It was internet cookies that led Karina and Craig Waters to buy a 94-room château. The Australian couple’s daughter, Jasmine, was on a school exchange in southwest France; as Craig followed her progress, his browser became inundated with property ads for the French Pyrenees. One pop-up featured the Château de Gudanes, a Dracula’s castle–meets–Downton Abbey in the Aston Valley. The couple tacked it onto a tentative property viewing list for their forthcoming trip. It was love at first sight, but there was just one problem: The Château de Gudanes was a forlorn wreck. It had neither water nor electricity, let alone a functioning roof. Trees grew from its turreted chimneys. Interior scaffolds were reflected in antique mirrors. Rooftop snowmelt dripped over Empire wallpaper dating from the late 1700s, back when when Voltaire and Diderot philosophized in the castle’s principal salon. It was a house of horrors—an atrophied mansion with the power to This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty Buy Now Related Stories Design Interiors Issue 49 Mimi Shodeinde An audience with the architect. Interiors Issue 48 Gil Schafer Inside the all-American family home. Design Interiors Issue 48 At Work With: Studio Utte A visit to the small, sophisticated Milanese studio of Patrizio Gola & Guglielmo Giagnotti. Interiors Issue 48 My Favorite Thing Architect and spatial designer Cliff Tan tells the story behind his favorite golden cat. Interiors Issue 48 Last Night What did interior designer Beata Heuman do with her evening? Interiors Issue 47 Home Tour: Vill’Alcina For nearly 50 years, architect Sergio Fernandez has found political purpose and refuge at his vacation home.
Design Interiors Issue 48 At Work With: Studio Utte A visit to the small, sophisticated Milanese studio of Patrizio Gola & Guglielmo Giagnotti.
Interiors Issue 48 My Favorite Thing Architect and spatial designer Cliff Tan tells the story behind his favorite golden cat.
Interiors Issue 47 Home Tour: Vill’Alcina For nearly 50 years, architect Sergio Fernandez has found political purpose and refuge at his vacation home.
