Dick and Angel Strawbridge show off their 45-room French chateau
Two TV reality stars who left behind their life in East London to take on a mind-bogglingly ambitious renovation project in the Loire Valley are putting the final touches to the once-derelict chateau they snapped up for £280,000.Dick and Angel Strawbridge bought the crumbling, 45-bedroom property two-and-a-half-years ago, and have been documenting their journey in the Channel 4 show Escape To The Chateau, which returned for a fourth series on Sunday.Fans previously saw Angel discover a stash of rolls of antique wallpaper at Château-de-la-Motte Husson, which she used to decorate the honeymooon suite.Now, with a busy summer of bookings fast approaching at the venue, Dick, 58, and his wife, 47, had resolved to recreate the effect in a winding staircase that was once used by servants - a design trick Angel insisted would 'save them money'.The process involved printing replica wallpaper patterns onto diamond-shaped pieces of fabric, which Angel then attached to the walls she'd covered with sponge to create a cushioned effect using a staple gun.While Angel was forced to admit her 'frugal' design trick turned out to be a 'really big job', she said she was thrilled with her 'fabulous padded cell' when they finished.The Strawbridges are busier than ever, with seven weddings and 14 food lovers' weekends to prepare for, and transforming the staircase that was once used by the chateau's servants - and will now be the main route to the honeymoon suite for newlyweds - was at the top of Angel's to-do list.The property has a moat, a walled garden, a private forest and seven outbuildings that the couple have been converting.'I don't want to do anything particularly fancy.But I've had an idea that could save us money,' she told her wary husband.'I'm going to recreate what is in the honeymoon suite and have it printed on to material.' Presenter Dick, 58, a retired lieutenant colonel, joked about his wife, 47-year-old Angel's unusual idea: 'You said it was going to be cheap, and then you started going on about bespoke printed material.It's going to be a padded room.' Reconsidering the tricky task ahead Angel added: 'I thought this was going to be an easy job.But it's not.' Angel enlisted Dick's help to hang the material after the crumbling walls of the estate - which is on 12 acres - had first been covered with plasterboard.The pair then set about the painstaking task of making sure the patterns matched, as Angel went used a staple gun to secure it to the walls she had padded with sponge.To create the cushioned effect the designer pinned brass tacks at each diagonal intersection between the contrasting fabrics.Despite a brief panic when Angel realised there was not enough material to cover the 33sq m of wall required, she managed to pull together enough leftover pieces from the original stash of wallpaper to make it work.She was thrilled with the finished project.'I feel overjoyed every time I walk through those doors because this was a really big job,' she said.'It
Watch video Dick and Angel Strawbridge show off their 45-room French chateau online without registration, duration hours minute second in high quality. This video was added by user Dongo NEWS 20 March 2018, don't forget to share it with your friends and acquaintances, it has been viewed on our site 211,69 once and liked it 88 people.