Mirande, Midi-Pyrénées 32300

Romantic Chteau in search of loving owner to restore to former glory.Dear House Hunter, I am a beautiful and sizeable stone property. Some call me a chteau, but I resemble many things, from an elegant chartreuse, or manor house. My foundations are embedded in the 15th century, but over the years I have grown to resemble what you will most easily recognize as a sumptuous 18th century home, with high ceilings, tall window frames and many period features, from parquet and terra-cotta stone floors to my grand salon, which begs to host a ball should you so wish.Netherfield Park, or the Chteau de Courcelles have nothing on me!Currently slumbering in woodland, with English-style gardens planted to the front some thirty years ago, the first thing you will see on arrival, beyond my stoned and walled entrance, is a romantic summer garden, bursting with life. To the rear there are both raised lawns with walled gardens, and below a riot of woodland, a haven for birds and bees.On arrival and from the outside, I look somewhat more modest in size than I am.People say I resemble the kind of house publishers choose to put on the front cover of novels stories in which there is usually a love affair and a mystery to unravel but which could not have happened without the beautiful property itself. The house is always a central character an elegant backdrop to life itself, where history can be made and new memories carved.To move here is to take on not just a project, but a lifestyle. A piece of history.As a chteau, I am proud of my brilliant Basque red front door, which strikes a colourful and elegant note on my impressive faade. With symmetrical windows, I am imposing. I have inspired many artists and photographers, being, if I do say so myself, rather an attractive building.I may have faded over the years, but it is easy to imagine that not so long ago my hallways bustled with ten full-time members of staff, who wore black uniforms with little white aprons, buffing and polishing my wooden floors and shining my lovely terra-cotta tiles on the ground floor.The kitchens were filled with bubbling pans cooks bustling around to create sumptuous Gascon meals with all the fine local produce. The rear kitchen is the perfect place to prep vegetables or wash the pots.Throughout, my tall windows, which still retain their original glass, were brilliantly polished, sunlight flooding into the house from every angle.This is a property for a large family, a lover of history, or someone with a project, perhaps to create a small bijou guest house, or private hotel.Slumbering is all well and good, but like the proverbial phoenix, I'm reaching out across the mysterious and magical channels of the internet, to find the perfect owner who will undertake this restoration project.Although it is unseemly in my generation to talk of anything so mundane as one's purse, I will say, that unless you are prepared to live somewhat rustically, just for the pleasure of spending time with me, I estimate a budget of 500 000 euros and upwards, perhaps a million, with which to restore my beautiful old bones. The sky is the limit but so is my potential.At a certain age, no-one likes to talk of their inner rumblings, creaks and all the little things that need to be fixed, but I must confess, my plasterwork has cracked and bobbled on the ground floor, some of my floor tiles are a little wobbly underfoot my bathrooms meagre and more becoming of an earlier age. It would be lovely if my walls could be smoothed out again, and my creases ironed away. I feel I would do very well with some lovely chalk paint and colours. My insulation and heating need a little attention in order to provide some modern comforts for these old but rather lovely bones. For overnight guests, it would be nice to find a lavatory or two in addition to the two which are currently housed at the end of the ground floor and first floor hallways.I have a grand salon, where you could host a ball, as I mentioned. I also have a cosy living-room for family movie evenings. I have a big farmhouse style kitchen with a range, as well as a large utility room which has seen better days but is such a useful space. There is a hidden door in my dining-room, in the wooden panelled walls (one would expect nothing less in such an intriguing house!) where staff would organise serving dishes, during elegant family meals, when a host of guests would come to dine. There is even a family chapel, which has seen weddings and Christenings, although is quite empty now.When it's time to sleep, there are five very large bedrooms on the first floor all with a sink and shower. The sixth bedroom which has fallen into disrepair, shares a bathroom with the master suite and could also be transformed into a dressing-room but sadly this bathroom is currently out of order.For those who have a head for dizzying heights, a flight of stone steps runs from the grand salon up to the rooftop tower, where you can step out like a bird on a perch. Take care, this could be a fabulous place for evening drinks, but you will need to add some railings for safety. The view is fabulous, and from up here, you will appreciate the peaceful tranquility of the area: far from roads. A place where one can almost hear the trees growing see the swallows soaring.My gardens provide a few unexpected quirks and surprises.Entry is from the ground floor level and ascends the majestic period staircase to the first floor, where there is a second grand door which opens onto a garden on the upper level of the property.This second walled garden is also accessible via both French windows in the Grand Salon.From here one can look down to the woodland below which has been left as a natural reserve. The upper walled gardens are reminiscent of the early 19th century gardens built at this time.On this level, there is a veranda and a covered terrace area for outdoor dining.I cannot deny, it will take a home seeker with heart and courage to take on this project, with so many memories of what the chteau used to look like, bubbling beneath the surface, if you have the drive to tackle a restoration project in this stunning and peaceful region of Southwest France, I am a Chteau more than worthy of your attention. This is a very special place, with a very special energy.On arrival here, the chteau stirs a sense of curiosity. Guests long to push open the grand front door and step inside to explore, which is just what we will do. Be my guest!Let's look in more detail:The Ground Floor EntranceWe enter the chteau via a brilliant red front door, where we find ourselves in a large hallway, that runs to the staircase at the far end.The central hallway is crossed by a transverse hallway at its midpoint. All the main floor rooms, and the cellar and barns are accessible via these two hallways.The floors have conserved their original terra-cotta tiles.On entering the main front door and the central hallway, a door to the left opens into the formal dining-room.The Dining-Room & Butler's Pantry (Garde Manger).The room is dressed with a large formal table. There is a black marble fireplace, and the rear wall is clad with decorative wooden panelling. One of the wooden panels opens to reveal a secret doorway into a room behind, where staff would stack the plates and dishes, whilst waiting to serve the next course.The Chapel, Cosy Sitting-Room & StudyReturning to the central hallway, we turn left, into the second transverse hallway.Here a door opens to an ancient family chapel, no longer in use.At the far end of the hallway, there is another door to the dining-room, and a door to the snug and cosy sitting-room, furnished with comfortable sofas and where the family gathers to watch television. This room has two big windows and a woodburning stove.Next to the sitting room there is a downstairs study room with on window and shelving.On the other side of the central hallway, along the second section of the transverse hallway, we find the domestic qu