Chateau Office Renovation | Discovering Forgotten Antiques
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Join us, Daphne and Ian, as we embark on our new chateau renovation projects! Our current plan is to restore two of the rooms which have been untouched for decades and turn them into functioning offices. After deciding to remodel both chateau offices, we must remove the dusty antiques that have occupied that space for over 10 years! We found a few surprises and initiated reconstruction plans with our friend, Maxime. We also continue the arduous task to restore the original chateau gardens, by cleaning the overgrowth in the old chateau fountain.
Our beau chateau (The 500-year-old, Chateau De Lesigny), is located near Paris, France! Most of the structures around the chateau domain need a full restoration, so we are investing everything we have into making the property thrive! We are learning more about french culture and developing new skills along the way.
As a French/American UC Berkeley graduate in Agriculture (Daphne), and a US Air Force Tactical Response Force Veteran/ Kinesiologist (Ian), we share a love for challenges and adventure. We have so much ahead of us, and we are excited to share the experience with you!
You can support our renovation projects by joining our Patreon Community, where you can also gain access to exclusive videos and behind the scene access with Daphne and Ian! All patron funding is used to renovate this historical French Chateau.
Produced by Daphne and Ian
Videography & Editing by Ian
All music tracks used in this video are licensed by Artlist:
1. You Are Ready - Angel Salazar
2. Tristan Barton - Dawning Light
3. Yehezkel Raz - Autumn Wind
4. The Hunts - Years - Instrumental Version
5. Veaceslav Draganov - Reprise
6. ANBR - Tomorrow
7. R.A.Y. Project - El Camino
8. ANBR - Memories
9. The David Roy Collective - Renewal
The box with the doors is a tabernacle It holds the extra communion wafers, before and after they are blessed. The most important item in a Catholic church or chapel.
Thank you, Jeffrey! We find it to be very beautiful! Ian wants to clean it up and repair the broken piece 😊
Was about to say that.
That’s what I was thinking!
I dream to have a chapel in my house!!! It would be sooo nice you reconstruct the chapel. Hope would be possible having mass in there, so people could marry, But I don't know if it could be possible.
It is a tabernacle. Consecrated hosts (the Body of Christ) are reserved for bringing Communion to the sick and dying. Non-consecrated hosts are kept in another location.
That fountain is so huge it could be a swimming pool! 😂
Yes! The stained glass can totally be fixed! Don’t throw away. Looks like it was part of a window for chapel perhaps? PS- your grandfather was a genius at getting this place right outside Paris and all the acreage! Wow!
Coal burner...most likely for a bedroom or smaller salon...a pot of tea could be kept warm on it, but it was a heating element plugged into old fireplaces...most likely 19th century although they still made/used them up until the 50's....You should keep ALL the portraits of paint.
You could probably find an old piece of tapestry to repair that fire screen
The beau arts style heater is a small heater that was somewhat portable and could heat a small area like a small living area or an office without using the fireplaces.
Bamboo or cane furniture was very popular at the XVII and XIX , part of the "Chinoiserie " fashion . These pieces are now rare to find, specially originals, there is a huge number of collectors in search of it, a lot of interior designers too. Are very much liked and searched, expensive items !
From your aerial photos it looks like there was a formal garden around the fountain. See if you can find some of the original plants left over in the overgrowth. You have such a beautiful place. I look forward to it's restoration.Thank you for sharing with us.♥
Wow! The before and after of the fountain was incredible! Always a treat to see a video from you. I just wish we could see them more often.
Thank you, Kimberly! We have been swamped in the height of our wedding season, but we plan to release videos more frequently as we move into fall 😊
You can replace fabric without throwing away the fireplace screen you have a extremely valuable collection of Bamboo
10:15 - even the attic has chevron flooring. Quel surprise. C'est l'un des parquets les plus difficiles et les plus chers à poser. Magnifique!
Looks like a poele alsacien... or Alsatian or German heater with enamel sides! Beautiful! And the box is a tabernacle from the chapel and candle holder would be from that chapel too...
It would be neat to have a gallery wall of the photos of the chateau owners in the past
A dinner gong! Wonderful! Great way to get a crowds attention and call people to dinner during weddings, or making announcements.
Please don't throw anything away. Have you looked underneath all the paintings and pictures that are framed.. Remember back in time that is where people hide things that they didn't want others to find. Your Grandfather left you a wonderful place with memories and a history . Take care of it for your Grandfather , he trusted you with his second love , as you were his 1st love.
Don't throw anything away until you've had an appraiser come in because you might be tossing out something valuable! You may not remember it, but on one episode of Antiques Roadshow a woman brought in a small "half-luna" side table that she'd bought for $25 years before at a garage sale . She had only lightly cleaned it, but hadn't refinished it--fortunately. When she found out that it was a very rare piece of American furniture she sold it at auction. It sold for $541,000. A friend's husband was an appraiser and he told me that when he was going over the contents of a home the owner tossed out an old teddy bear. He told her it was worth $10,000 and fished it out of the trash.
I wish I had your energy!!! You both are incredible workers!!! When you were running up and down the staircase with items in your hands, i was exhausted watching you. You and the Pethericks are not afraid to tackle the hard work at your chateaus to get the jobs done!!!! Your progress is AMAZING!! FANTASTIC JOB!!! I love watching your videos! You and Ian seem like such lovely, personable people, your voices are so relaxing to listen to, your drone footage and videography is ALWAYS AMAZING, your content always is so interesting and your chateau has inherited the right people to lovingly restore it! I always look forward to your next videos!! Love from Pennsylvania!
Thank you so much! 🥰
And the joy and imagination you both bring to the chateau would make your grandfather proud. He obviously had the same joy and imagination, and an eye for finding treasures. So glad your aid to Benoit sent me to your site.
Thank you so much! We like to think he is sharing the experience with us still 😊
wow. how wonderfully satisfying watching the roof appear as u raked the moss
Hey good to see another video, the fountain is going to be so beautiful when finished. Daphna I can't wait to see your office, your plans sound amazing. Ian great job on the roof what a major difference, looks refreshed. Love from NY.
Thank you, Joni! We are excited for the offices because we are coming up with some very fun ideas for them! Our goal is to have them finished and in use by winter!
If memory serves, the gong you found was the way servants would be summoned before the bell-pull era.
Waouh ! Ce grand-père avait de belles idées ! Je crois que l’objet à 12:45 est un petit poêle à bois ancien (sûrement très utile dans des chambres difficiles à chauffer! 😄) Tres sympa le tableau avec l’illustration naïve enfantine ! Faites expertiser vos tableaux par un commissaire priseur 😉 il y a peut-être un trésor parmi vos toiles ! Quels chantiers d’envergure ! La fontaine est impressionnante surtout avec les vues avec le drone avant-après !! Bon courage pour la suite des travaux 👍🏻💪🏻 À bientôt ! 🌸🌸🌸
I am so excited for your journey. The fountain looks awesome! I hope you get even more traffic driven to your channel you are hard workers and deserve all the rewards that come with that.
Thank you so much! We get very excited when we see our subscriber count increase! 🥰
Wow, didn’t realize the size of the fountain until we saw people in it for scale.
It looks much smaller from the sky. We will be getting measurements in the garden and fountain for our next video to discuss designs 👍
You should look into purchasing a cherry picker machine - you'll probably use it so much and can sell in the future if/when you don't need it anymore.
We have discussed buying a cherry picker, but we also need a side by side for tree work in the forest. We have to see which one we can afford and decide from there. The cherry picker was very handy while we had it!
I’m so glad your site popped up in recommendations! I’ve subscribed and caught up with your videos! Your videos are magnificent, your story is so compelling, and the property is magnificent! You’re doing amazing work. I’m so glad you are able to further your grandfather’s dream for his Dancer! Wishing you every good thing!
It is awesome you are putting so much care and concern to restore the chateau and grounds. It's history is tremendous and so worthy of restoration.
Beautiful, just beautiful. The taxes on that place must be horrendous! Your grandfather knew you were the one to love this place.
Your videos are always so beautiful! I'm so excited to see you guys clear the area around the fountain. 😁
Thank you, Rachel! We just had the grass in the garden cut this week and will be pursuing garden ideas in our next video! 😁
Same here i like his videos a lot! Hello how are you doing today i do hope you’re safe from the Covid?
The small ceramic tiles on a metal stand is a coal room heater 😉…thanks for sharing all your treasures and beautiful home.
The fountain is so big, it could be a great swimming pool too! 😊
The fountain is going to be stunning! Great work on guessing the stable roof! Beautiful camera work too!
Loving the drone shots and what an amazing job with the fountain 😃
Beautiful setting. Glad you are getting an office. Just put the choppers to the highest level, and make several passes to chop the brambles. Goats can eat the brambles.
I believe your mystery piece @ about 12 min is a room heater.
You should turn some of the outside buildings into a guest house or and AirBNB, and put banches around the lake so people could enjoy the clam and the nature (imagine the pictures you could take in that place, specially wedding pictures). Your château is so so beautiful I'm sure it will be a place many people would want to visit and stay.
So satisfying to see that moss come down!
The gong looks Japanese and the things that went infront of a fire place were indeed decorative firescrenes when it wasn't used, but also to shieldes someone sitting near the fireplace from direct heat and sparks. There are a lot of thigs from the chapel in that room.
Before even watching I'm so excited to see your latest video! So impressed that you both are working so hard and are managing to put out amazing content! Keep up the great work!
so many treasures in this castle !
If you go to a local Emmaus you would most likely be able to find a nice tapestry to repair the fire screen.
The screen that held the doomed fabric, (which was probably a tapestry) was most probably a fire screen. They were used to deflect the heat of the fire from ladies' faces, lest the would become flushed... It's frame is Chinese in design, a very popular motif in Victorian homes, and may be quite valuable, as are the bamboo-esk chairs. The original painted leather seat should not be cleaned, or replaced in order to retain it's value. A stained glass artisan can repair all of your panels, or, you could opt to sandwich them between 2 pieces of plexiglass, and hang them in the windows as distressed works of art...Charming!!!
Ugh! Yeah 'Moss' the bane of our existence when restoring the old farm my parents bought.
So amazing what a single person can accomplish. The roof tile is gorgeous. Great job.
the fountain is huge. more like a wading pool. wow
My goodness you 2 put a lot of hard work into this chateau. Thanks for sharing.
I am also intrigued with the small stove. I'll bet Daphne's grandfather decided it would be useful for a small room. The stove could be used in the fireplace of one of the new offices, with easier clean-up vs. a regular fireplace. I think restoration would be complicated. I'm no expert, but the firebox appears to have been made with fire bricks decorated with a ceramic tiles on the outside. I don't think you can mortar the pieces back together because the fire bricks will have degraded. If you bought new fire bricks and cut them to size, you would still need to attach new ceramic tiles on the outside. I recommend inquiring with a dealer of antique stoves. I recently saw a KZhead video showing a glossy catalogue from a French company selling restored stoves. Maybe there's a company that can make a new firebox for you?
So much of the things in the office are from a chapel. The candle sticks go on either side of the altar. The tabernacle. A chair with a cross on the back was probably a presidents chair. I think I spotted a cross that was probably carried forward in the procession at the start of mass.
The cleaned up roofs look excellent. Great job, Ian. The portrait of that woman with the red background must have been from the Renaissance time in the Chateau. I hope you keep it. I hope you find ways to use all the stained glass panels. They can def. be repaired. I think the ceramic box was a heater for a room.
The stained glass is absolutely reparable! I bought a window at a flea market, took a class, restored it! Not that hard.
You just found a lot of your chapel furniture in this room. You found the nailer and the broken wooden box used to go on the altar
You are both so wonderful to watch! The fountain looks so great cleaned up! You have an absolutely beautiful chateau.
Once the moss was off, what a wonderful transformation!!! Well done.
Same here! Hello how are you doing with your family i do hope you’re safe from the Covid?
yaass sounds like Daphne is now talking a bit louder 😍🙏
New microphones 😉
@@TheBeauChateau thank Goood! The videos are so much better when we hear you louder :)
the "kiln" is a little "kachelofen" to heat the room.
That was my first thought, having spent a year in Germany, living in a home with a large one. Love your videos! Your humor is amusing, and I'm sure Daphne gets comments that she lives with Keanu Reeves, actually a younger, better looking (if it's possible) version.
Yes, it looks like a particularly ornate brazier for a small room, or a small sitting or working area. Lovely thing.
Thank you for commenting! We have since discovered it to be a French stove from 1911. Unfortunately it is quite broken and has lost its value and utility, but we love the way it looks, so Ian will still fix it cosmetically so we can display it in our living room!
@@TheBeauChateau It will be a handsome accent your spaces can easily absorb without clutter. Another fan here to tell you that your videos are of admirably high quality and consistently interesting. Best wishes with the daunting work ahead for your particularly "beau" chateau.
Before and after of the fountain literally made my jaw drop. Keep up the good work! I also love the humorous banter!! And please please get all the art appraised 🙏🏼👍
Thank you! We are glad you like the video! Many more videos to come 🥰
Do have all the art work, stained glass and furniture appraised
Another awesome video guys! I would love to see more videos like this of interesting things you find there. Great job!
Thank you! We plan to release videos more frequently as we move out of the wedding season 😊
The ceramic box looks like a historic space heater. They were in rooms and were usually fill with hot coals.
Oh my….what a task to take off moss! I kept thinking: how do you clean a chateau roof? 1 sq meter at a time! ❤
About the piece that had the fabric fall off: It is most likely a fireplace screen used by women while sitting close to and/or in front of a fireplace. The purpose was to keep the flames from getting too hot and literally melting their wax-based makeup off.
The box from the chapel is for the holy sacrament... easy repair. Your stove could be a log burner. Good luck
That is an Italian ceramic heater, popular in the early 19 century. They come up for auction now and again, but are rare.
You have a beautiful place and so happy you guys are fixing it up. Can’t wait to see what you do with it. You have countless things you can do with that beautiful place to generate business and money to put towards it. You are both so cute together.❤️
Thank you, Darlene! We appreciate your encouragement 🥰 There are so many projects and ideas we have in mind, but we have to focus on only a few to start with. Our goal is to get the chateau gardens and office spaces renovated as soon as possible, then we want to create rentable housing spaces for guests 😊
I would love to come stay with you guys in the future. ❤️
BEAUTIFUL AS ALWAYS!! Loving how the offices are looking - it's going to be gorgeous. :-) Wish I could come for coffee. lol!
The gong is perfect . Dinner bell for weddings and such.
What a beauty you have both inherited but a lot of work so glad you are both young looking forward to all your plans and watching you restore her to all her glory. Thanks for sharing your vlogs with us all love love them. 🍷🍷💐💐❤️❤️🇨🇦
Thank you for watching! We have a lot of work ahead of us, and a whole lot of videos to share with you 😉💕
That fountain cleaning montage was so satisfying! Cant wait for the many many wonderful projects :)
Such a lot of work done. Great treasures in the office
Such a beautiful presentation made by the most beautiful couple, so tastefully done. The history behind this chateau is so amazing, thank you for the journey 👍😇🙏⛪️😍🇫🇷
My wife and I have been watching these KZhead videos of chateaus in France... This one is absolutely beautiful... Are you both buying this property and taking care of it and all the cost yourselves or you renting it. We wish you all the best God bless
Careful what you throw away until you know it's purpose or value. I didn't see anything that couldn't be fixed. The "Kiln" is a stove,
A piece of advice. Before ever throwing something away do some research. Just bc you don't like sth or bc it is damaged doesn't mean it has no value 😀
1. The broken box is a tabernacle to store things for communion 2. The screen is used for a fireplace either when it's not being used or if the fire is too hit to sit directly in front of, the frame looks good it just needs new fabric which is easily done 3. The stained glass is all super easily fixed it just needs to be leaded where it's broken and concreted 4. The kiln is actually an antique space heater, you light a small fire and let the ceramic warm up and then you put the fire out before bed and the ceramic continues to heat the room after the fires out
Everybody seems to think moss is destructive to roofs. I cleaned mine recently (a north sloping NE region roof always in the shade) and found they didn't seem to be damaging anything even after about ten years of growth. What were destructive were the white lichens that actually lived on the gritty surface layer. There was always a smoother spot where they were. I'm sure the lichen is dissolving the grit and is made of it. The lichens were as hard as stone. I could scrape the moss off with a small wire brush or even my fingers. The lichen had to be broken with the handle end of the putty knife. There are still traces of it that have to be watched. The moss on garden rocks has such shallow roots it's very easy to displace and can even be transplanted to other rocks. There is no obvious damage to the rocks but you always see the leaf matter dust it caught and lived on. That washes off. An anecdote I recall is the story about the Edsel Ford mansion in Michigan. They imported Cotswold stone slabs and wanted the moss to grow on it. The moss anchors itself on stone but I don't think it actually dissolves it like lichens do. All plants secret a mild acid to dissolve minerals and organic matter. But I think the moss was only living on fine particles of leaf matter. Maybe the real problem with too much moss on an old roof that may be worm ridden or rotted is it can gain a lot of water weight and overload it? Otherwise, if the structure of the roof is solid enough, it looks great and reduces heat gain. But since it only seems to grow on the shady side (in my place anyway) , I suppose it doesn't help much with that. If someone invented an organic shingle that actually grew a sturdy stable moss it could both absorb the wear of pounding rain (and that itself is very destructive to exposed horizontal wood surfaces) and reduce heat gain. A chia pet like roofing material maybe made with an asphalt or other stable substrate? There is a lot of scuttlebutt among the DIYers but I'm not at all sure how well researched it all is?
at 12'02 : it says Vitry-le-François, where this stove (poêle en faïence) was made 😊
The fountain cleanup reminds me so much of Merge Mansion.
I could really work there in exchange for accommodation as long as I could be in that place! 🤩🙌
Beautiful cinematography! Truly enjoying your content, your journey, and vision. Thank you.
Thank you for your encouragement, Janet 🥰 We really appreciate your support!
Excellent episode as usual. That fountain will be awesome.
Those stained glass panels can easily be fixed and used. They will look beautiful.
I've been watching a lot of chateau vlogs, but yours is just absolutely gorgeous 😍
Popular in the 18th century and later, the little stove is called a kachelofen (Austrian invention, mostly). All the best places had them for heating (Austria, France, Germany, etc.). They were hand-fed with coal, mostly. The back will have a "vent" that would tie through the wall into a chimney.
What a sensational vedios; really look forward to them! God bless the two of you on the beginning of this mammoth task and journey ahead. I will continue to be a devoted follower for year's to come! Your Chateau is magnificent, beautiful and gracious looking. Love you guy's! ❤
Thank you so much, John! We really appreciate your support! We have many more videos coming your way 😉
I have just found you. So impressed with the heron in the trees I shall look for previous videos.
The tile unit with cast iron looks like a small heater and very likely would have had a vent to burn coals or wood properly. There are much larger ones that are round ones that are also tiled. It is a beautiful piece of history if you restore it, even if you do not use it due to safety reasons. Thank you for sharing.
Truly beautiful job filming! Very satisfying seeing the roof transformation. Keep up the great work! Et bon courage!
A fountain?? It's a whole swimming pool lol. It'll be so grand with a water feature.
Please don’t be too quick to throw anything away. You will learn and discover things for years to come and some of these items will make sense someday. Also, please try to relocate your music box to a location with less moisture. Best regards from Istanbul.
Not sure if previously mention but thar box with pieces inside. Usually sits on a church alter and is called a tabernacle. It’s used to hold the sacrament or communion for mass…. I’ve just noticed it was mentioned before 😂
Hi from Australia, I saw your thumbnail on my home page. After all viewing your videos, you will transform your Chateau. The fountain will look great if it was restored I love the look of a formal garden. Love your videos👍
Thank you, Anne! We are very excited for the chateau gardens! We just had them cut back and will show more progress in our next video!
Trop beau votre visite dans les antiquités . Pour le poêle en faïence ,sans doute la Faïencerie de Vitry-le-François . Petit poêle en faïence intégrant un chauffe plat.😊
So nice to see another video! The fountain ⛲️ is going to be stunning.
Love your videos, and how authentic you both are. The fountain looks amazing, despite its wear and tear. Thank you for sharing.
Damnnn, the landscape is so, beautiful. At least for me, I don’t always enjoy everything shiny and new. Even on different things, I love it when it’s shiny and new, along with rustic and used. It’s the contrast between the design, engineering, and craftsmanship, and the history. Imagine how there might be a spot in the floor, or a warned spot on something, or somewhere particular. That’s where someone repeatedly stood grabbed something, over and over. So many times that they was able to wear away stone, or an material that is way harder than the squishy material that we are made of. The light scuffs and marks show that something was used, and loved. One thing is, I knew that the pond was big, but wow. It’s huge. I don’t know what level you are trying to get the pond to, but. If you get somebody to inspect and protect it from further damage (rebar rusting, swelling, and adding cracks later. Then, get the surface cleaned and patched back smooth/ish. Then you could get an sealant and spread it over all the surfaces, to keep the pond water proofed. I would try to keep the original design language, if not restore, certain projects. According to the situation. Some would be restored as they was built, and others would be done with modern materials, while others would be modified slightly to improve the final product. Don’t forget, that is your Chateau. You need to leave your mark on it, where future generations will be able to see your layer, along with previous generations. People act like it’s easy doing what you all are doing. You have your hands full. One more time, so beautiful. Last thing is. That window tax extremely hurt many Chateaus.
I forgot, great production also.
I think I’d leave the fountain as is and use it for an outdoor fire pit entertaining area. “Tour the Château at night” wine, cheese and fruit tasting events. Could be a great opportunity for those tour groups from the states and canada that visit Paris. Say 75-100 euro a head prepaid into a trip package.
Y'all! This is so good!!! Lovely content and exceptional editing!!
Wow that box was amazing !!! The lake and thr driveway just magical ! Love your videos ! Can't wait to see what you do with your office space and the ceiling ❤️❤️
It's an old version of a space heater for a ladies boudoir. You could get the windows fixed and use them in various rooms around the chateau. You could use a scythe to cut the long grass or borrow some goats.
Vous avez trouvé le tabernacle de la chapelle. Pour ne pas qu'ils soient détruits pendant la guerre ils étaient enlevés et cachés. Ce que vous avez aussi trouvé c'est un ancien petit poêle à bois. Il y a beaucoup de tutoriels pour les réparer sur KZhead !
I agree with others that you have a tabernacle used when homes had private chapels. I have a collection of five French ones. Please don't throw anything away at this time. The piece you wanted to throw away is part of a room screen. It is valuable. I think I saw other parts of it in the corner. Some of these pieces could be sold to raise funds if you absolutely don't want them. I suggest keeping them until you thoroughly understand them. You are young and with age and experience you will treasure some of those items. Especially the paintings. Really enjoy your vlog.
Love the video. Can’t wait to see what you do with the fountain. It would be fun to walk the path around the lake.
Thank you! We hope to make the lake more enjoyable and accessible to guests in the future! We love being in the forest 😊
I also love the Chateau. Thank for letting me part of it as a patron James