‘Castle Impossible’ Couple Opens Up About the ‘Crazy Surprises’ That Come With Renovating a French Chateau [Interview]
Living in a chateau on the outskirts of Paris sounds like a fairytale. But Daphne and Ian Fig of HGTV’s Castle Impossible are more likely to be DIYing a bathroom renovation than twirling through a ballroom.
Since 2020, the couple have been the proud owners of the historic Chateau de Lesigny, a sprawling 130-acre estate dominated by a 500-year chateau. Daphne inherited the chateau from her late grandfather, and she and her husband have embarked on a massive and much-needed renovation project. That includes updating both the chateau itself – which functions as a wedding venue – as well as the various outbuildings.
Daphne and Ian Fig of ‘Castle Impossible’ had a ‘crash course’ in historic renovations
In season 2, Daphne and Ian are continuing their efforts to bring the chateau into the 21st century while also maintaining its original romantic charm. With some major projects under their belt (including updating the hunters lodge that they call home), they feel they’ve finally found their footing.
“We started with smaller projects. I feel like we have had a continuous crash course and now nothing’s scaring us nearly as much,” Ian told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “There’s still crazy surprises, but we feel much more prepared than we did two years ago.”
Of course, restoring a large and historic building comes with special challenges, from shoring up a crumbling bell tower to turning neglected stables into usable work space. It helps that they have a community of other chateau owners who they can reach out to with questions.
“We definitely have connections and we definitely have been reaching out to each other. There’s a lot of, ‘Hey, my dungeon is flooding,’” Daphne said.
‘Escape to the Chateau’ stars offered valuable advice
On this season of Castle Impossible, Daphne and Ian finally connect in-person with Dick and Angel Strawbridge of Escape to the Chateau, a U.K. reality series following another ambitious chateau renovation.
“Dick and Angel, they’re pros at chateaus,” Ian said with laugh. “They gave us so many tips and things to consider for the business side of how to keep the lights on in a chateau and what materials to use.”
“It was really nice to have them come visit because we’ve only spoken to them over the phone or over video,” he added. “And then this year was the first time they got to actually walk through the chateau.”
The chateau renovation is a multi-generational affair. Daphne is determined to complete her beloved grandfather’s dream of fixing up the property. But her and Ian’s design choices must also pass muster with Daphne’s discerning grandmother. Fortunately, she was charmed by the pair’s gut renovation of the gatehouse, which transformed the derelict and “gross” structure into a livable space for Granny. (Ian’s French lessons are still a work in progress, however. “I am much better than just a year ago, but Granny is still correcting me,” he shared.)
And soon, there will be a new generation living at the Chateau. Daphne and Ian are expecting their first child, which puts new pressure on making sure the renovations are up to snuff.
“It’s definitely encouraging us to do a good job,” Daphne said.
“Now that we know someone’s going to be picking up this baton someday, it’s like, ‘Well, let’s make sure we do a really good job,’” Ian added.
‘Castle Impossible’ couple tease ‘more mysteries’ of the chateau
Meanwhile, the chateau continues to give up its secrets – and tease new mysteries.
“We’ve been learning more about various things on the domain and specifically with the dove tower,” Ian said. “We did investigate this fabled tunnel that supposedly goes from the medieval church in town to the dove tower. And we did find some very interesting stuff that I think we’ll just have to let people watch the episode to see what they see. But we’ve also been looking into the maps of the chateau; we found a few maps from the 1700s and using those we’ve also just basically opened up more mysteries about the chateau and what it used to be.”
Returning the chateau to its original state is top of mind for the couple. They are committed to using original materials and methods when making updates.
“With these old buildings, these monuments, they’ve been standing for so many hundreds of years,” Daphne said. “And what I feel like Ian and I have learned over these years of renovating is that the more you use those old materials and the traditional methods, the longer you’ll be able to do renovations that last and withstand time.”
As they chip away at the chateau project (sometimes literally, as when they had to remove a layer of concrete from the exterior of the gatehouse), is there a light at the end of the tunnel? For now, their main aim is make lasting updates that preserve the chateau for future generations.
“We’ve definitely had a few conversations where we’re like, ‘So is there an end to this and what is our end goal?’” Daphne said. “And the conversation mostly has been, how do we make sure that the renovations we do are renovations that we don’t have to come back to within a lifetime?”
New Episodes of Castle Impossible Season 2 air tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV and stream the next day on HBO Max.
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