Installment #47 in Monolisticle's Ongoing Campaign Against the "Internet of Endless Listicles."
Home renovation shows tend to follow a fairly predictable model: a charming-as-all-get-out married couple with renovation expertise take on a challenging home renovation project. But at least Escape to the Chateau diverges in how that familiar model is served up.
First of all, the renovations in question take place in France. And as a certified francophile, you had me at "France."
Imagine that Joanna Gaines of the home renovation show Fixer Upper is a red-haired, vintage-adoring designer from Great Britain named Angel. And her hubby Chip Gaines is a retired British Army colonel/engineer with a Dragoon-worthy ‘stache named Dick. Now imagine that the residence being renovated isn’t another couple’s house. It’s their own. And that “house” is no less than a legit chateau. Un grand chateau, actually. It's truly and formidably grand, as in, 40-rooms grand.
When you find out how little they paid for this gorgeous chateau, with its 14 acres and a moat (yes, a moat), you will be jealous as all-get-out. That is, until you see how much work they have to put into it. It’s far easier to be a spectator in this home renovation "adventure."
She (Angel) is every bit the devoted and talented trend-spotter, maker, and "design magician" that Joanna is. And he (Dick) is every bit the character, workhorse, and clever problem-solver that Chip is.
As you watch this entertaining couple transform a dilapidated money-trap through clever and thoughtful design (via Angel), inventive engineering (via Dick), and eau de vie-sized barrels of sweat equity (via both), every episode is as joyful to watch as it is painful.
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