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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be jealous of couples on Grand Designs...

155 replies

MrsKittyFane · 16/04/2012 20:07

Who build their homes, borrow zillions, take a risk.
DH and I struggle to change a lightbulb.
(watching repeats on More4!!)

OP posts:
cobwebthegrey · 16/04/2012 21:30

OOh Edless, I loved that one too, it was such a beautiful house once they had finished...wish DH was that good at DIY!!!

cobwebthegrey · 16/04/2012 21:31

X post, I mean the tree one!!

EdlessAllenPoe · 16/04/2012 21:37

ah yes, the kitchen with different wood for the cabinet doors... a delight.

Moln · 16/04/2012 21:37

Oooh cobwebthegrey I think they might be the couple in the one i'm watching now.

I think they are awful people - can't stand it when people say stuff like 'you can't worry about money' or 'money isn't everything' and then keep on spending it because they obviously have loads but think they are 'struggling' or whatever.

^glowers at TV and tries to pretend I don't realise I'm feeding of the resentment of someone I know IRL>

Original poster
MrsKittyFane · 16/04/2012 21:51

oopsi: what I don't get is that they nearly always have a financial crisis whereby the whole build is in jeopardy, long befor the' wind and watertight' stage and then you see the finished house article all finished to the very highest spec!
A financial crisis sometimes means spending 20k on kitchen rather than 50k !!

OP posts:
munkysea · 16/04/2012 21:56

I loved the Castle couple from years back where the wall nearly fell on Kevin McDonald (not that bit, obviously, that would be heartless). I loved how you could tell it was a real dream for them and it looked beautiful afterwards.

I loved this week's couple for their patience. Can't believe they were so patient for so long. I'd have gotten so fed up I would have given up on it.

margoandjerry · 16/04/2012 22:01

oopsi, I think that was my favourite too. The tumbledown tower that the chap completely fell in love with because he'd loved castles since he was a boy. He had a little cry when Kevin went back to see how lovely it was. Their roof terrace behind the battlements with a view that would reduce you tears...

I liked this one too, just because those types of men are so clever - the ones who can build houses just by thinking about it and then cutting a tree just so.

Maryz · 16/04/2012 22:02

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Maryz · 16/04/2012 22:03

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margoandjerry · 16/04/2012 22:03

and yes they were twats in a violin factory Grin

I also couldn't stand drippy hippy woman doing meditations over what colour to paint her bedroom in her house in Devon (blue) and burying bits of the Berlin wall under the carport so that the children would appreciate history and spirituality.

EdlessAllenPoe · 16/04/2012 22:06

that one was a doozy maryz - the bathroom arrangements were a tad unconventional IIRC!

the house-to-garden part worked extremely well, and he cast of the womans pregnant belly in the kitchen was a very loving touch (strangely avoiding being twee..)

Maryz · 16/04/2012 22:06

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Maryz · 16/04/2012 22:07

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EdlessAllenPoe · 16/04/2012 22:09

i was thinking more the loo didn't have a door...but as they will now have a small DC, it would hardly matter either way!

mayaswell · 16/04/2012 22:13

The twats in the violin factory! They had an a/c wine room, I remember and an industrial kitchen. And she made him a study/den to hide in which was tiny.
What about the couple with the huge curio collection who did a barn conversion thing? Really disliked them, they were humourless and entitled.

MarshaBrady · 16/04/2012 22:16

I'm so pleased they are sorted into nice not twat basket as the violin ones.

difficultpickle · 16/04/2012 22:19

I want to know where they get the extra money from. It happens so often that they completely blow their budget and yet manage to borrow an extra £500,000 and not have to sell the house to pay back the money Confused

ethelb · 16/04/2012 22:19

the ones which have cost little are often the best ones.

Plus all that bollocks about making it an eco house and then covering the whole bloody thing is glass. I have worked writing about eco technology and glass windows do not come into the equation, except for figuring out how to get rid of them!

however, I would really like to build my own house one day and may have to with the cost of homes. there was a thing on the guardian where a man had uploaded his own arcitectural plans for others to use. The house could be built for £20,000 excluding joinery and I would love to buy a plot of land and build as my family grows.

marshmallowpies · 16/04/2012 22:20

Yep Monty with his bath under the bed...great. I did worry how his toddler would manage the open-tread stairs to the bedroom but I guess they would have to learn pretty quickly!

The couple with the crazy curios were awful, felt sorry for their daughter but luckily she had a private bedroom & bathroom she could close the door on! (rest of house, including parents bathroom, was open plan).

There was also a house recently where the parents put in a disco lights floor & you could tell the kids were rolling their eyes at it all, in a kind of Saffy from AbFab way.

pictish · 16/04/2012 22:22

God I remember that couple with the violin factory as well...they were hateful weren't they?

OhDoAdmitMrsDeVere · 16/04/2012 22:24

Mostly they really get on my nerves. I shout wildly at the tv whilst OH looks bemused Blush

Some of them are nice. Some of the houses are brilliant.

But oh dear lord the things they come out with.

'of course we both feel that he house should be an organic, living thing that grows with us and reflects our family dynamic in a truly ethical way'

'we felt that it was worth paying the extra £20,00000 to get authentic reclaimed tuscan marble hewn by Nuns'

'It just SO frustrating. We would be on the final fix by now but we were held up due to the late moulting season of the mongolian beaver. Their leavings are used to make the specialised roof insulation we have on order. I think that just goes to show the impact global warning is having on us all really'

I didnt make any of those quotes up I did

OhDoAdmitMrsDeVere · 16/04/2012 22:25

Grin @ 'humorless and entitled' what a zinger!

BeehavingBaby · 16/04/2012 22:26

I shared a ski chalet with the violin factory lady, she was a plonker who seemed to think she made very deep connections with people and changed the way they thought about themselves forever, was exactly like she was on the show.

My favourite was the tree trunk house, his wife was called Massacre I seem to remember.

Kayano · 16/04/2012 22:27

I did see one mrs
Dv when they built a self sufficient house in their back garden and it was massive and I'm sorry I thought of your twat neighbours Sad

captainbarnacle · 16/04/2012 22:28

I am watching GD with new eyes now. Moved in to a huge, abandoned pub 2 months ago with sea views on one side and rolling hills on the other. Living in the flat which is habitable - the rest is not and remains without gas, water, electric.

For the last 8 weeks I have had meetings with my own architect! Surveying, measuring, quantifying and planning to turn the entire thing into a massive house.

Obviously, I have no money to do this with. Am at the mercy of OH to find some money...

I keep watching and wondering whether I could live through this on my own with 3 boys under 6 (OH lives abroad). Probably not! Entire thing looks like an upper middle class occupation and I feel inadequately qualified.

And I don't want to 'catch' any more babies!