All language subtitles for renovation.nation.2022.s02e17.1080p.web.h264-cbfm[EZTVx.to]_[English] (SUBRIP)

Here in the UK,

we do love a period property.

I never dreamt I would own a castle.

For me, it looks like a typical
doll's house.

From countryside houses...

It was everything you could
dream of.

It was a palace.

..to timeless terraces.

I turned up and I thought,
"Whoa, this is pretty cute."

But beneath the grand facades...

Hopefully, the house won't fall
down. We'll see, won't we?

..these historical homes
are falling to bits.

Everyone told us to tear
this building down.

All over the country,
an army of renovators

are snapping them up
at knock-down prices...

I think we should leave
it like this. It looks old-timely.

..then facing challenges
of epic proportions.

I said all along to get a new build.

This series, we meet
the brave new renovators...

We were looking for
a bungalow with a shed.

..and return to our familiar band
of determined dreamers.

Who else has got a chapel
in their house?

..all risking everything.

I thought I had a good idea
of what was needed.

I was quite wrong.

People think renovation
is lovely, don't they?

Oh, God. I'm trembling.

..to create the forever home
of their dreams...

Oh, my God! It's so nice!

..brick by brick...

Whoa! This is amazing.

..room by room.

I still have my "pinch me" moment.

We're nowhere near finished,
but it feels like a house now.

We are a renovation nation.

Today...

It's something that we've been
looking forward to for a long time.

..history is uncovered...

This is our fun discovery.

..and fears faced...

That was terrifying!

..at a farmhouse in Warwickshire.

Dun, du-du-dun-du-dun!

OK, got him!

Unusual objects are repurposed...

This is security chain, found
on most car parking spaces.

..in a Regency villa in Cornwall.

This is very exciting.

And in Kent...

God, it's really heavy.

..there's money to be made...

I'd use the money that we
could sell these items

and pay for the renovation.

..for a Victorian rectory.

High five.

Standing proud in the
Warwickshire countryside,

Dunsmore Hall has been here
since the 1770s.

From the original
two-storey farmhouse

to the sprawling mansion it became,

Dunsmore retains its commanding
presence in the landscape.

But decades of neglect

left the building at risk
of dereliction

until three years ago,

when Andrew and Mandy
decided to take it on

and create their ideal home.

Earlier this week, we saw Andrew
and Mandy turn their attention

to saving the two stable blocks
from collapse,

transforming one of the two
derelict buildings

into a photographic studio
and office.

That staying on the wall? Ish.

Today, their mission
to save the stables continues,

and their focus has turned
to the second of the two buildings,

which they call "the big stables"

with its crumbling decorative cupola,

something they had planned
to leave well alone

until work on the house was finished.

These are our big stables

that we're currently
having roof work on and

work done on the cupola.

That sounds very odd, doesn't it?

These are our BIG stables...

..as opposed to the little stables
over that side.

Cupolas first appeared in Asia
around the eighth century,

as a way to add light and ventilation
to buildings,

perfect for stables filled
with working horses

to keep them and their hay dry.

Last year we looked at it
and thought,

it looks like it's moving
and it's getting worse.

We don't really want
to convert it to anything.

We just want to preserve it

because we think
they were built around 1830,1840.

But the crowning glory is
in dire need of repair.

On the outside, it's very rotten

so that there's a lot of bits on
the bottom that need replacement

and then it'll all need
a good fill-in and paint.

These stables are providing
much-needed storage for materials,

and just as Andrew and Mandy
have found in the main house,

Dunsmore Hall is the gift
that keeps on giving.

So, this is our

fun discovery.

Nothing that we,
we'd expected to find at all.

This, we assume,

is the weather vane that would
have been on top of the cupola.

It was a very exciting find.

Ever-curious Andrew
has even investigated

how it would be fixed
inside the cupola.

Since we've had the scaffolding,
I've been around the top of it

and there is a hole in the top
and I've been inside it,

and there are loops inside
to obviously support a weather vane.

So, if this piece of Dunsmore Hall's
history can be restored,

it can be reinstated where
it was some 200 years ago.

Early weather vanes would
have been made of copper,

but from Georgian times,

hardy wrought iron became
the material of choice.

By the mid-19th century,

the designs
were ornate and eye-catching,

just like this one.

So, we've got south,

there's north,

west has lost a bit,

east has lost a bit

and as far as we can tell,
the actual vane bit at the top

which still rotates,

has, has lost something above here,

but we're not sure
exactly what the shape is.

So, part of our saving the stables,

we thought we would get
this restored as well.

Three weeks later,

the process to restore the
Victorian weather vane has begun

with the help of
traditional blacksmith, Ollie.

He's already blasted the
old paint and rust away.

His next job is to recreate
some of its broken parts.

I've traced the shape of the letters

and taken accurate measurements.

So then, when I'm reproducing
the steelwork,

it'll actually tie in and match

and everything should look
as one by the end of it.

With the repairs well underway

and the weather vane
starting to take shape,

Andrew and Mandy can look
forward to this piece of history

being back in pole position
very soon.

In Cornwall, in the cathedral city
of Truro, is Castle Lodge.

An end terrace, Grade II-listed
Regency villa with 12 rooms

built in the 1820s.

Up until a few years ago,
it was a bar and bistro,

but when the business folded,
it fell into disrepair

until it was snapped up in 2021
by Drew,

a fashion and interior designer,

and Stu, a gardener,

the perfect duo to restore
this four-bed beauty

back to its original splendour.

Because of Covid, Drew wasn't able
to view the property in person,

but he loved what he saw online
and went for it,

securing the place
with a £450,000 bid.

I wasn't surprised that Drew
hadn't seen the property.

Um, I've got total faith in him.

It was just a winner.

Great town, great city,
great place to be.

With a plan to live in the house
for part of the year

and rent it out
to visitors in high season,

Drew and Stu have big plans
to bring a touch of luxury

back to this Georgian beauty,

but it won't be easy.

When we first got the keys,

the building was in a worse
condition than we had imagined.

One of the ceilings had,
basically, come down.

It was leaking like a, like a sieve.

As if that wasn't bad enough...

Unfortunately, the building
was laced with asbestos

and all the asbestos was,
was stripped out professionally.

There were showers in the garden.

It was like CSI Truro.
The whole thing was tented up.

It was quite something.

CSI Truro.

I'd watch that, Drew!

Drew's planning to use his years of
experience in fashion and interiors

to create something
truly unique here,

but he's not flying solo.

I've got, literally,
the best team in Cornwall.

Alfie is currently creating
a sample board.

We're gonna try this
on the main walls

in one of the spaces
on the ground floor.

This is George, hiding away
in the laundry room,

just fixing her up
for the linen shelves.

12 months into the renovation,

Drew and his team have already
transformed several of the
rooms upstairs,

including the main
bedroom and bathroom.

But with three of the bedrooms
still work-in-progress

and the entire ground floor
still to do,

the team have their work cut out.

Today, it's all about the open-plan
sitting room and dining room,

which is packed
with original features.

This was, at one point,
the main cocktail bar.

One of the principal reasons
for buying the building

was the beautiful Georgian
coving and plasterwork

that runs throughout the building.

The rooms are split down the middle
by its original partitioning.

The dividing doors were found
in the cellars downstairs.

They're partially restored
at the moment.

There's a little bit of, um,
tidying to do.

With plans to bring a touch
of Hollywood glamour to this room,

Drew has already added a few
showstopping pieces.

There were no fireplaces
in the building whatsoever.

I put the design together using
elements, um, from the period

of the 1820s, both in Italy
and in this country also.

We've mixed Georgian-Aegean art

with Egyptian Revival pyramids,

which, again,
is a reference to the 1820s.

I'm going to have to take
your word for that, Drew.

Having installed the fireplaces,

that, together with
the bronze uplights

and a 19th century tapestry,

um, these three key elements

help to, sort of, orchestrate
how the rest of the room will feel.

The next job in the dining room

is to hang a centrepiece
light fitting.

Drew's already
added a new ceiling rose.

They weigh an absolute ton.
So, we had to strengthen the beams.

But now, he's going to test the
strength of those beams even more

with a decorative object, concealed
within this mysterious crate.

If you wanna come around.

Dun, du-dun, du-dun-dun!

There we go. OK. Got him.

Stop. All right, boys.

Whatever it is,
it must be very heavy.

Here they are.

The big reveal.

This is very exciting.
All the way from Cairo.

So, clearly, they've mummified
it for transport and shipping.

Urrh! Oh, fabulous. Look at this.

It's an Egyptian alabaster
ceiling bowl.

Alabaster is a fine-grained mineral,

traditionally carved and polished
for statues and ornaments,

or even light shades.

We have this amazing grain
running through

which the light will reveal

when it's hung from the ceiling.

That's one big lampshade.

It's a good job he's already
strengthened those ceiling beams.

Coming up...

I'll just take the excess off,

like that.

..Iain and Miranda get plastering.

But now, you can really see
the mould coming out.

..and have designs
on their dining room.

Not too over the top,
but not too understated.

..while Drew and Stu...

Good. That should do the job.

..upon reflection...

I'm gonna disguise it
using panels of mirror.

..turn the lights up
in their sitting and dining room.

Hit it, Callum!

In the Kent countryside,
bordering the North Downs,

lies this Victorian rectory.

Slipping into decline,

having laid empty for ten years,

it was snapped up by Sydney
entrepreneurs, Iain and Miranda,

for a relative bargain
of just over £1 million,

a price that reflected
the renovation work needed.

Two years in, and having done
much of the hard graft themselves,

their renovation is taking shape.

Their current mission,

to create family rooms
to relax and entertain in,

started earlier this week
with an attic cinema room

with a starlight ceiling.

Today, their attention is focussed

on one of the biggest
downstairs rooms,

their dining room.

Of all the rooms that we've had
inside the, the house here,

it's actually one of the best,
to be honest.

It's, um... I mean, at the moment,
it looks terrible.

Well, yeah, the wallpaper's
a bit naff, but you know,

like, from a perspective of it not
being fallen down and uninhabitable,

it was actually pretty good.

It's such a grand space.
The ceilings are really high

and then, just looks straight out
the windows...

..to the garden.
Yeah, it's really lovely. Mm.

It's a lovely aspect.

With dated decor and
crumbling windows,

Ian and Miranda plan to transform
the dining room

into a glamorous room
to entertain in.

I don't think it's meant
to come apart.

That's the, that's the point.
Right. OK.

And work starts with the removal
of an unusual piece of history,

a cast-iron Dutch oven...

So, I think if we can...
..we can lift this one up?

..a type of antique wood-burning
stove designed to heat the room.

But the surface can get very hot.

Ready? Yeah. This is real.

So, with young kids in the house,
it had to go.

Fortunately, for our
cost-conscious pair,

there's a few bob to be made
online with Dutch ovens.

Dutch oven is about £1,500.

So, we could do quite well
out of this.

So, I could use the money
that we could sell these items

and pay for the, for the renovation.

No, I like the fact that
you do all this research.

I don't really like the fact
that I'm doing all the work

while you're just sitting there
on your phone, like, just...

..researching.
Like a.. Oh, look! ..a 12-year-old.

Ready. One, two, three, four.
God, it's really heavy.

OK. Straight down.
Oh! That's not light, is it? No!

Two weeks later,

Iain and Miranda have stripped back
the dated wallpaper

and the walls have had
a fresh coat of plaster.

Miranda is keen for the expanse
of blank ceiling to be decorated

with Victorian-style
plaster mouldings.

I've been looking at different ideas

to try and think of doing something
exciting on the ceiling. Yeah.

If this was the ceiling rose,

I'd have another one that
would go around... Uh-hm.

..to frame the ceiling rose. Yeah.

The one that would come down

and around.

I'm trying to find a
sort of pattern that would...

..not be too over the top

but not too understated.

Period-style mouldings
can be expensive to buy.

So, always keen to learn a new skill,

Iain and Miranda have asked
local plasterer, Steve,

to teach them how to make
their own plaster mouldings.

Like you would do with fish.
Like, batter the fish.

Oh, that. Yeah?

I'll just take the excess off

like that.

And then, this goes on the bench.

Ah!

And then,

put a lath in, timber lath.

Then, push that down.

And then...

Ah!

You're, like, layering it up.
Layering it up.

And this is the mould shape...
That's it. ..cut out.

And then, you, sort of,
apply pressure to the bench.

This traditional method
of decorative plaster making,

which Iain and Miranda
are attempting,

first became popular
with wealthy British homeowners

in the 17th and 18th centuries.

But now, you can really see
the mould coming out.

And these little bits there, you
just go and fill those in, do you?

Yeah, like that. See?

How long a length can
you make at any one time?

Three, four metres.

I think we need to get
about 45m worth

for the ceiling.

I'm really pleased with this.

Yeah, really good.
You've done well. Really good.

There we go. Perfect.

High five.

But with 45m of moulding
still to create,

window frames to restore

and wallpaper to hang,

Iain and Miranda's dining room
has a long way to go.

In Truro, Cornwall,

Drew and Stu's mission to transform
their 200-year-old Regency villa

from a restaurant and bar

back to a stunning four-bed home,

is moving at a pace.

Drew, a fashion and interior
designer, and Stu, a gardener,

are focussing on their elegant
sitting room-dining room area,

which will eventually become
the heart of their home.

They've already installed fireplaces
and fitted a ceiling rose

to fit with the period plasterwork.

Let's shift this in the other room.

And today,

the mission is to safely hang a
showstopping alabaster light fitting

which has travelled
all the way from Egypt,

that Drew has found
a novel way to secure.

This, believe it or not,

is security chain found on
most car parking spaces.

Inventive as always, Drew.

I've sprayed this in a bronze-gold.
Hopefully,

it's strong enough to, um, support
the kilos of the alabaster bowl.

Four lengths...

..all ready for you.

While George grinds,
Callum, the electrician,

fits an LED strip
around the edge of the bowl

to further illuminate
its natural design.

Nice. Thank you.

Let's lift the alabaster.

Easy as you go, fellas.

Cairo is a long way to go to get
a replacement if you drop it.

Higher, higher, higher. Yeah.

Keep holding it till all four
are secure.

Oh, higher.

Drop it a little bit? Yeah.

You've got to keep the, um,
keep the tension.

Lift your edge up, just a touch. OK.

Yeah. Right. Now, just..
Let it go slowly.

There you go. Are we good?
Yeah.

Brilliant.

Love it. Thank you.

We are ready for illumination.

Hit it, Callum!

ALL: Whoa!

Well done, guys.

I feel the building

retains its echo.

So, when work is carried out
and if the team is right,

it will be filled with joy
when the project is complete.

With Drew spending big on fireplaces
and Egyptian ceiling bowls,

he needs to save money elsewhere.

Thankfully, with his career
in interior design,

he's bursting with
money-saving ideas.

We've got a cabinet that is gonna
house the television gubbins

and amps for the music system,
sound system throughout the house.

So, I'm gonna disguise it
using panels of mirror.

You can use the panels to obscure
the cuts in the doors.

It's important for Drew
that the styling in this property

fits with existing period detail.

He bought these cheap,
mirrored squares online

and is using a clever trick
to make them look old to fit in.

I'm giving them an aged effect

by melting away the back covering,

just using a very simple limescale
remover and a caustic soda.

And if you scatter the crystals
into the corners and on the edges,

then that will degrade,
which is, you know,

traditionally where mirrors do age

rather than a great big
plate mirror.

Because they could only
make small pieces of glass,

it was very traditional
to have small mirrors.

Leaving the chemicals
to do their thing,

a couple of hours later,
Drew rinses the residue off

before moving on to
stage two of the process.

Now, we're just gonna fill
the parts that are burnt.

I'm gonna apply
a little bit of gold, first of all,

just because it adds
to that aged effect.

Then, a final layer of black paint
to finish off.

That should do the job.

Time to make Drew's cabinet
invisible.

So, I'm gonna use a mirror adhesive

to make sure these stick.

It's quite dramatic.

It's almost like 1900s glass.

So, these are lining up
very nicely now

and disguising the fact

that this is a cupboard door.

Coming up...

Did you feel it? Yeah.

..Andrew and Mandy put another
iron in the fire...

It's starting to stay
cherry red longer, isn't it?

..and like any artist...

This was actually a bit
of a dilemma.

..Drew and Stu are
torn between stage...

It just adds a little bit of
theatre and discovery.

..and screen.

We have this beautiful golden
screen.

..while Iain and Miranda...

Hit a bit of a jackpot here.

..get treasure at trash prices.

We might be net zero.

Net zero.

Back in Warwickshire,

Andrew and Mandy's mission to save
their 200-year-old stables continues.

Mandy is heading up to clean
the outside shutters

on both ends of the stables

after years of neglect.

It's a bit windy up here.

Casey, a carpenter by trade
and roofer, Dom,

are still tiling the
old stable's roof

and with the cupola needing more
tile cuts to fit its unusual shape,

it's a tricky task.

Well, the cupola takes ages cos
how many cuts are there on that?

I lost count. Yeah.

There's a lot.

Although decorative,
cupolas are also practical.

They knew how to build things.

The fact that they've got this
great ventilation system inbuilt

is the reason that the whole thing
hasn't collapsed on the floor
with rot,

cos even though there were
massive holes in the roof,

it dries out so quickly with the,
with the airflow through it.

The shutters are part of
the air vent system,

but with a fear of heights,
Mandy dares not look down.

No, I don't feel like
I belong up here at all.

Way out of my comfort zone, this is.

A few days later
and back on firmer ground,

Andrew and Mandy
are visiting blacksmith, Ollie...

Hi, Ollie. Oh, hi, guys.

..as he repairs the 200-year-old
cast-iron weather vane.

It was broken there
and through here... Yeah.

..and I used my artistic
license a little bit.

..which they hope will, eventually,
take pride of place

on top of the cupola.

You can see it looks a bit different
to the last time you saw it. Yeah.

We've had all the paint removed
as sensitively as we can.

You can actually see it's,

it's taken it back
to the original surface.

So, what's it made from?

Uh, this this, is cast iron. OK.

And it's actually made
in a few different pieces. OK.

Always willing to try their hand,

Andrew is going to help
Ollie using oxy-propane gas,

which can reach temperatures
of 1,800 degrees Celsius.

We need to extract this damaged
pin out of the bottom.

The pin is used to hold
the weather vane in place

on top of the stables.

So, it needs replacing before
the vane can be reinstalled.

What we're gonna do is heat
up this big bit of cast iron... OK.

..and hopefully, that's
gonna loosen and expand,

uh, allowing us to get this,
this piece out.

Starting to say cherry red
longer, isn't it?

Anywhere there. That would be,
that'll be enough.

That's looking about right to me.

It's hot enough to, uh,
loosen it all up.

Mandy's not about to be
left behind, either.

She's ready to take her turn.

Her task now is to unscrew the seal

for what could be the first time
in 200 years.

That should just go. Oh, yes.

Did you feel it crack? Yeah.

There you go. Excellent.

You can see the original thread
and how much damage there's been.

The new pin is a threaded,
solid-steel rod,

which is harder-wearing
than the iron it's replacing.

So, I still put it in hot and then
let it cool down and...

It should grip it nice and tightly.

That's it. You got it.

A final tighten with a wrench
ensures that,

as the iron cools around the
new steel, it'll form a seal

that should last for the
next 200 years

at least.

Yeah. So, that's, that's it in.
All right. Right.

So, that should hold really well.

Back in Truro,

Drew and his partner,
Stu, have picked up the pace

on the transformation of their
sitting and dining room renovation

at Castle Lodge.

With Drew's mirrored panels
now complete,

the walls painted,

wall lights fitted,

today's job is to come up with a way
to conceal a television

above the ornate marble fireplace...

Yeah, yeah. Super happy. Great.

..in a way that will complement
the room's period detailing.

He's sketching a cabinet design

which George, the joiner,
will build in wood.

I'm gonna do two sliding doors

and then, these columns,

which was actually, um,

a standard lamp.

We took the legs off,
sawed it in half

and now we have
a pair of pilasters

and it just adds a little bit of
theatre and discovery

to the building as well.

With Drew's design plans
committed to paper,

George, the joiner, begins to realise
Drew's vision for the TV cabinet.

Oh, I like it. I like it.

Meanwhile, in the dining side
of this open-plan space,

Drew has splashed the cash
for some antique gold bling.

The golden screen.

Now, this was, actually,
a bit of a dilemma.

I had a budget for the wallpaper
in the dining space,

but it really is
such a gorgeous piece

that I don't mind sacrificing
the wallpaper budget,

um, for something like this.

So, the walls are painted.

There's no wallpaper
in the dining room,

and instead, we have this
beautiful golden screen.

But while the dining side of the room
is going wallpaper-free,

on the sitting room side
of the double doors,

Drew's sticking with
his wallpaper plan.

I sourced this wallpaper

and, um, it works with that message

of, um, a dusty old, sort of,
dusty old palazzo.

That's the vibe of the house.

It has a very, very slight,
subtle metallic to it. Um,

so yeah, I think this fits the bill
really well and the great thing is,

it looks brilliant with
one of my prized pieces,

which is the, um,
pedestal and plinth there

and it works brilliantly
with the wallpaper.

I'd settle for a coffee table.

Drew's now using the small offcuts
of the wallpaper

to fill the narrow gap between
the door frame and the cornicing.

It's very easy to get somebody in
to do everything,

but I've wallpapered a lot.

So yeah, it's easy on the budget.
But not only that,

it, it means a lot when you put
some love into a place yourself,
you know?

You're not having a trade
doing absolutely everything.

It's looking great. Hello!

What do you think? Smashing!

With the wallpaper to finish off,

curtains to hang
and a settee to be delivered,

Drew and Stu's glamorous
open-plan room

is almost ready for its grand debut.

350 miles away
at the old rectory in Kent,

Iain and Miranda have been making
their own plaster mouldings
for the dining room.

It's ready!

Today, the final piece is
to be fitted to the ceiling.

I think the ceiling
looks really good.

Using traditional techniques,

they've brought Miranda's
original sketch design to life

on the dining room ceiling.

I think it was worth
the time and effort.

I think working from something
from scratch,

where it's just a blank canvas,

lifts the room. It gives it a bit
more status and interest.

So, I think next we need to consider
the design aesthetics. Yes.

So, what kind of wall finish
and floor finish. Yeah.

It's still just gonna...
It's your department, right?

I don't decide the colours.
I just do the work.

But before any paint or wallpaper
can go up,

there's another major job to tackle,
which is very much Iain's department.

He is restoring the sash windows,

which he stripped and
removed himself

after they were sent off to
have newly-cut glass made.

You need to strip the frames,
then sand the frames,

and then, replace any bits of timber
that need fixing on the windows

or even on the frames.

Iain then rebated the frames around

to hold the glass in place
when fitting them.

It's just extremely time-consuming
cos there are six panels of frames

that have got to be,
like, sanded down.

Then you've got, like,
the three frames.

While Iain tackles the windows,
Miranda is yet to make a decision.

Which antique chandelier
will light up the dining room?

I've got these lights from a hotel
that closed down in Ireland,

and there was an auction.

I bought about ten lights cos the
rooms are, you know, 3m to 4m tall.

You really do need quite
a large light to fill that space.

And, um, yeah, I sort of think
I hit a bit of a jackpot here.

I'll be able to get a really nice
light coverage

cos it's a really dark
room, the dining room.

So, I needed something that
was gonna be quite powerful,

but not overwhelming.

Meanwhile, back downstairs,
Iain's window restoration is ongoing,

but Miranda has received
an exciting package...

SINGING: Wallpaper delivery!

..a botanical-themed
mural style wallpaper.

Miranda is keen to see
the full effect.

Really nice. It's all hand-drawn,
hand-painted.

It's just like art for your walls,
really, isn't it?

There's a lot of detail,
isn't there?

I think this is quite nice because
it brings the outside inside.

I think we're, we're in the middle
of the countryside

and so, it's quite nice to have
that reflected within the home.

Greens are our main, sort of, themed
colour that run through the house.

So, this just, sort of, blends in

with all the different types of
greens that we've got going on.

With the mural wallpaper to hang,

Iain's windows to paint and refit,

and Miranda's statement lighting
to install

the dining room renovation
is within touching distance.

Just a week later, the couple
have been working around the clock

and it's time to take stock
of the incredible transformation.

Ta-da!

Six months ago, the dining room
was stuck in a very distant past.

Retro,

but certainly not cool.

But now, with Miranda's vision,

this pair have grafted
to deliver a dining room

fit for the grandest of banquets.

From the ceiling decorated
with handmade plasterwork

to the freshly wallpapered walls
and the restored windows,

this room is warm and inviting.

Once all the decor was in,

Miranda was able to make her
chandelier choice from
her collection,

French crystal from the 19th century.

I think this was a real little
treasure that we found. Yeah.

It's super heavy but, but it,
but it really has come to life.

You just need to get some bulbs.

I need more bulbs. More bulbs.

Best of all, the furniture
was all inherited with the house.

So, it hasn't cost them a penny
to fill what is a very big space.

I think the journey that
this room has been on

um, is a huge transformation.

It feels like there's life in here.

I think it's the wallpaper
brings the life.

I think the mouldings on the ceiling
give the room

a huge amount of grandeur.

The wallpaper's a really bold choice

and it does jump out at you,
first of all.

I think, also, because
we had all this very heavy,

old-fashioned brown furniture,

because of this type of wallpaper
with the colour in it...

It works amazingly, doesn't it?
It's like we did it on purpose.

Yeah, it all fits in.

This, essentially,
just needs some carpet, right?

Yeah, a nice rug.
You know what I mean?

And then it's like,
and then it's, like... Boom!

Boom, indeed.

And an extra bonus,

their purse strings haven't been
stretched to breaking point.

This room came in well under budget.

You did all the refurb
on the windows.

We did the ceiling.

There really wasn't any major
giant outgoings.

The Dutch oven's still there,
isn't it?

Unfortunately, I have not
had the time to list it.

If you sell the Dutch oven,
I think this room will...

Yeah, we might be net zero.
Net zero.

Look at that! Thrifty.

Yeah. There we go.

Coming up...

Ta-da!

Drew and Stu's
dining and sitting room...

Now, I wanna see you do
that waiter trick.

..still has a few tricks
up its sleeves...

I'm really happy.

..before they can enjoy the show.

Come and have a look. Oh, what?

There. What do you think? Oh, wow!

And the excitement is mounting...

It's something that we've been
looking forward to for a long time.

..as Andrew and Mandy
plant their flag at Dunsmore Hall.

Do you know which way
you want it facing?

Back in Truro, Cornwall,

at the renovation of the
Grade II-listed Regency villa.

With Drew having completed the
wallpapering in the sitting room,

the open-plan, two-room space
is nearly finished.

Over his 20 years as a
fashion and interior designer,

Drew has amassed
quite the collection.

So, it's finally time to fill the
house with his favourite things.

Uh, you might need a puck
to, um, adjust the legs.

The dining room table
is going in today.

This is a 1920s Epstein
Art Deco table.

Fine. We can leave it there.
Let's get the glass top on it.

Epstein's were a family firm
of London furniture makers

producing high-end Art Deco
pieces until the 1950s.

OK. Now, I wanna see you do
that waiter trick. Yeah, literally.

Hold on. It's quite super-fragile.

Got it?

Push.

Beautiful!

I sourced this in, uh,
northern Italy.

For a piece of this quality and age,

it's not in bad condition.

Glass top always helps, obviously.

It's now just a matter of Drew
adding a few of his signature
dramatic touches

and the room will be complete.

Six months ago,

Drew and Stu's sitting and dining
room was an empty shell

waiting to be brought back to life.

Bringing together signature
clever design touches

and his unique sense of style,

the room is now an opulent palace

with Drew's handmade
Italian fireplaces

bookending each room.

I like to use it on Sundays
with the papers

and maybe lounge
around by the window.

And with Drew's artefacts
and collectables,

there's a talking point
in every corner.

It's very much that, sort of,
1930s, you know,

the start of that
Hollywood cinematic era

and I've, kind of,
gone with that theme

as the period of the refurb.

So, once you've finished your little
dinner party or socialising here,

you can swing through and
relax in the sitting room,

which would be a nice change,
wouldn't it, Stu?

It's been a tough journey,
hasn't it, getting here.

It feels amazing to be finally
having our feet up and enjoying

what our achievements have been.

One achievement Stu had his hand in

was choosing the stunning
19th-century Italian tapestry,

lit from above as a work of art.

He's chosen a really great,
great, great wall covering,

which I think just emphasises
that, sort of,

dusty old palazzo vibe
that we're going for.

Its bronze-gold accent
is reflected in the chains

that hang the alabaster lights

and the mirrors Drew aged himself,

tying the room together.

The sitting room is all
about liveable luxury.

I mean, this is not
a Regency Georgian sofa.

So, you have to adapt slightly.

Nobody really wants to sit on
a little Georgian sofa

like this all night, watching TV.

You've got to sprawl today.

And above the fireplace,
something to sprawl in front of,

a cleverly hidden TV screen

built inside a period-style
sliding cabinet.

Ta-da!

It's super easy to use.

I'm really happy.

We kind of want to come here
and chill now.

I think we deserve it, don't you?

Definitely.

And the boys will be able to enjoy it

just as soon as they finish
the hallway and upstairs bedrooms,

which we'll follow the progress of

later on this week.

Back to Warwickshire

and the forecast for the
Dunsmore Hall weather vane

has greatly improved with
bright and sunny direction markers.

Most people would think of
a weather vane being black,

but our weather vane
already had cream paint on it.

Because that was the colour before,
we decided we'd go with, with cream.

Mandy's job this afternoon is to
gold leaf the compass point
lettering.

Over the yellow basecoat, she
applies a special glue called size.

This becomes tacky after an hour

and Mandy can start the tricky job
of applying the gold-leaf sheets.

So then, apparently, I just

put it on and press it.

Just brush it.

She's a natural.

Looks like Mandy just acquired
yet another new skill.

Well, it's certainly very blingy

and I can see why people say
it takes a long time.

How's it going?
Come and have a look.

Oh, what?

There. What do you think? Oh, wow!

That actually looks a whole lot
better than I was expecting.

It's good, isn't it? It looks like
that's how it's supposed to be.

This is one weather vane
that's definitely

heading in the right direction.

One week later,

it's a banner day
for Andrew and Mandy.

The old stable's roof is now
watertight and finished off

with two-holed clay-crested
ridged tiles along the peak.

But best of all is the cupola,

once rotten and in danger
of collapse,

now returned to its former glory.

All that's left is the weather vane
to go on top.

This, kind of, was
like a visible symbol

of all the work that everybody,
including us,

have done to try and help,
um, restore the building,

save it from falling to pieces.

It's something that we've been
looking forward to for a long time.

It's, it's a nice little
topping-out ceremony,

200-almost years after it would have
probably had its first ceremony.

Andrew is going up in the cherry
picker with roofer, Dom, to put
the weather vane in.

So, he needs to be fitted
with a safety harness.

It's very tight.

Sorry.

Maybe I shouldn't have pulled.
LAUGHING: Sorry about that!

Once we've got it there,

Casey's gonna be inside the cupola,

and is gonna start drilling
the mounting bits.

So, we wanted, we need to
make sure it's set to true north

before he drills the hole.

Casey and Dom spent six weeks

on the old stable's roof,
repairing the cupola,

which Casey's now positioned inside.

Cos it was so far gone,

hit or miss, whether to restore it
or replace it completely,

but to, to even get up there
to replace all the joists,

strip from the joists,
built this platform here

just to make sure
we could repair it

and uh, yeah, it was, it was
borderline, but we got there.

All right. You ready? Yep.

Andrew and Dom need to make sure

the weather vane is pointing
to the correct cardinal point.

so it actually does what
it's supposed to,

measure the direction
from which the wind is blowing.

I've known about this
for a long time,

but I forgot to unpack my compass,
which is in a box somewhere.

So, I have a nice
orienteering compass somewhere.

Unfortunately, I'm gonna rely on,
uh, rely on a phone today.

You OK.. Yeah. ..from there?

Over this way.

Yeah.

Oh, we're wrong way around.

180 degrees. There we go.

So, that's probably...
Spin a little bit, I would guess.

About there, wasn't it? Yeah.

Have you got that, Casey?

Casey can now screw the internal
sleeve into the cupola rafters

to hold the weather vane in place.

Casey, inside the cupola now,
is putting the pin in

to lock it into place

and then putting some strapping
around to keep it secure.

DOM: You get any tighter?

So, we just have the flag
to put on the top and uh,

back down, and then we'll try that.

With the flag,

the final piece of the
weather vane to be fitted,

Mandy has decided to fight her fear
of heights and attach it herself.

And I just shut my eyes
for the whole thing.

It's more the anticipation, eh?

Just keep talking to her, Dom.
Keep talking to her.

You'll be all right, honestly.
- I've got my eyes shut.

Well, you think our prayers
are gonna be with you when you...

I'm not, definitely not gonna
look down, though.

Considering Mandy couldn't even bear
to stand on a chair previously,

it's a brave move.

Just, just, just keep it
not moving for a second.

DOM: You'll be all right.

Like I said, you just
keep your eyes up.

Yeah.

Which way up does this go? That way.

I'm assuming. Yeah. Like that.

Do you know which way you want
it facing?

Stand by, just in case.

Woohoo!

Now, we got it.

All good. That was the easy bit.
That was terrifying!

Mandy has overcome
one of her biggest fears

and with the weather vane
standing atop the cupola,

it's a moment of triumph
for Andrew and Mandy...

What did you think?

My hand's a bit shaky.

..showing all who can see it

that Dunsmore Hall is returning
to its former glory.

We're back with Drew
in Cornwall

as he's going for gold

in his hallway renovation.

This will be quite a dark space.

So, we're gonna try and brighten
it a little bit

with some gold leaf.

It's very time-consuming.
So, be prepared

to have a good weekend in.

We meet Steve and Sally
at their coastal renov

where it's sun, sea

and lots of sanding.

It's not supposed to be a brand-new
door again.

It's a period door

that's been sanded within an inch
of its life.

It's a lot thinner.

And we rejoin Andrew and Mandy

as their green fingers attempt
to uncover

a Victorian sunken garden.

Oh, there's an edging stone here.

Glad I wasn't under that
when that fell down.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media