Chateau DIY Season 10 Episode 29
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00:00All across France lie a bounty of breathtaking chateaux.
00:06Many long forgotten and neglected.
00:08We'll just see what happens.
00:10Crying out for loving restoration.
00:13Great.
00:14Ready?
00:15Oh, God, this one's going to be a pain, isn't it?
00:17Are being given a new lease of life by gutsy new owners.
00:21I don't know what I'm doing, really, but that's OK.
00:24Who are turning them into jaw-dropping homes.
00:27It is a beautiful, elegant room, and I love that.
00:32And in genius event spaces.
00:34Hammer time.
00:36They'll take on a mountain of challenges.
00:39My ears are ringing.
00:40This is going to be an adventure.
00:41Reap great rewards.
00:43Cheers to the fountain.
00:44Cheers.
00:45And share a few blows.
00:47So I'm slightly nervous what is going to come down.
00:50But with heaps of hard graft.
00:52There's only another 189 square meters to do.
00:55Look at that.
00:57It doesn't get any better than now, I don't think.
00:58They'll experience the joy.
01:00Well done, Earth.
01:01As they get to live the dream.
01:03Teamwork makes the dream work.
01:05As custodians of their very own chateau.
01:09Cheers, Carmen.
01:10Cheers, my lord.
01:10Cheers to you.
01:16Today.
01:17I'm sure, as an engineer, this is making you feel sick.
01:20One pair don't see eye to eye.
01:23I would never have tied up the bits of wood like this, for instance.
01:27Because I would have thought about it.
01:30Two owners may have bitten off more than they can chew.
01:33We're not new to gardening, but this is on a completely different level, isn't it?
01:38Yeah.
01:39And a bold makeover causes cold feet.
01:43I always get this feeling when I'm starting painting something, like, oh my gosh, what have I done?
01:47But no stopping now.
01:56A stone's throw from the picturesque town of Alencon in Normandy sits the stunning 18th century Chateau de la Lasselle.
02:05With 21 acres, 25 rooms, and a spectacular spiral staircase leading to its turret tower,
02:21it had lain abandoned and uninhabited for 40 years,
02:28until, in 2020, former pet shop owner Terry and fiancé Ashley snapped it up for £250,000.
02:39To see the Chateau coming back to life again, I think it's just, it's amazing.
02:44I think we're so proud of it, of what we've got to already.
02:48It is a nice feeling when you're driving up the drive to see it,
02:52to think that it's ours, and to think, obviously, what we've achieved.
02:58Located an hour's drive from Le Mans,
03:02Terry and Ashley dream of running high-end holiday lets.
03:07Joining them on their restoration journey are Terry's mum, Tracey,
03:14and 11-year-old nephew, Jonathan, who live in a cottage in the grounds.
03:23This year, the family finished the creation of the first of their opulent games.
03:28Ah!
03:29Ah!
03:30Wow!
03:31I was just at Versailles, and I think they've outdone Versailles.
03:33But it's not just the inside of the Chateau that's being brought back to life.
03:35Last year, Terry and Ashley turned their thoughts to the neglected gardens.
03:39And with the help of landscape designer Shane...
03:40So, we went with the more formal, like you were wanting.
03:46...they developed grand plans to restore them to their former glory.
03:47We're going to be doing a gravel path here.
03:48And then we have lawn.
03:49The columnar yews are there.
03:50Terry and Ashley have begun digging.
03:51We're going to be doing a gravel path here.
03:52And then we have lawn.
03:53The columnar yews are there.
03:54Terry and Ashley have begun digging some of the many gravel pathways.
04:01But their dream of a perfectly symmetrical, split-level, formal garden is still alive.
04:02And then we're going to be doing a gravel path here.
04:03So, we went with the more formal, like you were wanting.
04:06They developed grand plans to restore them to their former glory.
04:10We're not new to gardening, but this is on a completely different level, isn't it?
04:11Yeah.
04:12It does look like an absolute beautiful garden.
04:13We're going to be doing a gravel path here.
04:14We're going to be doing a gravel path here.
04:15And then we have lawn.
04:16The columnar yews are there.
04:18Terry and Ashley have begun digging some of the many gravel pathways.
04:23But their dream of a perfectly symmetrical, split-level, formal garden is still a long way off.
04:32We're not new to gardening, but this is on a completely different level, isn't it?
04:37Yeah, it does look like an absolute mess at the minute, but it will get better in time.
04:43Yeah.
04:44We know that this place used to have beautiful, formal gardens,
04:47and it's something we want to kind of replicate, but in our own style.
04:51Yeah.
04:52So, it's going to be, hopefully, like a mini Versailles.
04:56Today, Ashley plans to start carving out the paths.
05:04Big boy toys.
05:07According to Terry's instructions.
05:13Good, good, good.
05:14And the path goes that way.
05:16Yeah.
05:17So, you've got that there.
05:20And then it goes that way.
05:21Oh, wow.
05:22And that one's curving along there.
05:24So, don't go any further than that.
05:26As you can see with the plan, it is quite complicated with quite a lot of curves interlocking with each other.
05:36So, getting it from paper onto the ground has been quite challenging.
05:41It's a massive amount of soil to move out of here.
05:45We'll probably talk.
05:46I think we've done about 150 ton already.
05:48By the time we're done, it's probably going to be close to 200 ton.
05:51But then we have to replace all that with gravel.
05:54While Ashley digs deep, Terry transports each trailer load of soil down to an adjacent field, where his mum, Tracy, and Uncle Pete are waiting.
06:09The reason we're bringing all the excess dirt down here is because it's quite uneven.
06:14So, it's a great opportunity to dump it all here.
06:17We can level all of the ground.
06:19And then it's two beds, one stone, really.
06:26Once the paths are dug, every last weed has to be removed.
06:31Actually, seeing the, like, lines taken form now, you can sort of visualise how the garden's going to look in the end.
06:40It's just brilliant. It's coming together with it.
06:44It's been a long day, but Terry and Ashley have their hearts set on the end goal.
06:51I think having a setting like this with the formal gardens and the chateau, it's just crying out for a wedding, really, isn't it?
06:57As long as it's ours, I don't mind. We'll see.
07:00Next, there is just the small task of building six enormous flower beds and laying a kilometre of irrigation.
07:22Over 300 miles south, near Bergerac, stands the historic 14th century Chateau des Vies.
07:29This impressive property boasts 35 rooms, a medieval tower, and extensive former wine cellars.
07:45Since 2021, it's been home to Nick, Nicole, and son Noah.
07:53What made me absolutely fall in love with this place, both of us, was the flow of the chateau.
07:59It is stunning.
08:01And the first time we walked in here, I just felt this sense of calm.
08:06And I think we think it might have something to do with the fact that it was a monastery way back when.
08:11So, happy monks.
08:13Sitting 60 miles inland from Bordeaux, the couple bought the derelict chateau for £195,000
08:25and first transformed one cellar into a temporary apartment.
08:33Their grand plan, though, is to move up into the main chateau.
08:39And when we last saw them, they were putting the finishing touches to their new family kitchen.
08:46It does give us the momentum and the fuel to keep going, knowing what we can create.
08:50Yeah, absolutely.
08:52With the dining room also complete, they now need to get their bedroom and living room over the finish line
09:03before they can finally move out of the cellar.
09:07We have completely outgrown the space that we're in now, so we can't wait to get up here.
09:12So, it's definitely in our interest to work hard to get this done so we can move in.
09:17Yeah, no, I know. I think we can't wait to just have more space, especially for Noah, I think, now.
09:22He's just kind of got a bit bored of running round or crawling round the kitchen island.
09:27I think he's looking forward to some more, some roaming grounds.
09:32While Nick tackles the mountain of packaging left over from the kitchen build...
09:38Carboard is remarkably heavy. Just so much of it.
09:41Nicole sets to work in the living room, giving a built-in wardrobe a new lease of life.
09:48The first thing I need to do is just clean the entire wardrobe inside out.
09:52And then I have a wet cloth that I'm just going to take away all the dust from the exterior,
09:56and then I'm going to start painting.
09:58I don't even know how old this wardrobe is.
10:00I'm guessing pretty old, based on the fixings that they've used.
10:04And it's...Dirt is definitely not new.
10:09So I think there's an absolute charm to that.
10:13At nearly three metres tall, this is furniture upcycling on a chateau scale.
10:20I'll see how this goes on.
10:22I think this is going to look great.
10:29I think this is going to be nice.
10:33This paint is so good at covering old blemishes.
10:37The old wardrobe is going to have a new, rather modern purpose, housing their television.
10:47And Nicole's keen for it to match their calm, Scandi colour scheme.
10:53I really want to make it as bright and, yeah, just welcoming as possible.
10:59Because stone, these old stone places can be quite dark.
11:06But the stone we have here in this part of the Dordogne is this white, white stone, which we love.
11:14And hopefully this lovely colour will just make it even lighter in here.
11:23Once the first coat is done, there's a visit from Quality Control.
11:28We've got someone with me.
11:29Hello, boys.
11:31Hi.
11:35What do we think?
11:37Nice.
11:39Do you like the colour?
11:40Yeah, really good.
11:42But I don't mind it not being perfect, because it kind of gives it that pattern.
11:47Our chateau is not perfect.
11:49In any way, she'll perform.
11:50I don't know what you're talking about.
11:53I think it would be perfect to hide the TV in.
11:56No, really good.
11:57No, I think you've done a great job.
12:03There's now just floor tiling to finish in here, and another painting job in the bedroom.
12:10But moving day is creeping closer.
12:13Coming up, a planting project has grown out of control.
12:23I'm very excited to have a garden.
12:26Every year it gets a tiny bit bigger and a tiny bit more ambitious.
12:31While Terry and Ashley have to dig deep.
12:34Just today I've probably got about 30 metres to do.
12:35In the picturesque Pays de la Loire region of Western France stands the stunning 18th century Chateau de La Rouge.
12:52Surrounded by 15 acres of woods and parkland, the 24-room property boasts three luxurious guest suites.
13:07And a separate two-bedroom gites.
13:14It's home to former journalist Rebecca and engineer Tim, who moved to France in 2017 with sons Rufus and Laurie in search of new adventure.
13:28They're good!
13:29Sometimes it feels like we've only been here five minutes and other times it feels like we've been here forever.
13:40But I still have those moments.
13:42I can't believe that I live here and that this is home.
13:45I don't think we thought or had any expectations of what life was going to be here.
13:52So anything that we've achieved is a surprise, isn't it?
13:55We had the kind of vaguest of plans of renovate some rooms, open a bed and breakfast and see what happens.
14:02And so that's what we did.
14:04So we've achieved 100%.
14:05Located two hours west of Paris, the couple bought their dream home for £380,000 and set about creating their B&B and retreat business.
14:24You have to make quite so much noise.
14:26Last time we saw them, they hosted 12 guests for a three-day floristry workshop.
14:36Such a privilege to have them all here doing this.
14:38They're just so clever.
14:39It's just so lovely.
14:43This time, they've got their own botanical project in the Cutting Garden,
14:49where Rebecca grows flowers to decorate the chateau and guest rooms throughout the year.
14:56So I started the Cutting Garden because I wanted to fill the house with flowers and have flowers for the guests.
15:02I never wanted the B&B to feel corporate and like a hotel.
15:06I wanted people to feel like they were coming to stay with friends.
15:08And the flowers for me were a big part of that.
15:10Come on.
15:13With the help of dog Monty, the couple need to prepare the garden for its next crop.
15:19Today, I want to get some more of these little fences built around my flower beds and I need your help to do that.
15:27That's all right.
15:28No problem.
15:29We need to go into the woods and find some more sticks to make my wobbly fences.
15:34But they're just very handy for stopping the flowers once they grow higher from kind of flopping out.
15:40Yeah, no, no, it makes a lot of sense.
15:44Needing thousands of flowers each year to give their chateau this personal touch.
15:50Beautifully done.
15:51Here we go.
15:52They make use of their acres of woodland.
15:58Once they have enough materials, they can begin construction.
16:06You want these just at the end of the bed?
16:07Yeah, just there and then we can work out what we've got and what we need.
16:17Do you have any flower?
16:18No.
16:19I'm sure as an engineer, this is making you feel sick, but...
16:22Yeah, a little bit.
16:24Just kind of wrapped string around things last time until everything was in place.
16:28We're both very different in terms of I am very much an engineer.
16:32I would never have tied up the bits of wood like this, for instance,
16:36because I would have thought about it.
16:39How would you do it then?
16:40I don't know.
16:41I'd need to overthink it.
16:42I'd need to be here for a little while overthinking it.
16:44And then I'd probably just use screws.
16:49And I was very excited to have a garden.
16:55And I kind of started off around the house and then I'd pick flowers from around the house to put around the rooms, the guest rooms and everything.
17:06But I always felt like I was stealing the pretty things from the garden that looked nice around the house to put inside.
17:13And it was kind of always a toss up of, oh, should I cut that rose or should I leave it there because it looks nice in the garden?
17:19So then I decided that actually what I needed was a cutting garden.
17:22And I started to learn more and more about growing flowers.
17:25And every year it gets a tiny bit bigger and a tiny bit more ambitious.
17:30And I keep saying to Tim, oh, I think I might need some more beds.
17:33But yeah, I love it.
17:34And it's just really satisfying.
17:37Right, that's that one done.
17:40Fences secured, Rebecca can prepare to plant her snapdragon seedlings, which need to be in the ground soon if they're to blossom in time for the peak summer season just weeks away.
17:54Further south in the Dordogne, Nick and Nicole are hard at work finishing their new living space.
18:08And they've just had news of an exciting delivery.
18:12We have our bed arriving tomorrow that we are going to be assembling.
18:18So we are on a tight deadline to get the painting done.
18:22Also, we want to get the painting done.
18:23I agree.
18:24You're doing the painting.
18:25You're the painting maestro.
18:26Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:27So me, myself and I will do the painting.
18:31Nicole's project is a customised Narnia style wardrobe, which hides a secret door through to their dining room.
18:40I'm going to paint them in the same colour that I've painted the skirting boards.
18:45And I think that will look really nice.
18:47I would give it even more light in this room as well.
18:50This is going to be our family bedroom, so it's going to be for the three of us.
18:56So we want to make it look as nice and snug and cozy as possible.
18:59We're going to be in here at least a year before we continue to do the renovations upstairs because the ultimate goal is for us to move to the second floor, which is going to be a huge bedroom.
19:12This was the room we actually started doing the very, very first DIY and we started taking off the rendering.
19:19I think we always had the idea that this was going to be a bedroom.
19:22It's been a lot of work going into this because we have had to dig up the entire floors down to the beams.
19:29I can't actually really believe it when I'm standing here and it's almost finished now.
19:35It feels quite surreal.
19:38I always get this feeling when I'm starting painting something like, oh my gosh, what have I done?
19:43This is terrible.
19:44I've made a mistake, but no stopping now.
19:48Through in the living room, or nook as they call it, Nick is facing a job he's been putting off.
19:57I've left this task in here to tile the floor for a good few days now and I'm now trying to figure out where I need to start off again.
20:08I've left all the hard bits to last basically, which is all the little tricky cuts and nooks and crannies that I need to get into with the travertine.
20:15Each of the pieces needs to be carefully measured and cut to size.
20:25Ah, that goes as planned.
20:29A little bit when something goes to plan.
20:31In the bedroom, Nicole's nearly finished the Narnia wardrobe makeover.
20:36I really like this colour, it's very mild.
20:39It's not too offensive.
20:42I'm really pleased with that.
20:46That looks really, really nice.
20:48Some decorators cork on some of the holes and then all good.
20:52One final job to do and that's to put the key back into the lock.
20:55Yes.
21:00There we are.
21:01This busy pair are really onto the home straight now.
21:06And with friends arriving for a visit this week, moving in day can't come soon enough.
21:19Nearly six hours' drive north in Normandy, Terry and Ashley are hard at work on their epic garden transformation.
21:28Patrick, get out.
21:31Patrick, that's a tape measure.
21:33Helped by Daswund Patrick and Tracey's dog, Sasha, today's task is to start the flower beds.
21:41So we're going to get the first block in, see how it goes and get our height, make sure it's the same level as the other side.
21:49And hopefully, this will be a nice, easy job.
21:54Getting the garden symmetrical and getting the measurements right is so important.
21:59And me being me as well.
22:01It's obviously important because I'm a bit of a perfectionist.
22:04Even if you can go down a tiny bit, that's about right.
22:08OK, OK.
22:09There's a lot of measuring because quite of the angles are quite complex.
22:14Obviously, we've got straight angles made into curves and then curves going into other curves.
22:19You're all five.
22:20Yeah, it is quite complicated.
22:22Soon, the first flower bed is complete.
22:35Job's a good'un.
22:36All done.
22:37But before the couple move on to the five other beds in the design, they're planning ahead.
22:43It is really hot here in summer.
22:45Like, we've had temperatures of 40 degrees in this garden in summer.
22:48So it's absolutely essential that we get a proper irrigation system in.
22:51There's going to be thousands of plants in this garden.
22:54It's not just going to be a couple here and there.
22:57Well, no, the size of it, it's not like we can walk around to the water and can each time to water each of them.
23:07We're literally just running a channel right now to put the mains water into the garden.
23:12Just today, I've probably got about 30 metres to do.
23:15So it won't take me too long.
23:17Fingers crossed.
23:22I think I'm winning the race here, you know, Tess.
23:24Well, the halfway line's there.
23:26Yeah, but you started there, that is here.
23:28Halfway line's there.
23:29Last shovel full.
23:40Oh!
23:42Hey!
23:45With the mains trench dug...
23:47Do you want to roll it or do you hold?
23:49You hold.
23:50I'll roll.
23:51..they can now start to lay the kilometre of pipework the complex system needs.
23:57This is harder than what it was digging it out.
23:59This is the hard job.
24:01All right.
24:02Yay!
24:03The garden is beginning to take shape.
24:08But there's still one and a half thousand blocks to lay for the beds, 450 tonnes of gravel to spread and plants to get in before their work is done.
24:23Still to come, Nick and Nicole have privacy problems.
24:31We are still missing a few things such as doors for the toilets.
24:34Who needs them?
24:35We're all family.
24:36While Terry and Ashley face a super-sized delivery.
24:42In total, it's going to be about 450 tonnes to do it all.
24:47Just looking at it thinking that we have to move it all by hand.
24:49In north-west France, at Chateau de la Rouge, while Tim makes repairs to the flower beds, Rebecca is bringing out her seedlings, which she's nurtured under cover for the last six weeks.
25:16This is much more fun than doing cold DIY in the winter.
25:23This is my idea of heaven.
25:25They need to be planted now, if they are to bloom in time to decorate the Chateau rooms this summer.
25:32So these are my snapdragon seedlings.
25:36These are some of the smaller ones.
25:38These tiny little plants turn into these wonderful tall spires of flowers.
25:42And they're quite hardy, so they're kind of fine to go out before the risk of frost is gone.
25:48And they stay flowering until kind of the end of October.
25:52So they are a proper hard-working plant.
25:55I plant them quite close together, probably closer together than it tells you to on the back of the seed packet.
26:06But the closer you plant them together, the taller they grow, and the fewer weeds there is space for in between.
26:14So, hopefully, I can cram them all in, and I'm just going to be a bit haphazard about it and do whatever colours come.
26:27Once all the seedlings are planted, there's a final important job.
26:32Right, so if you go to the other end, but don't unroll it any more because I've got plenty here, and I'll tell you if we need to unroll it.
26:45And what are we doing with this?
26:46So this goes across the top of the bed tightly, and then it comes out in this grid,
26:52and it creates a very gentle support for the flowers to grow up and through.
26:56So I get nice straight stems for the vase.
27:02So am I doing a good job?
27:04Yeah.
27:05Very good.
27:06I'm pleased with myself.
27:07Just stand there looking pretty.
27:08I love gardening.
27:09Good, you're doing an excellent job of gardening, my love.
27:13There's a lot of planning that goes into a whole season's worth of flowers,
27:16but these ones are great because the more you cut them, the more they grow.
27:21So you just have to cut really deeply into the plant, and then they'll send up more shoots from the bottom.
27:26So they're a good investment, snapdragons.
27:28Good investment of time.
27:30Why don't you just use them?
27:31Because they'd all look the same, then. You need different shapes.
27:34So they're not pointy ones, and then you need some kind of ball-shaped ones,
27:39and some frilly-petally ones, and some little, tiny, pretty ones that give a bit of sparkle.
27:45It's very, very important in different things.
27:51With her flower beds prepared and her snapdragons planted,
27:56Rebecca can now only hope her crop will bloom in time for the summer.
28:02Further south, near the Dordogne village of Saint-Julien-des-Mais,
28:12Nick and Nicole have finished decorating their new ensuite bedroom.
28:18I'm super happy with this. The light in the evenings is gorgeous in here because it's north-facing.
28:23Yeah.
28:24We are still missing a few things such as doors for the toilets.
28:27Who needs them?
28:28We're all family.
28:29LAUGHTER
28:31But I love the beams and the wardrobe, of course.
28:36I'm really happy with that. I think we've made it look really regal.
28:39There's just one big thing missing.
28:46Look, the bed's here.
28:48Oh, brilliant. Fantastic.
28:50Their Narnia wardrobe-style doorway makes a handy delivery route.
28:56Cool, man. Yeah, good idea.
29:03One.
29:04Oh.
29:06Perfect. Thank you.
29:08Oh, one more.
29:10Once all the boxes are in...
29:17Amazing.
29:19Perfect.
29:20..Nicole prepares for an all too familiar task.
29:25Another fun flat pack to build.
29:31..while Nick heads back to the living room to continue grouting the floor.
29:37I think my biggest highlight over the last...
29:40..kind of six months...
29:44..I've just been learning new skills, actually.
29:46I think, you know, I've never done travertining before,
29:48I've never done grouting before,
29:49and just kind of picking up those new skills,
29:51and you think, OK, well, I'll be able to replicate that
29:53across the rest of the chateau.
29:54You know, it's a really good skill to have learnt.
29:57Something I definitely want to try and invest in at some point, though,
30:00is some knee pads or something,
30:02or something to kneel down onto.
30:05I haven't suffered too much yet,
30:10but I suspect if I keep on doing this for the whole renovation,
30:13there might be some repercussions.
30:18Nick gets as much grouting done as possible,
30:21but when Noah wakes from his nap,
30:23they head to give Nicole a hand.
30:26Well done.
30:32I'm ready to pop in bed by...
30:34Oh, yeah. ..after this.
30:36Can you move it down the bed?
30:38Yeah.
30:41I found a city.
30:43Roll it.
30:44Yes.
30:49Aha!
30:50I've let her in.
30:51It's been another busy day,
30:53but with the flooring nearly finished in the living room...
30:57Wee!
31:01..and now somewhere comfy to sleep...
31:03Hello!
31:04Hello!
31:05Oh!
31:06Hello!
31:07Yay!
31:08Oh, this is nice.
31:09Yay!
31:11Nice!
31:12Yes, cosy!
31:13These busy parents can finally see the finish line.
31:18Yeah, it's a normal day here at Chateau de Vévin,
31:21and you're constantly busy.
31:23Yeah, wow.
31:24The end is in sight.
31:25So, yeah, vinyl touches now before we can move in.
31:34Back near Le Mans,
31:36Terry and Ashley are still hard at work,
31:39recreating their Chateau's formal gardens.
31:45We've been cracking on,
31:46and we've got, I'd probably say,
31:47about 95% of the edging done.
31:49Yep.
31:50The next stage is to get it all prepped,
31:52ready for the gravel coming.
31:54Lending a hand today are Terry's mum, Tracey,
31:58his auntie Paula and Uncle Pete.
32:03The family have come over for Jonathan's birthday,
32:05but we've just booked the gravel in for the same time that they're here.
32:08Yeah!
32:13Together, Tracey and Ashley finish off the flower beds.
32:18Tracey is the digger lady.
32:20If there's a job to be done digging,
32:22Tracey gets on with it.
32:24She is unbelievable.
32:25I don't know where she gets the strength from,
32:27because I can't do half of what she can do.
32:33I love it.
32:34Wouldn't be anywhere else.
32:36Meanwhile, Terry and his auntie Paula
32:39lay the last of the irrigation pipes.
32:41It is hard work doing stuff like this,
32:45but every day we enjoy it,
32:46and we've got a smile on our face.
32:48No matter what challenge we face,
32:50or what job we're doing,
32:52just having this sort of amazing life in France,
32:55and restoring a piece of history like this,
32:57you can't not obviously have a smile on your face every day.
33:00It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something like this,
33:03and it is amazing.
33:04Hello, sausage.
33:05How are you doing?
33:06Hello.
33:07Are you coming help me?
33:08Hello.
33:09You know what?
33:10Right, I'll tighten all these up,
33:11and we can get these into place.
33:12What's all this?
33:13All this?
33:14You've left all this?
33:15Patrick's been on the books for about the last three years we've been here.
33:22If there's a hole that needs digging, him and Tracey are on it.
33:27He's a brilliant labourer.
33:28He's cheap.
33:29This bit here?
33:30Ten round.
33:31There.
33:32But before they get any further, their gravel delivery arrives.
33:34We've got...
33:35You've got all this?
33:36All this?
33:37All this?
33:38You've left all this?
33:39All this?
33:40You've left all this?
33:41All this?
33:42You've left all this?
33:43Patrick's been on the books for about the last three years we've been here.
33:46If there's a hole that needs digging, him and Tracey are on it.
33:49He's a brilliant labourer.
33:51He's cheap.
33:52This bit here?
33:53Ten round.
33:54There.
33:55But before they get any further, their gravel delivery arrives.
33:58We've got a lot coming.
34:00This is just the first batch of it, and that's only because that's all we could get from
34:03the quality at this moment in time.
34:05They only had 180 tonne available.
34:11In total, it's going to be about 450 tonne to do it all.
34:14Three lorry loads dumped at the front of the chateau.
34:21Patrick wants to help.
34:23I'm the king of the castle.
34:24Where's your shovel?
34:25Where's your spade?
34:26Where's your wheelbarrow?
34:27That's a lot of gravel.
34:28Yeah.
34:29It's a lot to know.
34:30Just looking at it, thinking that we have to move it all by hand.
34:31That's only a third of it.
34:32Yeah.
34:33It needs to be done, so we have to get on with it.
34:34With such a back-breaking challenge to face, Terry, Ashley and their family will need to
34:40keep giving this epic project everything they've got.
34:47Coming up, can Nick finish the floor in time to move in?
34:54We've been working really, really hard to make this happen.
34:56And with the B&B season underway, will Rebecca's garden deliver?
35:03Summer revolves around us kind of having guests here all the time.
35:10And a massive part of it looking nice is having Rebecca's flowers everywhere.
35:16In North West France, it is now eight weeks since Tim and Rebecca planted their snapdragon
35:41seedlings and a host of other flowers.
35:44In that time, the tiny, inch-high plants have done a lot of growing, blooming into radiant,
35:54eye-catching towers of colour.
35:59The B&B summer season is in swing, so while Tim clears away breakfast, Rebecca heads out
36:10to harvest some of her crop.
36:12I love doing this. It's one of my favourite things about living here is having these flowers
36:17and growing them myself and being able to arrange them.
36:20It's one of the best parts of the job, definitely.
36:23Every week we fill the house with flowers for our guests.
36:28And so I love having them in every room and growing them myself is a massive pleasure for
36:33me, but also saves us an awful lot of money because flowers are so, so expensive to buy in.
36:38Summer revolves around us kind of having guests here all the time.
36:46So, you know, it's important that it's lovely for everybody.
36:49So a big part of that is it all looking nice, and a massive part of it looking nice is having
36:53Rebecca's flowers everywhere.
36:57To make her snapdragon poses, Rebecca picks some of the other blooms she's carefully grown in the cutting garden.
37:06We have a lot of different varieties of flowers.
37:09Dahlia, sweet peas, nigella, cosmos, multiple different colours of all the things.
37:16I just love all of them, and they're all lovely for different reasons.
37:19These smell, they're just lovely, just so sweet and lovely.
37:23And they work really nicely with mint and with roses as well.
37:26And then you get that lovely scent when you're walking through the house.
37:29You can smell them, and it's just so nice.
37:35With her cart loaded, Rebecca heads inside to put her picked flowers to use.
37:43So these flowers are for the garden room.
37:46So we've got some new guests arriving in there tomorrow.
37:49It's really important to make sure that there's no foliage in the water at all.
37:54Otherwise, the flowers won't last.
37:56And making sure they're always in fresh, cold water.
37:59Change the water regularly.
38:01Make sure your vases are clean.
38:03Make sure everything you use to cut them is clean.
38:06And keep them out of direct sunlight when you put them in your room.
38:09So don't put them on a windowsill, for example,
38:11because they just will not last if you do that.
38:14And once arranged...
38:16Very happy, it looks lovely.
38:18They're very sweet.
38:19She can put her perfectly posed poses in the aptly named garden room.
38:29Flowers are a big part of our business.
38:31I think they make a big difference to people coming to stay.
38:33It's just a little personal touch that makes it a little bit more special, I think.
38:38All the guests really love it.
38:39Nearly everybody comments about the lovely flowers and the lovely smells
38:42and everything as they come through the house.
38:44So I have to reluctantly accept that they were always a good idea.
38:48Yeah.
38:51It's been a good day for Tim and Rebecca.
38:54But with a busy summer season in front of them,
38:57they hope their floral displays keep their Chateau experience a cut above the rest.
39:11Nearly 300 miles south, in the Dordogne,
39:15at Chateau des Vieilles Vignes, Nick and Nicole are finally saying au revoir
39:21to their cellar apartment.
39:25This has been a dream in the making for a long time.
39:29We've been working really, really hard to make this happen
39:32because the space that we're in at the moment
39:34is just way too small for the three of us.
39:37But we survived a whole year in it, so...
39:39Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's time,
39:40and we're definitely ready to have some more space.
39:46While Nicole makes a start on the removals,
39:49we're finally moving in, yay!
39:53Nick has one final section of floor to finish in the living room.
39:58This place was a complete wreck when we got it right,
40:01and just kind of creating that vision and seeing it come to life
40:04is probably the biggest highlight.
40:06Now coming upstairs, I think we can really start to put our mark on things
40:10to make it truly feel like our forever home.
40:13With the DIY done and their belongings finally taking their rightful place upstairs,
40:20they can move in at last.
40:23Today's a very good day, very, very good day.
40:26So, yeah, I'm really happy.
40:28When Nick and Nicole first bought the chateau,
40:34the interior was an unloved shell
40:37with dark, dingy rooms
40:40and crumbling limestone walls.
40:45Having stripped the space back to bare bones,
40:48five months ago they began the enormous task
40:52of breathing new life into their future home.
40:59Now, this corner has been transformed into a calm and cosy living room.
41:06Beautifully repointed walls blend perfectly
41:09with Nick's newly laid travertine floor,
41:13and the original fitted cupboard has been carefully upcycled
41:18to match the stylish colour scheme.
41:23Friends Lindsay and Riaz arrived this morning with baby Sienna
41:28and are the first to get a look.
41:30So, I think we need to go upstairs.
41:32We need to go and have something chilled and bubbly
41:34and show you around.
41:35Sounds great.
41:36Great. Let's do it.
41:40Come on in.
41:41Oh, my goodness.
41:42Yeah, so...
41:43It's beautiful.
41:44I actually see your taste coming through.
41:46All the little touches, you know, the candle.
41:49The light coming in here is beautiful, isn't it?
41:51Yeah, no, it's fantastic.
41:53Two-directional light makes a huge difference.
41:56Yeah, really bright.
41:57I love it.
41:58The feature is the original walls.
42:00That's what makes the room.
42:01Yeah, it is.
42:02They're beautiful.
42:03And, I don't know if you've seen,
42:05but we hid the TV,
42:07cos I don't like TVs being on display all the time,
42:10so we hid it in here.
42:11And this is the original cupboard.
42:14Leading off the living room,
42:16a once bare corner of the chateau...
42:22..is now home to a beautiful bedroom.
42:25More exposed limestone makes the space warm and bright.
42:31The Scandi styling continues,
42:34and a cleverly repurposed wardrobe hides a doorway
42:39through to the dining room.
42:42It's a perfect space to sleep,
42:44and Noah has been the first to christen it.
42:48Yeah, Noah's still sleeping.
42:55But, yeah, the bedroom.
42:57Wow, it's really beautiful.
42:59It's absolutely...
43:00It feels really calm.
43:01Yeah, I'm really, really pleased how it's come out.
43:06A newly created en suite adds a final touch of luxury.
43:11The only thing missing is a door.
43:13Ah, yes.
43:14That might be useful, actually.
43:16So we have all of that today, so it's exciting.
43:18Along with their stylish family kitchen...
43:22..and spacious dining room,
43:27Nick and Nicole finally have the beautiful home
43:32they've been dreaming of.
43:37Oof!
43:38I love that sound.
43:40It's the best sound in the world.
43:42OK, I think a cheers is in order.
43:45Cheers!
43:46Cheers!
43:47Thank you very much for having us.
43:48Thank you for coming.
43:49Cheers!
43:50Cheers!
43:51I feel so proud of them.
43:53Seeing them actually build this place from the ground up
43:55has been amazing.
43:56You know, hats off to them.
43:58It's an incredible achievement.
44:00It's been an enormously busy few months,
44:03juggling the build alongside being new parents.
44:08But Nick and Nicole never lost sight of their goal.
44:13It is a huge milestone to move into
44:15what's now going to be our forever home.
44:18It feels phenomenal to finally be in where we're supposed to be.
44:22Yeah, we've achieved so much, we've come so far,
44:24and to be able to now share it with the people we care deeply about
44:27is phenomenal.
44:29It gives us a bit of energy.
44:31Yeah.
44:32For the next phase.
44:34Which I hope isn't going to stop for a very, very long time.
44:37Next time...
44:38Come on, boys, let's do this!
44:47...this couple struggled to fell a forest...
44:52Oh!
44:53Plenty of work to do!
44:56...unwelcome surprises at this chateau...
44:58Can you see it?
45:02...while a 450-ton delivery...
45:05This is only half of what we're getting in total.
45:08...puts this two-year project in jeopardy.
45:12It's a lot. That's all I can say.
45:13That's all I can say.
45:14So...
45:15You can still see it...
45:16...that's all I can say.
45:17Then I'll tell you...
45:20Transcription by CastingWords