Australian family share incredible restoration photos of their French chateau
An Australian family who took on the once in a lifetime task of restoring an old Château in the south of France have delighted their followers online, sharing images of their progress.
Chateau de Gudanes, which has been described as "heavenly" by some social media users, was built in the mid 1700s and is located in the small village of Chateau-Verdun.
The Waters family, from from Perth in Western Australia, began restorations in November 2013 to the historic monument which was designed by Parisian architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel.
The website states: "In 2013, it was purchased by an Australian family who have taken on the responsibility to awaken this sleeping beauty after years of neglect."
Earlier on in the project the website had stated their objective "is to tread lightly and gently."
"She will be renovated but her rawness, wear and history will not be erased, but instead integrated."
Ms Waters has reportedly admitted the project is challenging, telling the Daily Mail: "Buying an almost ruined Château which was classified as a level one historical monument in a country where we didn't even speak the language was always going to be challenging."
"As the restoration journey progresses it becomes clearer to us each day that we need to learn to slowly adapt ourselves to the Château, rather than forcibly demand her to adapt to us."
"When we put in the offer, we had in fact only seen four of the 94 rooms (most were inaccessible because there were no ceilings or floors). Trees were growing inside and on the roof!'."
In recent days a number of pictures have been posted to the Château de Gudanes' Instagram page.
One picture shared in the last couple of days states: "Creating a 17th Century inspired kitchen in the medieval part of the Château."
One of their followers wrote: "Love love love your chateau and the work you guys do."
Some people have been following their journey from the beginning.
"I am so happy i happened to come across you post in the very beginning n watched the transformation piece by piece. My family all know abt the chateau' as i have been showing pics of the steps you have taken. I have a pic you took in the beginning of it at the gates and it will be my forever favorite!! (sic)"
Just two days ago the Instagram account shows a dog on piece of wood, with the caption: "Winston watching over work going on. Wood from a fallen tree in the Château parc has been milled for the kitchen bench top."
The Chateau will open its doors for people to experience as it is brought back to life for Summer 2017 workshops.
More details can be found on the Château de Gudanes's website.
