Castle Impossible - General Discussion

[Soapy Goddess]

Castle Impossible

DIY/Home Improvement

HGTV

Started last week

A couple moved to France to renovate an old castle that the wife inherited from her grandfather. They are living on the acreage in an outer building while they try to bring the castle back to its original glory.

[Soapy Goddess]

Forgot to mention that this show airs on Tuesday night. Last Tuesday (5/6) was the second episode. I believe it also streams on Max.

 

[meep.meep]

Can't help comparing this to Escape to the Chateau ...and I wonder where all the money is coming from for the renovations.  But they are doing good.  Grandma seemed like a bit of a downer.

[chessiegal]

14 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

wonder where all the money is coming from for the renovations. 

From pictures they show it looks like they are already getting income from using it as a wedding venue.

[Soapy Goddess]

Is it just me or does anyone else think the husband resembles Josh Groban? 

[Arynm]

On the last episode she said they had 89 weddings last year. That must make a ton of money. I am sure the Chateau costs a ton of money as well so I bet there is not much left over.  I was disappointed they didn't step foot in the Chateau this week, it was all the Hunters Lodge. They did a good job on it so I guess I can live with it. The Grandma was a little harsh but she turned around at the end.

[Grizzly]

Anyone else bugged by the angle of the bathtub?

[TazDevil]

29 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Anyone else bugged by the angle of the bathtub?

I kept trying to see where it drained

[Chit Chat]

On 5/11/2025 at 12:23 PM, chessiegal said:

From pictures they show it looks like they are already getting income from using it as a wedding venue.

They built upon her grandfather's existing wedding venue business.   They have a YouTube channel, so you can catch up on a lot of stuff from the past 2 years on there.   

TV shows & movies have used the castle, or rooms of it, to shoot scenes for several years too, so this helps with their income.  They have reused many building materials they've found on the property.  They're very resourceful on many items!  They do so much of the work themselves, and even when a contractor is involved, they'll help with the work in order to save on costs.  

They're a lot of fun to watch.  Their dog and cat make a lot of appearances on their YouTube channel.  :)

Their YouTube channel is: The Beau Chateau

Edited May 14 by Chit Chat
add info

[Pine]

I wasn't sure about watching this,  although Chateau DYI is one of my favourites.  It's the name the TV channel gave it that bugs me.   Chateau Impossible,  not Castle Impossible.  

[alexa]

I really like this show, and think they are doing a great job of enjoying the space and being realistic about the renovations they can complete.

[Chit Chat]

19 minutes ago, Pine said:

Chateau Impossible,  not Castle Impossible.  

Maybe the word 'castle' grabs more attention for new viewers than the word 'chateau.'  Castle sounds grander than chateau! I don't know which word is technically correct, but going by different definitions, it fits the description of being either a castle or a chateau.  Either way, I've been watching their show on YouTube and have been enjoying watching them for a while now.  

[Soapy Goddess]

6 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

I don't know which word is technically correct, but going by different definitions, it fits the description of being either a castle or a chateau. 

I don't know either, but I'll guess that a castle has a moat and a chateau doesn't?

[Chit Chat]

Here's a link to one explanation:  Castle vs. Chateau

Here's another:  Castle vs. Chateau

From the info this couple have posted on their YouTube channel, they said it used to be a medieval fortress and after it collapsed, the chateau/castle was built on the remains.  Royalty has lived there.  Also, it was occupied during a war and many original items of the house were taken. 

They tell the story of the "witch" who lived there and the supposed treasure that's buried at the chateau.  They talk about that in a Halloween episode.  I hope they will continue to find ways to fund this project.  Many of their renovation plans have to be approved by local authorities, and from what they've said, that hasn't been easy either. 

The story of the chateau:  Daphne's story

[Pine]

The owners call it a Chateau,  it is in France.  JMHO of course.   Escape to the Chateau is also a moated property.   It has to be a PR move by HGTV.  

[Chit Chat]

I think that Ian and Daphne are such a fun couple to watch during these renovations.  They seem to work really well together.  They've done some backbreaking work in order to bring the chateau back to life (youth is an advantage for this!!)  The huge garden (to one side of the chateau) took a tremendous amount or work in uncovering the outlines and then starting to plant trees.  They have big plans for the chateau, but money & getting some things approved is the big issue.  Maybe they'll find that rumored hidden treasure!

I loved the secret passageway redo that Ian surprised Daphne with.  He did a great job with that. 

Daphne mentioned in her videos how much she liked having weddings there because they get free cake & champagne!  I would be happy with that!

[Kathy]

The husband reminds me of Keanu Reeves.

[pezgirl7]

So far I’ve loved what they’ve done with the renovations. I think the property itself is prettier than the one in Escape to the Chateau, and I like their personal style a lot more. I wonder if they’re really designing everything themselves or getting help from a designer. If they’re doing it themselves, they both have a wonderful sense of style. The last episode I watched was the office and living room renovation, and I loved the ceiling in the office. 

With his facial hair, I feel like Ian could cosplay as a musketeer and look right at home. 😁

[Chit Chat]

On 5/30/2025 at 4:52 AM, pezgirl7 said:

I wonder if they’re really designing everything themselves or getting help from a designer. 

Watching their YouTube channel, it looks like they're doing a lot of the decorating themselves.  They're able to pull things out of storage that they can use.  I think they go to antique stores or shows (I think I'm remembering that correctly!)

When replacing the curtains in the downstairs area where they host weddings & such, they had a lady who specializes in that to show her samples, etc. and to order from.   They've said that whenever there's something they can't do, they bring in someone to make sure it's done correctly.  Daphne & Ian do a lot of the heavy lifting though in order to save costs, and they're learning as much as they can from the pros.  

[surfgirl]

There are still many old world artisans in France who carry on traditional crafts like weaving period appropriate drapery for chateaux. I saw footage online of a place that has a vast warehouse with samples of fabric they've done for great manor homes, castles, and chateaux going back to like the 1600s or something like that. And there is an amazing passementerie company in France that specializes is tassels- for door keys, chandeliers, upholstery, etc. Theyd have to use these sorts of artisamfor some projects to keep things correct to the time period of the place.

What I question is how every project seems to cost $20k. The redo of the Hunters Lodge and most everything else looks like it would be a lot more than that.

Other than that, I'm enjoying this show.

Edited Tuesday at 08:56 PM by surfgirl

[Chit Chat]

17 hours ago, surfgirl said:

Theyd have to use these sorts of artisamfor some projects to keep things correct to the time period of the place.

From their YouTube channel, they've mentioned that the chateau underwent several restorations over the many years of its existence, so there are varying styles throughout!  I think they try to keep things in line with that but also try to be a little more modern where they need to be.  They've been able to repurpose some tiles and wood that are in the hangar.  It's fun to watch them go "shopping" in their own buildings!

18 hours ago, surfgirl said:

The redo of the Hunters Lodge and most everything else looks like it would be a lot more than that.

I can't remember if they ended up saying how much those renovations ended up costing, but I do remember them doing a lot of the demo & prep, which saved them a lot of money with the contractor.  Their kitchen cabinet contractor fell through last minute, so they had to get someone else.  I'd imagine that the kitchen remodel might've blown the budget, but they did repurpose some things in there, so maybe it worked out okay!