Wonderfully expressed! Thank you for following our journey.

I watch with interest and humor as you fix history in your magifacient home.I send you energy and insite on your journey.

@pp

Thanks Belinda. Yes, our architect is amazing. We scarcely understood the enormity of the decision we were making when we chose him but his experience and judgement has transformed our journey.

It's a real journey of discovery and detective work. The furnishings give some wonderful insights into 18th century life. Thank you for following our adventure!

@ I must say my eyes lit up when I saw the strawberry coloured toile!!

Thank you - as always such a thoughtful message. Those opening photos remind us of how far we have come. And, yes, the billiard table is a real treasure. We can't wait to turn our minds to how we might restore her and return her home!

Thank you for your message. We feel the burden of responsibility of caring for something so precious. We hope that future generations will be grateful for the decisions that we have made to protect and restore something of rare beauty.

Should have done a KZfaq channel and saved it. 😂😂😂 I'm just joking of course,

That's is so sad, sorry for your loss.

Thank you for your message. We feel the weight of responsibility for protecting and restoring her every day. We could not do it without our amazing architect.

Thanks for your message - we're thrilled you enjoyed the tour!

Thank you for your message and for following our journey.

His guidance has transformed our experience. He has taught us so much and guided us to making some decisions that we hope future generations will treasure and be grateful for. Thank you for your comment!

For 40 years I have owned two contiguous 104 year old buildings and I have learned to keep ALL documents as the city of Montreal periodically asks that I provide evidence, in the form of paperwork that they no longer have, as city hall was destroyed by fire in 1932. Keep every little piece of paper no matter how innocuous it is.

Exactly! We feel fortunate that he is guiding us on this wonderful adventure.

Welcome! Thank you following our journey!

Thanks for your message. Yes, our architect is amazing. He has transformed our journey with his skill and expertise.

Thank you for your wonderful message!

Indeed! Some treasures are a little more obvious than others but therein lies the joy of discovery and explanation. Thank you for your message.

Merci pour votre message!

Thank you! We feel very fortunate that we were able to secure his services.

Thank you for your message. It's been wonderful for us to learn throughout our journey from people with such incredible experience. Although we always feel that we are working with real urgency, it's been more important to stop, take the time to understand and to listen carefully to the secrets that Chateau de Purnon is gently whispering to us.

Thank you for your wonderful message. We are so grateful for the expertise and experience of our amazing architect!

Spot on! Our architect has transformed our journey with his amazing knowledge and expertise. Thanks for following our adventure!

Merci pour ton message. Petit à petit, nous remettons les pièces ensemble. Nous espérons faire le nid à l'image de l'oiseau! C'est un voyage fascinant.

Wonderful that you enjoyed it so much! We are indeed fortunate to have Frederic Didier guiding us on our adventure. Thank you for your message.

We're thrilled that you enjoyed it!

Thanks Belinda - a wonderful message! Take you time and watch it often! For us here at Purnon taking our time has enriched our journey immeasurably. We are constantly driven by a sense of urgency to save and restore as much as we can as quickly as possible but, as our architect keeps reminding us, we are reawakening an old lady and we must awaken her slowly!

We are so thankful to have him guiding us on our journey. Thank you for your message!

Yes, we are so grateful to have his skill and expertise to guide us on this journey!

Merci beaucoup pour votre message!

You're welcome! Thank you for following our adventure!

We're thrilled you enjoyed it! Thanks for following our journey.

Thank you! We're thrilled that we can share our incredible journey with so many interested people from around the globe!

Thank you for following our adventure - we're thrilled you enjoyed the tour with our extraordinary architect!

Thank you for your message and for following our journey!

Step by step she is being reawakened - thank you!

Terrific! We're thrilled it's set you off on discoveries of your own!

Thank you for your message. We're thrilled you enjoyed the tour. We are fortunate to have him guiding us on this amazing journey.

Alas, the trunks were empty! But beautifully crafted reminders of the elegance of an age now passed. Thank you for following our journey.

Thank you for your message and for following our adventure!

Thank you for following our journey!

Thank you for your message. We're thrilled that you are getting so much pleasure from our channel. Enjoy!

Thanks for following our adventure. We are looking forward to sharing further progress!

Thank you for following our journey!

Thank you for your warm message and we're thrilled that you are enjoying our journey!

@it’s been a real pleasure.

There is so much happening at the chateau at the moment and we want to share as much as we can!

Oui, exactement! Merci pour votre message.

Oui, exactement! Merci pour votre message.

Thrilled you enjoyed it!

Merci encore un merveilleux message. Vous avez parfaitement saisi l'esprit de notre restauration. Nous sommes très reconnaissants d’avoir le soutien et l’expertise de notre extraordinaire architecte et artisans.

Thanks Anne - we're glad you've found us. There are many fabulous chateau owners doing wonderful things on KZfaq. For us the focus is all about heritage preservation and restoration. We are eager to document a large restoration journey using traditional crafts and techniques and uncovering the social and architectural history of the chateau.

Thanks for your message. Our architect is amazing. His expertise has immeasurably enriched our journey.

In a way we were lucky that the Chateau was neglected for so long. Often these treasures would have been cleared out long ago (for example, if the roof had been restored decades ago). And you're quite right - we are so thankful that we engaged the incredible Monsieur Frederic Didier to guide us on this project. We have learnt so much from his experience and expertise. Thanks for you message!

Thank you for following our journey - hopefully we can carefully restore her and return her home!

Sounds like a wonderful privilege to experience such an extraordinary place in such an exclusive way in the company of such a knowledgable person. Exactly how we feel at Purnon! Thank you for following our adventure!

@ So grateful to have stumbled on your site! Preservation, evocation, or full restoration is serious business, and you have great instincts for proceeding carefully and methodically.

Thanks for your message and questions. The first step in our restoration journey is to complete a 'diagnostic study' with our architect. This document considers all the heritage elements and the current state of the section of the estate that we are focussing on. These studies can be quite lengthy but they allow us to synthesise all of the historic information available (such as the chateau archives), as well as the observations of experts etc. This document serves as the blueprint to then plan the preservation and restoration works with our team of skilled artisans. We're not aiming for a museum in the traditional sense as we need a home that we can live in (with modern electrical wiring, plumbing, heating, bathrooms etc) but we want to reach that objective with the utmost respect for heritage. By heritage we mean the original 18th century construction and decoration of the chateau but also respecting and understanding the waves of modifications that have occurred over the chateau's life. This journey is complex and fun - by researching and investigating we come to understand changing life-styles and tastes. And we get to make choices based on what we uncover. There is no simple answer to several of your queries but rather it comes down to judgment and we are supported by people with incredible skill and experience along the way. We hope that answers some of your questions - thank you for following our journey!

Thank you - we are so fortunate to be able to draw on the skill and expertise of such wonderful people.

We're thrilled that you've discovered us! Enjoy - thank you for following our journey!

Indeed. We can't wait to carefully restore and return her home!

Thank you! Yes, the table is wonderful - a real piece of chateau history.

Thank you for your message. Yes, it was great advice to save it all and now we can go through it carefully with the archives and inventories and the benefit of the extraordinary experience of our architect.

Bedankt voor je bericht. We zijn blij dat je geniet van ons avontuur!

Thank you for your message. We are so thrilled to have Monsieur Didier's expertise and skill to guide us on our journey.

Good luck with your project. It sounds wonderful. You'll enjoy our videos documenting the restoration of the chateau roof and several other roofs around the estate. The foundations of the chateau are fabulous. We do however have an issue with the large Communs ouest (western outbuilding). We will have to undertake a careful study to understand the origins of the structural problem before we can start her restoration. That project is some way off as we progress various other projects already underway. One project at a time!

We're thrilled you're following our adventure!

Nous sommes heureux que vous l'ayez trouvé intéressant et instructif. Merci pour votre message!

Indeed - thank you for following our adventure!

He's incredible - we learn new things every time he picks something up!

Thank you for following our adventure!

Chateau de Purnon is an elegant treasure. We're thrilled you're enjoying her refined beauty.

my father was part of a group of artisans and carpenters and they took an old house and there was a competition on who would fix what room. The results were great , and it was done on their dime. Did you ever think about starting a volunteer program where artisans with the right credentials can come and either fix the room they stay in or provide other rooms for different artisans. someone who can do the china. linens, fix the rugs . there are tons of people who would love to help I am sure. . Everyone comes on their dime, you guys either provide food and places to shower and use facilities or get locals to open their homes or refer them to local hotels, hostels. ect. if you don't want them on your property and just provide food during the day. even hire someone with experience in dealing with volunteers to volunteer. lol the largest generation in history has money and are just retiring. If you can stomach the boomers they have money and time.

Thanks for your message. That sounds like a wonderful project that your father was involved in. Difficult to replicate here. All of the interiors of the chateau are fully heritage listed. Therefore, any work must be done under the supervision of our heritage architect. It's not really a project for people to release their artistic urges or for people staying a few days or weeks and then moving on. We will steadily advance the restoration one element at a time working with out team of artisans and doing work ourselves. Thanks for following our adventure!

Thank you - he's amazing!

We are incredibly grateful to be guided by his expertise and experience. Thank you for following our journey!

Thank you for your message. Welcome! We're thrilled you've found our channel. We hope you have the opportunity to catch up on our amazing journey so far.

Merci beaucoup pour votre message!

Thank you for sharing our adventure!

Indeed - in a way we feel that Chateau de Purnon is whispering to us through the centuries. If we listen closely we can hear her many messages! Thank you for following our journey.

Thank you for sharing your journey! Your dedication and hard work show through with each episode.

Thanks for your comment and interest. Yes, it stopped chimney drafts.

We may be be a tad biased but we would welcome your support! Regardless, we are thrilled that you're enjoying our KZfaq videos.

Indeed. In a way, it is fortunate that the Chateau was never properly restored. An earlier restoration would have probably resulted in the loss of many of these items when the attic was cleared. Thanks for following our journey!

Thank you for following our journey!

Thrilled you're coming for les Journees du patrimoine - the perfect time to see the chateau. Make sure you come and find us amidst the activity of the weekend. We look forward to meeting you. Thank you for following our journey!

Thank you for your message. Thrilled that you're coming for Les Journees du patrimoine. Amidst the activity of the weekend, make sure you find us to say hello - we look forward to meeting you!

@ ooh yes I will. I’m bringing 8 others too. They’ve listened to me waxing lyrical about Purnon and wanted to join in.

We hope the reality matches the sales pitch!!

Thank you! A wonderful message.

Thanks for following our journey!

Merci beaucoup pour votre message!

Merci beaucoup pour votre message!

Merci pour votre message. Le respect du patrimoine est au cœur de notre projet de sauvegarde du magnifique Château de Purnon.

C'est à nous de vous remercier de prendre en charge ce joyau et de mettre toutes vos forces dans cette "renaissance" du château! Merci aussi de nous montrer tout le travail de ces artisans talentueux qui interviennent sur le bâtiment.

Thanks for following our journey!

Thank you! We have the support an expertise of some amazing people.

Thanks for following our journey!

Thanks for your message. Our architect is amazing - we learn so much from him!

Thank you for your message and for following our journey - we're thrilled that you're enjoying our adventure.

Thank you! Thrilled you enjoyed the video.

Thank you. We're thrilled you enjoyed it.

Thrilled you're following our adventure!

Thank you! Good for our morale!

Thank you for following our journey! We have no paintings that reveal the interiors of the chateau. We have found several 19th century postcards and photographs but in each case only revealing details from the exterior of the chateau. We are fortunate however to have the extraordinary skills of Monsieur Didier as well as a detailed inventory of the original furnishings of the chateau organised room by room. This document has been vital in shaping our understanding of how each room was originally conceived and then decorated.

@ Of that I have no doubt! How fortunate to be able to have his knowledge behind your endeavours. It's understandable that the images you find are of the exterior only (and certainly that's wonderful, too!), still, it'd be so fun to find something of the interior. But, I know those are really rare. I do look forward to your videos each week!

We're thrilled you're enjoying our adventure!

Thank you. We're glad you enjoyed it.

Indeed! We can't wait to restore it!

We're thrilled that you're following our journey! Enjoy!

Thank you for your message - as we proceed to restore the interiors we will be able to make some wonderful decisions about which items can be restored and perhaps returned to their original places in the chateau.

Thank you - thrilled you enjoyed it!

Indeed. Different rules, different cue sticks, a very different game. We look forward to restoring the table and returning it to the room designed specifically for it! Thank you for following our journey.

Yes - he's amazing. our architect's expertise has transformed our journey!

Thanks for your message - it's such an amazing discovery. We are carefully considering our plan for its restoration

You're welcome!

We're thrilled you enjoyed it!