Anyone here watch Grand Designs?

[Maninadirndl]

Well down here in Bavaria we bought a rather tatty house - not a ruin though, and set about changing it year by year. First it was the balcony which was a bit old so we had that done, then the conservatory (called a winter garden) then last year a kitchen. This year it was changing the windows to make our house warmer. So I am no stranger to the stress and mess involved. Also my parents and I did the Dordogne thing back in the 90s and renovated a barn.

My German wife and I love the show as a matter of fact. Some of the makeovers we don't agree with e.g., the church one last night was ugly and although I am not religious I still feel churches should be churches or other places of worship. I'd even rather an old church became a mosque for the locals than sold for housing but that's my humble opinion.

[Katisha]

There is a big Grand Designs contingent on mumsnet. Quite often the threads happen in real time as the programme is on...

Generally there seems to be a consensus that a lot of the buildings are a bit charmless and are like vistor centres with all the exposed brickwork and plate glass.

And there is alwys the compulsory bowl of limes in the spotless high gloss kitchen.

[muffle]

A glass wall that connects the indoor to the outdoor space...

A craftsperson-made staircase that "seems to float"...

Weird glass balconies and coffee tables installed by people who have one small child and are expecting another...

Me and DP love spotting all the GD cliches - we like the projects that are really different and interesting and where the person doesn't seem to be largely just influenced by watching previous episodes of GD.

The best bit is Kevin's homily at the end where he tries to say something nice about the finished house but always manages to get in a nasty dig about their naff-ola conservatory or chavy taste in fireplaces

[Maninadirndl]

Anyone catch that Georgian mansion? It was never finished. It was a ridiculously extravagant project and I'm sure it ran out of money.

I bet the couple had a row over that house and it got sold in the end half finished!