An Australian couple has purchased a decaying French Chateau and are slowly breathing life back into the distressed, yet still grand, building. Karina and Craig Waters bought the Chateau de Gudanes, located in southern France, in 2013. It had been languishing on the market in a bad state of disrepair for more than four years. Back in the day, Voltaire and members of the French nobility used to party at the chateau. The Waters' plan is to open the chateau to the public, in the hope that by 2016, restoration will have come along enough for them to be able to offer accommodation, a gift shop and facilities for weddings, music festivals, local fetes, workshops, conferences seminars and courses. Check out these amazing images of the project so far:
Website: chateaudegudanes
The Chateau de Gudanes was built in the mid 1700's and is located in the village of Chateau-Verdun.
The previous owners had purchased the chateau in the 1990's with the hope of converting it into luxury apartments. Their permit was denied and the Chateau had been abandoned.
Now the Waters' have taken on the project of restoring the massive, 94 room property.
Designed by Parisian architect Anges-Jacques Gabriel, the chateau once belonged to the Marquis Louis Gaspard de Sales. Following the French Revolution it was purchased by a local family.
The Waters family have employed a building team of six to help restore the chateau to its former glory.
As you can see, there's a lot of work to be done.
The chateau has been left to rot over the years.
Despite the decay, the fine architecture that makes the chateau such a treasure is still visible.
Almost every day the Waters' discover something new in the massive home.
They recycle and upcycle as much as they can whilst doing the renovations.
Recently, the builders found a three-meter deep hole.
They are now excavating to see where it leads.
What they've uncovered so far is incredible.
This is only the beginning.
The project may take many years, but once finished, it's going to look amazing!
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