In what is now the living room stood what we had been told was an Indian marriage bed. It was enormous, large enough, it seemed, to sleep four people. Once we put aside all the comments, stories, and guesses about it, the practical work began. We dismantled the bed, removed the red carpet tiles, took out the old kitchen cabinets, and slowly started to understand the room itself.

One of the first challenges was the floor. In the area where we imagined a dining space might go, it was noticeably uneven. Our carpenter lifted the floorboards to try to work out why and to see whether it could be corrected. There is always something exciting about opening up a part of the house that has been hidden for years, and this was no exception. But in the end, it remained something of a mystery. Beneath the boards, the floor had been built up with cement and spacers, with no obvious explanation as to why. We never found the answer, but thankfully, we were able to level it without too much drama.

Once that was resolved, the plan became clearer. A new floor would run throughout, a dining area would be created, a galley kitchen installed, and the space where the oversized bed had once stood would become the lounge. The bedroom, meanwhile, could return to being exactly that: a proper bedroom, with a bed that actually fit the room.

As with so many projects, it is difficult to capture just how much work sits behind the finished result. Painting beams, cleaning beams, repairing windows, and tackling all the small practical details takes far more time than anyone imagines. Yet those are often the jobs that make the biggest difference.

Now, when guests walk in, they love the apartment immediately, but it is hard to explain the scale of the transformation. It went from being a room you would hardly have chosen to use at all to becoming one of the most loved spaces in the château.

The best part, by far, is its private balcony with its spiral fire escape staircase. In the morning, with the sun rising over the pool and the river beyond, it is the perfect place for a quiet cup of tea before the day begins.

The separate toilet also had its own transformation. An old hot water tank that once hung rather menacingly overhead was removed, making the room feel instantly calmer and more comfortable. Along with a separate shower room, this completed the apartment as a fully self-contained space. With the addition of a sofa bed in the lounge, it works beautifully for families or for friends staying together.

Like many of the château’s spaces, the Riverview Apartment did not give up its potential easily. But once it did, it became something very special.