- 6 days ago
Chateau DIY - Season 11 Episode 42
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00:01Across France, there are thousands of magnificent chateaux.
00:06Many are in a state of disrepair.
00:09Oh, my God!
00:11That's far worse than I thought it was.
00:13Now they're being brought back to life by adventurous owners.
00:18I think that's probably the first of about 50 or 60 buckets.
00:20Who are taking on the challenge...
00:23That's it. Gone.
00:25Disaster.
00:26...of restoring these timeless treasures.
00:30The gravel is down now. So far, so good.
00:33...into stunning new homes...
00:35It's beautiful. Fantastic!
00:39...and booming businesses.
00:41This has just been incredible from the very first minute we woke up this morning.
00:46...there'll be triumphs...
00:48Come up. You're in now.
00:49Bravo, boys!
00:51...and tribulations.
00:53I don't think either of us appreciated how full on this would be.
00:56...but however tough it gets...
00:59Try to keep your blood pressure down.
01:01Those who have made the move...
01:04Wee!
01:06...get to live like kings and queens...
01:09Santé! Santé!
01:11...in their very own castle.
01:16Today...
01:17Watch the edges on the wood.
01:19...a grand bedroom plan...
01:21Up!
01:22Hang on, hang on, don't touch.
01:23...hangs in the balance...
01:25To the right, to the right, to the right.
01:27To the right.
01:29I'm not particularly good with heights.
01:32...will a novice DIYer...
01:36...come unstuck.
01:38You're a nuisance.
01:40Do you know what you're doing?
01:43And the pressure wraps up for this pair...
01:46...who are gardening on a chateau scale.
01:49Keep an eye on the wall.
02:01Situated in the pastoral glory of the Loire Valley...
02:07...is the impressive 19th century...
02:11Chateau de la Croix Boisie...
02:15...with seven acres...
02:18...and several outbuildings.
02:22This stunning property boasts 12 elegant rooms...
02:27...and an indoor pool...
02:30...and spa area.
02:33In 2019, it became home to American artist...
02:38...and antique jewellery dealer, Vivienne.
02:42Wow, you did it!
02:43Wow, well done!
02:44Okay, let's try it.
02:45And her British husband, Simon.
02:48Oh, look!
02:51I just love the proportions.
02:52I love the fact that it's a modern house...
02:55...in an old body, if you like.
02:57Keeps you alert, keeps your wits going...
02:59...and you've got to really kind of work...
03:01...to solve all the problems.
03:02It's good, yeah.
03:03We have rooms that we can almost adapt...
03:06...to any style that we want, so we do.
03:08We play with the styles that we like...
03:10...and we can incorporate lots of different types of antiques...
03:13...and even a few modern pieces...
03:15...to make it livable.
03:21Located under an hour from the city of Tours...
03:24...the couple purchased the Chateau for £716,000...
03:31...and are carefully redesigning each space.
03:39When we last saw them, they'd begun renovating...
03:43...the biggest bedroom in the Chateau.
03:45Give it a little bit of definition.
03:47Where they're going for a Regency-style, Bridgerton-inspired look.
03:52Yeah!
03:53Yeah, see, it's already starting to pop.
03:55Featuring an antique painting, which they've refashioned...
03:59...into a French tomo mirror.
04:04Planning to unveil this master bedroom at a family party next month...
04:09...today, they have another statement piece to add.
04:13This is our bed crown, or our baldecan.
04:16So, every self-respecting room of this type...
04:20...would have had a bed crown over the bed.
04:22And this is one that we've made from the head of the footboard.
04:27And this will be mounted up there above the bed...
04:32...and the curtains will frame either side of the bed.
04:36Okay.
04:37If you can hold that there.
04:39What I'm going to ask you to do is to lift it to me.
04:43Yeah, okay.
04:46This thing's pretty heavy.
04:48Sweetie.
04:49Okay.
04:50All right, ready?
04:51Here we go.
04:52Okay, one, two, three.
04:53Boom!
04:54Okay, I've got it.
04:55No, no, no, not entirely.
04:56Okay.
04:57Don't let go yet.
05:02Come through the gap.
05:03Try not to scratch the...
05:05Try not to decapitate your wife.
05:07That's it.
05:08Very good.
05:08Slowly, slowly, slowly.
05:10Hold the ladder.
05:11Okay.
05:15Oh!
05:15Uh-oh!
05:18It's in my glasses.
05:18It's okay.
05:21Oh!
05:22It's all right, that one's on.
05:24It's on.
05:25That's on.
05:26Okay, good.
05:26It's on.
05:30You know we're going to have to take it back down...
05:32...so I can paint it, right?
05:33Yeah.
05:34That's okay.
05:39Don't let's smash the sand in.
05:41What are you doing?
05:41So, what do you think?
05:43I'm just going to...
05:44Ah!
05:45Relax, it's up.
05:47Isn't it great?
05:47I just...
05:48I still love the fact that that used to be the baseboard of the bed, and now it's going
05:52to be the bed crown.
05:54Yeah.
05:56Next, Vivienne and Simon have lighting to fit, wall panels to paint, and the entire
06:02room to decorate for this very ambitious makeover.
06:1280 miles north, in the region of Normandy, in northern France, lies the imposing 18th-century Chateau
06:22de la Lacelle, with 21 acres, a charming turret tower, a spectacular staircase, and 25 elegant
06:39rooms.
06:40It stood empty for four decades, until it became home to Middlesbrough pet shop owner,
06:47Terry.
06:48I think these are definitely Chateau pets now, they're a bit spoiled.
06:51Yeah, definitely.
06:52And his fiancée, Ashley.
06:55I think as soon as we got here, we were emotionally invested in the building.
06:59We loved it.
06:59It's a piece of French history.
07:01The roof was caving in, the chimneys were about to collapse on it, and I think we got
07:05here just in the nick of time.
07:08When we step back and look what we've achieved, the results speak for themselves, and if you
07:13said five years ago, this is what we would have created, I don't think any of us would
07:17have thought this would have been possible.
07:22Just an hour's drive from Le Mans, the couple snapped up the property in 2021 for £250,000,
07:35and began an ambitious restoration project, creating luxurious holiday suites.
07:44Living with them are Terry's mum, Tracy, 13-year-old nephew, Jonathan, and family hounds.
07:52Patrick and Sasha.
07:57When we last saw them, they had begun overhauling the shabby yard at the front of the Chateau,
08:05as this year, they planned to host their very first farmer's fete here on the Chateau grounds.
08:14They've revived the two historic fountains, and with a new garden design in place, they've
08:25begun building pathways.
08:27And I think that is all looking good, Tez.
08:30It's looking brilliant.
08:31Yeah, it's unreal.
08:34But with just two weeks left until the big event, the pressure is mounting.
08:42It's a massive fete and a massive amount of work to do to get ready for that as well.
08:47Well, today we're going to be hopefully finishing off the borders.
08:50Once the edging blocks are in and the gravel's down, then people can sort of see what we're
08:55trying to create with it.
08:56Yeah.
08:57So it won't just look like a mud pit.
09:03Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick.
09:13While Ashley cracks on with the borders, Terry prepares to get gravelling.
09:19So this is the gravel obviously we're going to use for all of the pathways, and it's just
09:23going to be the base level.
09:24It's a mixture of fine gravel and bigger gravel.
09:28Once it's compacted down, it'll go pretty much like concrete, and it'll give us a good
09:33base, and then once it's all finished, we can get our finishing gravel on top.
09:36We just have to move it all by a hundred, unfortunately.
09:43Shifting 100 tonnes of gravel is quite a tall order.
09:50Oh, my God, Terry!
09:52Is it too much?
09:54No.
09:54Do you want half barrels?
09:55No.
09:56On the plus side, Tracy will finally get a new pathway outside the cottage she lives
10:05in.
10:15Best bit of pattern, ma'am.
10:16Oh, I'll come and have a look.
10:19Hey, hey.
10:21Fantastic.
10:22You want a little path?
10:23Good level as well, isn't it now?
10:24Well, yeah, because we'll compact that down, and then once we get the finishing gravel
10:28on, it should all just lead straight into those stones, which will be good.
10:33The gate still opens as well.
10:35It's looking good.
10:36All right.
10:36I'll get some more done.
10:42To get this garden in shape for the Grand Fête in two weeks' time, the family will need
10:50to leave no stone unturned.
10:59Coming up...
11:00Don't come off as easy as you think.
11:02...a Chatelain makes a grisly discovery.
11:05Things are definitely been living up here.
11:07Ah!
11:09And Simon tries his hand at 18th-century lighting.
11:14Let's just sit up on our hook.
11:16Oh, good lord.
11:25In Western France, set in the picturesque Loire Valley, is the charming 19th-century Chateau
11:36de la Vigne.
11:38Sitting in eight acres, it comprises five spacious en-suite bedrooms, a stunning swimming pool,
11:48and several outbuildings.
11:51In 2001, it was bought by nutritionist May and city worker Guy for £325,000.
12:00It really was love at first sight.
12:03Have we been living the dream?
12:05I'd say we have been, but it's just been hard work.
12:08But then I suppose that makes it even more fun.
12:11I think one thing that you learn very early on, as a proprietor of the Chateau,
12:16that you have to learn new skills.
12:19We've learnt a lot, haven't we?
12:20That's part of the challenge.
12:21It also saves an awful lot of money, being able to do things yourself.
12:29Located just 20 minutes southwest of Saumur,
12:32the couple originally bought the Chateau as a holiday home.
12:37And over the years, May has established a health retreat and holiday business here.
12:43I am absolutely thrilled to have you all here, and cheers!
12:49In 2020, Guy retired, swapping life as a financier to join May as a full-time custodian of the Chateau.
12:58And it's been a case of learning on the job.
13:02Why, Snatch?
13:03Will she notice?
13:04Of course she will.
13:06And the last time we saw them, the couple had successfully transformed a neglected terrace into an outdoor living space.
13:14You are the first people to see it!
13:17Wow!
13:18Well done, Guy!
13:23Today, they're taking advantage of the off-season to carry out essential maintenance work.
13:31This is the coach house.
13:33So once upon a time, it is where they would have kept the horses.
13:37Nowadays, it's a four-bedroom chate.
13:40And the problem we have is that the soffits on this side of the coach house are all rotten.
13:45And it's quite an extensive area that we now need to replace with new wood.
13:50And to protect it longer term, we want to put a zinc guttering along this side.
13:55I'm not particularly good with heights, so I've been putting this particular job off.
14:02As the coach house roof is over eight metres high, Guy's brought in some help.
14:10So it's leaning to the left of it.
14:16The wooden soffits under the eaves protect the roof from both damp and pests.
14:23Or at least, should do.
14:25Things have definitely been living up here.
14:33Not particularly nice.
14:35They don't come off as easy as you think, do they?
14:41These are the soffits that we've taken off.
14:43As we can see, they're rotten.
14:46We're going to have to replace these.
14:49But first, there are old nails to remove.
14:53So it's back up the ladder.
14:55This time, all the way up to the apex.
14:59I thought he said he didn't like working at heights.
15:03I just can't believe he's up there.
15:08Mission accomplished.
15:09Well, so far, so good.
15:11Yeah.
15:12Hardest part of this job is getting back down the ladder.
15:18Okay.
15:22Guy can rest easy for now, but going back up to fit the guttering
15:26is really going to test his mettle.
15:3362 miles north.
15:37Simon has some gilded light fittings to put up in the master bedroom.
15:42So, we managed to find these on the internet, and they are from the 1700s.
15:49So, when we look at the back and look at the wiring,
15:52this was a candlestick originally,
15:54and they put this insert into it so that they could electrify it.
15:59Not entirely sure they're going to work,
16:03because we haven't tested them.
16:04So, I've got to take care of it while I'm installing it,
16:07and hopefully it won't drop or break.
16:14Hook.
16:15Hook. Next.
16:16Meanwhile, to add interest to the bedroom walls,
16:20downstairs, artist Vivienne is creating some traditional panels.
16:25What we really want is a nice little swirl right there at the end, yes.
16:31Lending a hand are her sister Ashley and niece Wren,
16:36who are visiting from the USA.
16:38So, we now have a kitchen workshop going on,
16:41and there is a lot of work to do.
16:44So, I've got my finished panel over here.
16:46This is what we're using as a guide for every single other panel that we're doing.
16:54We'll try it there and see if that does anything.
16:57All right.
16:58See if we've got power.
17:01Hey, voila.
17:02It works.
17:05I'm not going to touch it now.
17:08And it's beautiful.
17:09Oh, my gosh. Look how beautiful it is.
17:12Now, if the other one is as easy as that.
17:21I am really looking forward to getting these panels up.
17:24In a few days, we're going to be having this wonderful party, partially themed around jazz.
17:30And Ashley is an incredible jazz singer.
17:32And so, whenever she comes to visit, I always try to orchestrate a soiree musicale,
17:37so that we can all start singing and also to get the chance to listen to her sing live,
17:42which is just a great pleasure.
17:44So, I'm really looking forward to that.
17:49This will sit up on our hook, if I've done it properly.
17:54Boom, on it goes.
17:57There we go.
18:03Good Lord.
18:05It's all right, it just touched something.
18:06Oh, it touched the cable behind it, maybe.
18:09Tripped the board.
18:10Not quite sure why.
18:13So, the break is still off.
18:14I'm just going to go and put that back on again.
18:16And then turn it on at the switch.
18:18See where we are.
18:22Okay, let's go give this a go.
18:26Let's try this one.
18:30No, that one's not on.
18:32So, I think I must have one of the other breakers must have gone as well.
18:36Right, my guess is that it's at this particular fitting here, this part of the fitting,
18:40which has been broken before, and then soldered.
18:44So, I think what I'm going to do is I'm going to replace that.
18:47And then the light should be completely updated with a new adapter.
18:51It should be ready to go.
18:54First, though, it's all hands on deck to get the largest of the hand-painted panels up on the bedroom
19:01wall.
19:02Okay, let's go.
19:04Focus.
19:05We don't want to move it around too much.
19:07No, no, no.
19:08Okay.
19:09How does that look, Vivian?
19:11It looks good to me.
19:17Oh, perfect.
19:18What do you think about that?
19:20I think it's pretty good.
19:21I'm pleased with it.
19:23Well done, all of you.
19:24That's brilliant.
19:26With eight more panels to fit, and the upcycled Trummo mirror still to hang, the heavy lifting is far from
19:36over.
19:43Back in Normandy, Terry and Ashley have begun gravelling the new pathways in their front garden.
19:53Planning to add several flower beds, they've ordered a delivery of 11 tonnes of chippings.
20:06You want to go a little bit?
20:08I'll have to move a little bit.
20:09Yes, no, it's good.
20:11With the tree, I won't be able to lift.
20:12Go now.
20:18Okay.
20:21Keep an eye on the wall.
20:26Perfect!
20:32Put it underneath, Fesh.
20:34We've got two of these.
20:43Woo!
20:46One bed's worth.
20:49They've chosen environmentally friendly chippings.
20:55And there's plenty here to keep them busy.
21:07Good thing is, it's nice and light.
21:08I know.
21:10Nice and easy to move.
21:11Oh, yeah.
21:13As mum Tracy is out on an errand, Terry wants to tackle her cottage border plants first.
21:22This is not wood chippings as such, it's miscanthus, not being trees dropped down to do, it's like a straw.
21:26And what it does, it doesn't sap the nutrients from the soil as it breaks down.
21:30It retains the water and acts like a weed barrier.
21:33We'll have to do at least once every couple of years, this amount.
21:40It's good, it looks well finished now, doesn't it?
21:43It's brilliant.
21:43I think your mum will be happy.
21:45Yeah.
21:46It's a nice surprise for her when she comes back.
21:48Mm-hmm.
21:50Having spruced up Tracy's cottage border, they're about to find out what she and nephew Jonathan think.
21:59Look at our list finished.
22:00It looks nice.
22:02You coming in?
22:04It looks fantastic, doesn't it?
22:05Yeah, first steps on the cottage gravel.
22:07Mm-hmm.
22:07It's on the pathways.
22:08Yeah, it's lovely.
22:10It looks fantastic.
22:12No-one would defeat him winter.
22:13No, no.
22:15Yeah, I love the way it goes to the gate.
22:18It just draws your head.
22:19Yeah.
22:20Mm-hmm.
22:21You like it?
22:21Yeah.
22:22Good.
22:23With that seal of approval, it's back to the grindstone.
22:27With the garden pathways.
22:32Back in the UK, we were in like a big housing estate in a town.
22:37So we didn't really have any green space on out.
22:39But obviously here in France, the space that we've got here at the Chateau is pretty much
22:44the same size as the town we actually lived in.
22:49It's just fantastic.
22:50And one of the reasons why we love France.
22:52But with such a vast space to overhaul in time for their grand farmer's fete, Terry
22:59and Ashley are going to need all the help they can get.
23:07Still to come.
23:08And we're going to flip it like that.
23:09That's it.
23:09Nice and easy.
23:10Oh.
23:12Problems way up for Vivienne and Simon.
23:15That's it.
23:16When you're ready, go ahead.
23:17Hold on.
23:17Oh.
23:18And our guy's DIY hopes, just a pipe dream.
23:23OK.
23:24Is that it?
23:26Yeah.
23:27You're just going to leave it like that.
23:28No.
23:36In the Loire Valley…
23:41Vivienne and Simon have an enormous homemade feature to put up in the master bedroom.
23:49the trumo which is the painted mirror now has to come up and go into place and of course
23:56it's pretty heavy yes so we are a little anxious about how this is going to work
24:03roped in to lend a hand with the 40 kilo piece thank you for helping us repeat yeah
24:09is vivienne's niece wren putting a lot of faith in me and we're going to turn it like this okay
24:17and we're going to flip it like that that's it nice and easy oh have you got it yeah can
24:22we go
24:22one of you needs to really take the weight at the bottom okay the other one is we can both
24:26take the
24:26yes okay then off you go that's it perfect that's it when you're ready go ahead oh yeah okay great
24:36one more turn to go okay to the right watch the edges on the wood frame that's good
24:47that's it watch it so we don't crimp any of the corners now i want to lean it against the
24:53mantis hold it for a second and how's that is that sitting nicely okay that was a lot heavier than
25:00i
25:00thought it would be yeah it's heavy isn't it okay but before they hang the trumo mirror the family
25:06gather to mark the event so everyone's kind of worked on this mirror simon and i built it
25:12isabella and wren helped gild it ashley has helped as well it really is a group effort so
25:19i think it'll be really fun if we all sign the back
25:33wait it hasn't gone up yet it hasn't gone up yet now for the trickiest bit what we want to
25:40do
25:40is push it against the wall okay all right as we lift it up you guys make sure it stays
25:45straight
25:45and doesn't topple over okay all right ready yeah three two one up make sure you're holding the uh
25:56top hang on hang on don't touch we're on the metal piece that's good
26:07do we need to lift it hang on not yet okay careful sweetheart i'm going to lift it a little
26:13bit
26:13uh-huh okay guide me on the hook okay to the right to the right to the right
26:20all the way up higher to the right to the right to the right to the right
26:27got it got it is it on uh-huh it's on this side push her in because it should be
26:32bang on the right
26:33size perfect
26:40you did it thank you it looks like it's been there for like i know ever 200 years doesn't it
26:47yeah
26:47it looks perfect thank you with just two days left to complete this regency style room in time for
26:58their party vivienne and simon need to get moving
27:10further southwest novice diyers may and guy have another key job to tackle on the old coach house
27:18so today we're finally finishing the guttering there's just a few final touches and then it's
27:24going to look really really good i can't believe i'm so excited about guttering i mean that essentially
27:32that's all it is it's just a bit of guttering but um i'm really excited just a bit of guttering
27:38it's going to save that building it will
27:50wow
27:53right your most important job is putting your foot on there
27:57and making sure it doesn't go anywhere right going up okay
28:06oh it's starting to rain well we should be able to see if it works then
28:13actually let me drill it first
28:18okay
28:20pass me the screwdriver please
28:24i need a that's not going to work i don't think do you know what you're doing
28:31i'll ignore that i really regret volunteering to be an apprentice today i wish i um i could be nice
28:42doing a job indoors okay
28:46since retiring from his desk job guy has been on a steep learning curve
28:53yep
28:54yep
29:14that doesn't look very secure guy
29:16is the join good yeah very good okay is that it
29:27you're just going to leave it like that yeah but it's just it's not attached to anything
29:34it is it's attached to the wall but so the water's just going to flow down over the tiles
29:38uh yeah that's what rain water does
29:42any doubts may has that roof down that gutter onto that roof into that gutter down the down pipe and
29:49into the safe way soon drain away and we've got real live rain to test it out look look there
29:57water coming out of it yeah okay yeah it's doing what it's supposed to do good well done nice one
30:05the next job however is not only dangerous but way above their pay grade
30:19back in normandy terry and ashley have rallied the troops
30:26to help with their front garden makeover
30:30so we've got family over for what they thought was going to be a holiday
30:34which for us it's a working holiday but it's good because they're all going to get stuck in
30:39we can get this job done in hopefully the one day rather than it taking us like two weeks
30:46expecting an influx of visitors at their farmers fete in two weeks time
30:52this morning they want to revamp the car park in the front yard
30:58so if everyone does a good job obviously the payment will be a nice piece of cheesecake
31:02for them at the end but we'll see i'm monitoring each of them
31:08i think that's about right with new paving stones put in at the front the car park can be graveled
31:17so
31:26ashley meanwhile is about to build a tricky curved border at the chateau's entrance
31:35having worked on the stunning formal gardens at the rear he's feeling confident considering
31:42i've never done anything like this before i'm not i'm not bad at it now it's getting easier
31:53when we first came to france i had no skills whatsoever
31:57i had never really worked with sand and cement before with concrete blocks my background was
32:03was working in a pet shop so yeah this is all new to me and i love every minute of
32:08it
32:15it's getting on unbelievably well
32:22the first pile's almost gone and we've got the majority of the car park area sorted
32:36my border wall is looking brilliant i've brought my slope down nicely to meet at the same point of
32:41the step as the other side so your eye level isn't drawn so over the moon to be honest with
32:45you
32:48to ensure both sides align ashley is getting a bird's eye view
32:56considering it's been done by eye it looks absolutely bang on but i'm going to check with
33:00tez make sure he's happy with it as well tez you okay
33:06so what i was looking to aim to do you see how both ones finish at exactly the bottom of
33:10the banister
33:11in exactly the same place looks fantastic you're happy with it yeah yeah yeah it's really good well
33:19well done cool nice with all hands on deck they can crack on with the central pathways
33:29the front of the chateau's really been the ugliest point from the beginning these paths have been a
33:36nightmare since we first come really because it's just been mud constantly so yeah it's good i've
33:42finally got a path now to the cottage
33:52i think it's been an incredible day we couldn't do this without our friends and family no definitely
33:57not
34:01i can't believe it it was only a couple of weeks ago that was still just a patch of mud
34:04yeah i'll have a
34:05week spare the garden has come on in spades but it's not quite there yet and with all the preparations
34:15to begin for the grand fête in just two weeks time terry and ashley have a busy time ahead
34:27coming up may and guy face the chop oh my goodness oh but have an axe to grind it's really
34:36annoying we
34:37haven't got time for this and vivienne and simon race against time we're doing it with oh an hour before
34:50people get here in western france there's a monumental task to tackle in may and guy's front yard
34:59this is our amazing sequoia and you can tell by the size of the trunk it is very old every
35:06couple of
35:06years we get our local tree expert to come along and help us remove some of these limbs because they're
35:13high up and it's not easy to get to and my chainsaw skills only go so far you have your
35:20limitations
35:21and this is quite a challenge this tree
35:30native to the west coast of america sequoias were introduced in france in the mid-19th century
35:37and are one of the tallest trees in the world at 20 meters high this one is way above guy's
35:45comfort
35:46zone just looking at him up there makes me feel queasy
35:52and he's still going i know he's going to the top
36:03removing dead branches allows more air and light in
36:09and encourages healthy growth
36:12oh my goodness
36:18jeez
36:20this really is gardening on a chateau scale
36:32days later with the tree trimmed and the experts back guy prepares to get hands-on with the next job
36:40on the sequoia we've been advised to try and clear a lot of the ground under the tree so around
36:47the roots
36:48we're going to take probably about 10 centimeters of soil so i need to scrape that back fortunately
36:53i've got the digger to do that that should allow the nutrients to get to the tree and hopefully we
36:58won't have to worry about it for another 300 years
37:05as guy is learning life as a chatelain is quite an education nothing like this ever ever crossed my path
37:14when i was a desk-bound person but uh it's always good to challenge yourself it's always good to learn
37:19new skills it's always good to feel as though you've achieved something at the end of the day yeah
37:29i've used the digger to scrape back the topsoil as deep as i dare i hope it's enough and what
37:36i'm
37:36waiting for now is for the experts to come back with their machine to now punch your holes in my
37:41in the
37:42ground by aerating the soil nutrients can reach the roots and encourage growth both above and below
37:51ground at least that's the plan but since lunch time there's been no sign of the tree experts it's
37:59really annoying really annoying yeah we haven't got time for this if the worst comes to the worst i'll
38:05just have to go around with my big metal pole and uh make a lot of holes yeah but uh
38:10yeah i'm sure
38:12they'll turn up soon let's hope so but one thing's for sure may and guy are rapidly
38:20learning the benefits of doing it yourself
38:31back at chateau de la croix boisée 195 okay let's just say two meters
38:37vivian and simon's bedroom now has curtains the bed canopy is finally up and there's just hours to go
38:45until this evening's jazz party begins we've got guests already in the house we've got guests turning
38:52up tonight uh we need all the bedrooms in the house every last one of them and we're gonna have
39:00to have
39:00a bedroom to sleep in
39:06with daughter isabella taking charge of the party food
39:11vivianne is hoping some artwork she's designed will add charm to the bedroom
39:17so this one is called the chatelaine du jour she clearly has been doing all the things that we've
39:24been doing today she has been diy diy gardening and all the things that make her the daytime chatelaine
39:33and let's not forget that there are the male chatelaine as well and so he's busy doing all the same
39:39things because he's a modern chatelaine leaving sister ashley to repurpose some old frames for the prince
39:49vivianne cracks on with a curtain pelmet
39:54simon is busily stapling away trying to finish the salon the settee in the gold fabric and that's the
40:01final piece of upholstery for the room as well and we're doing it with oh an hour before people get
40:08here
40:15how are you doing sweetheart you need my help no you sure
40:20how you doing with my palmet your your palmet i'm i'm power palmetting good
40:31are you ready for it okay
40:33i think that's perfect perfect sweetheart all they need to do now is add some final touches
40:46how does he look he looks lovely
41:03four months ago the biggest bedroom in vivienne and simon's chateau was an abandoned unkempt space
41:16now it's an opulent bridgerton inspired bedchamber
41:23in luxurious creamy champagne shades of decor featuring their dazzling homemade tomo mirror
41:34adding elegance our powder blue medallions antique gold sconces and hand-painted wall panels
41:44and a footboard has been cleverly refashioned into a glorious bed crown
41:52all right sweetheart we really need to walk away from it now our guests are here we need to go
41:56get
41:57changed we're gonna have a wonderful night looking forward to it
42:04outside friends and family have gathered
42:10taking inspiration from parisian parties known as le dîner en blanc
42:16the dress code tonight is white are you guys ready to go up and see the room yes
42:26you guys come on in oh god you guys
42:32oh my goodness
42:37how did you pull it up everything i know i know it's huge amount of work
42:44huge amount of work wow no it's a different level of fabulousness in here quite beautiful no it's
42:54done it's done it's like wow this is a different level of beauty so vivian conceives of the rooms
43:00and then simon is the one that does all of the heavy lifting she's the visionary and he makes it
43:05a
43:05reality this just goes to show what a lot of women and one man can do indeed yes i mean
43:13the one man was
43:14really useful i've got to give him credit with the room a sparkling success it's time to party
43:23and jazz singer ashley has a number lined up
43:36i'm amazed at what we pulled off yeah so many new skills right things i've never done before i've
43:42done in this room and that's for the first time and that's that's amazing we were running behind
43:47and before we knew it this entire room became a family affair i think we're in for a very fun
43:54festive evening and even though we've had no sleep at all i think we can rally what do you think
43:59of
43:59course all the time
44:22next time could one pair's dream crumble
44:26oh my god that's far worse than i thought it was a huge event has terry and ashley on edge
44:34there's always that worry that when you do something like this that people aren't going
44:38to show up that things are just going to go wrong and this chatelaine tries to keep her cool
44:43you're pregnant try to keep your blood pressure down important this isn't the job where my blood
44:49pressure is down
44:52so
44:56so
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