CREATING A WORK OF ART

Sisters Mélanie and Amélie Huynh show us their stunning restoration of the French château where painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec once lived

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Kim Valéry Huynh, owner of Château Toulouse-Lautrec, arrived in France from his native Cambodia when he was just 16 years old. He fell in love with the country straight away, going on to marry a Frenchwoman and to build a hugely successful business supplying French luxury goods to the Asian market.

Then, in 2013, he decided that it was time to treat himself and his family to a great luxury of their own. That's when he bought this fabulous château, crowned with two towers and surrounded by a lush vineyard, in the beautiful wine country south of Bordeaux.

Kim Valéry's two daughters, Mélanie and Amélie, say as they welcome us in: "Our father adores France's art, culture and gastronomy, so he dreamed of a place steeped in history.

"When we discovered this place, it seemed like Sleeping Beauty's castle. It had survived 500 years of history and now lay waiting to be reawakened. That it had once been the home of a painter as illustrious as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was the icing on the cake."

Spectacular as it was, the château was badly in need of repair. So Mélanie and Amélie – both busy Paris-based mothers and businesswomen – have devoted all their spare time and energy to bringing it back to life, restoring it with the help of architect Laurent Negretti and a team of local artisans. It has been very much worth the effort.

"This is a place where we all feel at peace," they say, adding: "It's part of French heritage and we absolutely feel the need to share that legacy and preserve it for generations to come."

Mélanie and Amélie, it must feel wonderful to have helped make your father's dream come true...

"Yes; we searched for a long time to find the château."