it's good.
26:21Really nice to meet you.
26:22Lovely to meet you.
26:23And I hope you will call me back soon.
26:25Yeah, we'll let you know what...
26:26Definitely something to think about this one.
26:28OK, OK.
26:30This property delivers on several fronts, including price,
26:35coming in well under budget at £480,000.
26:41Quite a lot of pros.
26:42We can configure it really easily and nicely for two families to live in.
26:48It's got the outdoor building, which we can transform into a sheet.
26:51It's perfect.
26:52It doesn't have to do any massive structural work.
26:55That seems all right.
26:56There's a lot to think about, isn't there, on this one?
26:59Yeah, it is.
26:59Having now seen four very different chateaux,
27:03Eleanor and Ben have to decide
27:05whether one will become their fairytale ending.
27:14240 miles north, at Catherine and Steve's...
27:19This room's too small.
27:20God, I know how Houdini fell.
27:24The couple are struggling to finish boxing around pipework
27:28in their cupboard-sized bathroom.
27:33And, as with many chateau renovations,
27:37one job leads to another.
27:40You know, the ceiling looks so tall in there now,
27:43I wonder if we colour drench the ceiling when I'm painting it
27:46to make it look like it's come down lower.
27:50Yeah, I think that would work.
27:51I don't know how it'll look above the lime plastered wall
27:54with the ceiling being the darker colour,
27:57but we can try it,
27:58cos we can always change it if it doesn't work.
28:00Exactly. It's just paint.
28:01OK.
28:18That's it.
28:18Last piece of boxing in's done.
28:20Hurrah!
28:25Good luck.
28:28Catherine's bold shade of paint
28:30is already starting to make a statement.
28:34I've chosen quite a deep colour.
28:36It's going to blend all of the surfaces together
28:39and hopefully disguise lots of the unevenness.
28:47I love painting.
28:49I do all of our painting at home, really,
28:53because it's really satisfying.
29:01I bet you're glad I picked that colour now.
29:05Erm...
29:05I don't believe it was you.
29:09No, good choice.
29:10It's looking great.
29:12I'll see you when you're finished.
29:13Be a little while yet.
29:18It's a long slog to the end for Catherine,
29:22and with the walls having finally dried,
29:25Steve can start to tackle the ten-foot-high ceiling.
29:31Colour-drenching was Catherine's idea when I wasn't sure.
29:35I kind of like it in here.
29:37It sort of cocoons the space a bit.
29:42I do love it.
29:44I wouldn't want to not be doing what we're doing now.
29:51The boxing has transformed the walls that were terrible,
29:56and paint transforms everything.
29:58Yeah, the job from hell's actually turned out OK in the end.
30:03Now we're getting to the pretty bit.
30:04Yeah.
30:05The bathroom is taking on a style of its own,
30:09but with painting ongoing and family guests expected soon,
30:14they can't wash their hands of the project just yet.
30:26Five and a half hours south, at Chateau d'Aaron,
30:31Carlton and Alicia's now empty barn is about to be beautified,
30:35ahead of their first ever wedding event.
30:39Here in the barn, I'm going to cover up all of the sort of the tools and tiled area.
30:45It will form a barrier and just make the bottom end look tidy, neat and more wedding-like.
30:52We've partitioned at the back, so now this is just beautify, isn't it?
30:57Yes.
31:01So I bought quite a lot of tulle,
31:05and we're going to basically create a curtain all the way along.
31:10So this will be the wedding venue,
31:13and from this point on it should look a little bit prettier
31:17and a little bit more wedding-esque.
31:20The bride and groom are then going to come in
31:23and basically take this blank canvas and decorate it to their choice.
31:30I've heard them talking about garlands and things hanging from the wall,
31:35but really we're just creating a blank canvas.
31:42It could be a very, very, very long veil,
31:47or Rapunzel's hair, one of the two.
31:53So when we viewed the chateau, this barn was a big selling point
31:58because I wanted to do events, I wanted to do weddings.
32:01I knew it was perfect for it,
32:03and especially as it looks out onto the main grass area,
32:07which is equally as beautiful.
32:09So, yeah.
32:10Yeah.
32:11I'm very impressed with the barn.
32:18There we go.
32:21That's everything.
32:24Yeah.
32:25I'm really quite happy with that.
32:27Once finished, it's going to make a really beautiful backdrop for the wedding.
32:34With the back of the barn draped in romantic tulle,
32:38the couple need to finish some crucial jobs in the tower bathroom.
32:44Alicia paints the last wall,
32:46while Carlton has landed the dirty job of plumbing in a new toilet.
32:52When we work together, sometimes it's blissful,
32:55and other times it's a complete pain in the neck.
32:59It depends on whether she's cleaned the paper.
33:00It depends on how much sleep we've both had.
33:03Yeah.
33:05Right.
33:06We've managed to drill through two sets of tiles and the floorboard,
33:10so now it's just a case of putting the baby in,
33:13putting the toilet in and then connecting it up,
33:17and then deciding who's going to test it.
33:20I think I'll let him test it.
33:23Right.
33:26So...
33:36We've turned the water on, so let's see if there's any leak.
33:42I think we're OK.
33:45We can give it a flush.
33:48Whoa!
33:50We have water.
33:52Right.
33:53OK.
33:53So, I guess the only thing left for it
33:56is I'm going to have a little seat, I think,
34:00and then just let me check.
34:01You're going to test it out.
34:02Whoa!
34:04See, the height's good.
34:05Uh-huh.
34:06A bit comfy.
34:07It's not moving.
34:09Yeah.
34:10Good, eh?
34:11I'm happy.
34:12Well done, darling.
34:13Thank you, baby.
34:13Good job.
34:15We're one step closer to the big day.
34:18Really happy with our progress.
34:21Bathroom is looking almost complete.
34:24Get those cupboard doors on.
34:25Yeah, plumbing's done in that room.
34:28So, yeah, so we move on.
34:30We move on to the next phase.
34:34Carlton and Alicia are close to completing a princess-perfect bathroom for the Tower Suite.
34:41And with a wedding date looming, it's not a moment too soon.
34:48Still to come, have Ben and Eleanor found their dream home?
34:53We've seen so many, like, different kind of ones, and it's opened my eyes a bit anyway.
34:59While Catherine wonders whether she'll ever complete her bathroom.
35:03It's just the trickiest room to work in.
35:16In southwest France, Ben and Eleanor have visited four potential chateaux across the Occitanie region.
35:26Now it's time to decide if any of them is the property they've been searching for.
35:32We've really learned a lot, because I think we just had in our mind, like, a fixed, we want a
35:37chateau.
35:38With a tower.
35:38With a tower.
35:40And we've seen, like, so many, like, different kind of ones, and it's opened, it's opened my eyes a bit
35:45anyway.
35:47With a budget of £600,000, they have ruled out two chateaux already.
35:55One in Erse was more than £100,000 under budget, but they felt it wasn't quite big enough for their
36:03extended family.
36:05The only problem I could see is because we want your mum and dad to be with us.
36:09Really, we need to be able to split the property so we can have the two families living with us.
36:16The second property they've discounted was a 16th century chateau that came in £25,000 under budget.
36:27With 30 rooms, space wasn't a problem, but the scale of the potential work was.
36:35For the renovation part, there will be a stretch of the highway skills, because there's no kitchen as such in
36:41there.
36:42There's really no kitchen.
36:43No, no, there isn't there, isn't there? Oh, yeah.
36:44There's only one.
36:45It's not really livable as it is, so that's a bit of a drawback.
36:50But they could see themselves in this impressive chateau.
36:55This is pretty, actually.
36:5820 minutes from the Spanish border.
37:03Oh, my gosh, that's amazing.
37:05The view you can see here is from the outside.
37:09Oh, okay.
37:09Yeah.
37:10They've taken the view from the outside and painted it.
37:12Oh, okay.
37:16That had the wow factor when we came up to it, and when we looked around that, that ticked more
37:23of the boxes what we were looking for.
37:25The castle itself was big enough.
37:27Yeah, the orangery where you could just expand out.
37:33It's slightly over budget at £620,000, but the outbuildings could be converted into gite and a home for Eleanor's
37:43parents.
37:44Cute, isn't it?
37:45Yeah, no, that's great.
37:47It's ideal for a little gite.
37:48Yeah, for a gite.
37:48Yeah, that's all you kind of need, isn't it?
37:52The last, a 19th century Maison du Maître, also struck the right chord.
37:59And you have the dining room here.
38:01Oh, wow.
38:01Wow, this is really pretty.
38:03Yeah, it's pretty.
38:03You can see the park.
38:04Yeah, this is nice.
38:05Everything is from the 19th century, even the curtains and the walls, all the furniture also.
38:11Yeah, it's lovely.
38:14That worked in every single thing we were looking for, really.
38:18Yeah, this one worked.
38:18Easy to make it for two families.
38:22Very easy.
38:23It's got an outbuilding, which is, you know, a bit of renovation and that'll be a perfect gite.
38:26It was more than £100,000 under budget and ticked all the boxes for their extended family.
38:38Two very different properties, with very different price points, have caught their eye.
38:45My favourite was the one in Semariniac. I really liked that one.
38:52They had big rooms, but it had this quackiness to it.
38:55But in terms of the project overall, I think the one in Carcassonne is better.
39:01In terms of what we are wanting as well, this one in Carcassonne has got the most tick boxes.
39:07And I think we can actually get something that's not too much of a crazy DIY project.
39:13I think that was maybe one of the things we might have been a bit scared about, but it's, you
39:18know, made us realise that it is doable.
39:20And, yeah, yeah, no, we will definitely still be chasing the dream.
39:25The elegant property in Carcassonne is the right fit.
39:31Ben and Eleanor will need to discuss with the wider family, then decide next steps towards owning their dream home
39:39in France.
39:46In Auvergne, at Chateau d'Azerra, Catherine and Steve are on a mission to complete another project.
39:55Today, we are going to finish the bathroom.
39:59Last summer, we were having baths and showering via the hose pipe in the garden.
40:05I mean, we've arrived, really, so the icing on the cake is to finish the room.
40:10It'll be another box ticked by the end of the day.
40:13Yes, it will be.
40:14We have to be finished today, don't we?
40:16Today's the day because Dylan and Holly are going to be here and wanting to be used, said facilities.
40:23The bathroom has been colour-drenched from floor to ceiling, but Catherine has her eye on painting one last feature.
40:33I need to repaint this washstand, but this marble font is on there.
40:48It's a lot more difficult to pack a punch in here, but we've got an 18th-century gilt-framed mirror
40:54to go up.
40:56It looks great against his colour, there's a portrait to come in, and when we pull everything together, it will
41:03really, really work.
41:07It's just the trickiest room to work in, and we could have done it easier, but in our true style,
41:17we want to put our stamp on everything.
41:24Just the finishing touches today.
41:29Nice little 18th-century mirror, not too clear in the glass.
41:34It's good for seeing yourself first thing in the mornings.
41:42Portrait of the old man with whiskers, and we're done.
41:46Welcome to your new home.
41:56It's been three years in the making.
41:59What was a Chateau meat store has now been transformed...
42:05...into a bespoke bathroom that lives up to Catherine and Steve's love of the traditional.
42:11The myriad of pipes and cables have been artfully covered and painted in a warm charcoal grey.
42:21Painting the ceiling in the same dark hue has created a cosy cocoon of warmth.
42:28And a flourish of antiques gives added panache.
42:36I think the gilt mirror works really well with the paint colour.
42:39Yeah, I absolutely love it.
42:41It was the right thing to paint the washstand.
42:44This looks fantastic.
42:47It's made a huge difference.
42:49It's pleasing.
42:50It is pleasing.
42:51It's not an ordinary bathroom and yet it completely functions.
42:57Yeah, it's good.
42:59And done just in time for the next arrivals.
43:02Yes.
43:03Dylan won't be able to believe this.
43:07Dylan hasn't been to the Chateau in nearly two years.
43:13Hello.
43:13Hello.
43:15And is keen to see the progress with girlfriend Holly.
43:20Right, in you go.
43:21Oh, wow.
43:23Look at this.
43:24This looks amazing.
43:25Cosy in here.
43:26It's really nice.
43:28Wow, look at that.
43:28Look at the portrait on the walls.
43:30Yeah, it's lovely colour in here.
43:31It was an empty shell when you were here last time.
43:35Oh, wow.
43:36No, it's literally perfect.
43:37Yeah, smallest room but I bet it still took.
43:38It was challenging in the extreme actually.
43:43I think it was more difficult than the kitchen that's umpteen times the size.
43:47They've done an amazing job though.
43:50I literally couldn't be prouder.
43:51I mean, yeah, it was a monumental undertaking.
43:54I just think they've done amazingly so far.
43:55I'm looking forward to seeing what else is yet to come.
43:58I'm sure that's going to be equally impressive.
44:00I think that Dylan and Holly really love their creature comforts.
44:06They might come again now.
44:07You never know.
44:08Yeah.
44:08The smallest room in the house with the biggest headaches, it's been...
44:15Challenging.
44:16It's been really, really challenging.
44:18To be able to really properly enjoy the space and be forced to stop working for a bit, to enjoy
44:25it with some people, is quite special.
44:29Now I just want to do the bathroom up on the top floor, because there's room for a bath up
44:34there.
44:35Just need to fix the roof first.
44:37Yes.
44:37Their chateau restoration journey has only just begun.
44:43But for now, Catherine and Steve can at last take a shower in style.
44:55Next time...
44:56See all the bees coming out?
44:57There are unwelcome guests.
44:59Did you get snuck?
45:00Yeah.
45:01In the eye, just in there.
45:03This pair...
45:04Believe it or not, this was my Christmas presents from Paul.
45:09Have a DIY disagreement...
45:10I wasn't too amused.
45:13...and Alicia and Carlton get ready for their first ever wedding.
45:19Let's see what tomorrow brings.
45:21I'll be doing lots of praying tonight.
45:24?
45:24Bye-bye.
45:51Isaac the
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