Flat styled on Versailles palace

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DIY enthusiast Adrian Reeman began with just one room

A DIY enthusiast has redecorated his tower block flat in the style of the Palace of Versailles in France, despite never seeing a picture of it.

Adrian Reeman, from Southampton, has spent about 20 years decorating his ninth-floor home with ceiling paintings and carefully-crafted furniture.

Mr Reeman, who has Asperger's Syndrome, said he enjoyed attention to detail and had only intended to decorate one room.

He said: "I am a visual thinker, I see things with pictures."

The 59-year-old, whose wife is called Annette, said he just got "carried away," with his love of arts and crafts.

'Between jobs'

The flat, built in the 1960s, features wood carvings, a large mirror and imposing fire place, including pictures and ceiling art.

"I wish I hadn't started it in the first place, it has taken so much time," he said.

"It just needed decorating and it all started in one room.

"I have been working on it a little bit at a time between jobs. I am pleased with it but I am glad it's all over.

"My ideas just came as I went along, I don't put anything down on paper or have any ideas.

"I haven't even seen the Palace of Versailles, that all started off in one of the papers. I wouldn't know what it looked like."

The 17th Century Palace of Versailles, on the outskirts of Paris, France, was the principal residence of the French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI.

In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles peace agreement, following the end of World War I, was signed in the palace's Hall of Mirrors.