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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be driven crackers by the people on Grand Designs?

250 replies

CruCru · 11/09/2013 22:36

On the episode today, the couple have sort of fallen out with all their neighbours. The project is over budget (by more than £200k) and over deadline. The guy has sold his business to finance the project and no longer has work to support the family. And they all seem to live in the one studio flat.

Argh! I couldn't bear it.

OP posts:
thebody · 11/09/2013 23:14

to be fair I was impressed that tonight's couple managed to get the neighbours on side. I didn't see any discord.

however they were a pita and totally agree re the open plan houses, kids need walls to be tolerated.

Quangle · 11/09/2013 23:15

oh yes that Yorkshire castle was amazing. I really loved that gin and tonic terrace on the top, behind the battlements, overlooking the most amazing rolling beautifulness. And it meant so much to whateverhisnamewas.

Fishandjam · 11/09/2013 23:15

DH has a theory about the baby thing. He reckons it's Kevin. Not as in Kevin getting jiggy with the female Grand Designer, though that can't be discounted; more that Kevin exudes some sort of hormone that causes hyperfertility in couples exposed to it. There can, in DH's view, be no other cause of the sprog which invariably appears 90% of the way through the build. DH thinks he (Kevin, not DH) should offer his services to couples struggling to conceive.

fatlazymummy · 11/09/2013 23:16

I don't think they get paid at all by channel 4. It's not really up to Kevin to criticise their ideas either, seeing as they are using their own money to build their own homes. If they are happy with the results then that's all that matters really. The family featured tonight certainly seemed happy, so good for them.
Anyway, I enjoy Grand designs, even though I will never have the opportunity to live in anything so expensive.

thebody · 11/09/2013 23:18

oh Cat was that the guy who worked in the woods with boiling hot pitch or something like that? house was lovely.

I also loved the house in Italy with the old couple who wanted to run cooking and art classes. they were lovely and the house stunning.

MrsCakesPremonition · 11/09/2013 23:25

I'm always surprised at how many ex-Grand design homes turn up in the Sunday Times Property section being sold rather quickly considering they were meant to be the owner's dream home.

foslady · 11/09/2013 23:27

The forest bloke was a charcoal burner, so had to be there whilst the burn was on, hence the only reason he got permission to build there. I don't think he's allowed to sell it (love that episode, was on whilst I still watched!)

TheCraicDealer · 11/09/2013 23:28

Think he got together with a shepherdess, they had a little baby and then had to add a very sensitive extension to the house to house said baby. It was adorable, and he was so nice and not an arsehole.

LetsFaceTheMusicAndDance · 11/09/2013 23:30

When my judgy pants can be hoiked no higher without risk of my eyes rolling across the floor, I like to discover the delights of the off button when Grand Designs is on.Smile

TVTonight · 11/09/2013 23:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Hookedonclassics · 12/09/2013 00:18

I think the couple from Henley on Thames with the monstrous boat house were the worst. I punched the air when her ex-husband architect pulled out of the job.

I liked the woodsman in the forest and the ladies who built a modest house and artist's studio in the Scottish Isles.

MrsCakesPremonition · 12/09/2013 00:21

I often think about the couple who did a lovely barn conversion. He had been very ill, possibly some sort of cancer, and they were moving into an old barn on the family farm and were working to make it as healthy an environment as possible. He was a bit of a tech-whizz and put in miles of cabling. It's many years ago and I often hope that they are still living happily in their beautiful barn.

BeaLola · 12/09/2013 00:36

I think the castle chap was called Francis. I think you can stay there now.

Reading through the posts I had to watch tonights episode now &. i blame you lot ....you sods as its past my bedtime !

What a twat !!! For the money they could buy a nicer plot elsewhere. Selliing your business and no income coming in ??? And how did they all live in the one room especially when they then had all the packages of bahroom fittings on top - i so couldnt be married to a twat like that ... Mst give DH exta hug when i go to bed.

TarkaTheOtter · 12/09/2013 03:32

I'm with mrscakes, I think a lot of them just want to put "as seen on grand designs" on the details when they sell them a year later. Hence them seemingly not giving a fuck about the practicalities of an open-sided, glass stair case with toddlers etc or debt the size of a small country's GDP. At least every other episode I see one of the couple seems to be an architect too, must be a good way to tout for business.

Rabbiting0n · 12/09/2013 03:40

I have a massive problem with Kevin. His summing up at the end of each programme is such a load of pretentious twaddle I want to throw something at the screen.

The couples annoy me as they are always pretentious, power-hungry people, they always care excessively about the environment, but not about their young kids when they make them live in a mouldy old caravan for 2 years at a time with no heating or hot water.

They always say they are going to "be in by Christmas," but never, ever, are.

The "surprise" babies stopped being a surprise about a decade ago.

Gurraun · 12/09/2013 04:22

Mrscakes - I always remember that one. It was the first I ever saw. The barn was stunning but sadly I believe the husband was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour half way through the build. I hope they had happy times there and if he did pass away his family remained there with lovely memories.

SunnyL · 12/09/2013 05:00

Shows how practical we are. When they did the big reveal tonight my comment was 'Well at least the postman wont leave one of the Sorry you werent in cards by mistake because he can see right through your house!'.

There is a GD house near us. They bought a lovely little cottage and built a glass box next to it. Their adult child with special needs lives in the cottage while they live next door. Hated the GD house but you cant see it from the road.

sleepywombat · 12/09/2013 05:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheCraicDealer · 12/09/2013 09:09

I think we all know that George Clarke's Restoration Man is the best home-building program. Apart from anything with the Beeny; least she has the balls to say "I think you were an idiot to use this space as a hallway instead of a third bedroom, and it's knocked £20K of the value of the property".

GwendolineMaryLacey · 12/09/2013 09:26

True true and true. But I still want a Huff House...

Fishandjam · 12/09/2013 09:39

I want a Huf House too! It looked ace.

mysterymeg · 12/09/2013 09:44

I love GD! Sometimes for the house, mostly to laugh at the people who insist it will go to budget/time then go over be hundreds of thousands (or as a pp said go over budget by two or three of my house!).

Me and my DM refer to programmes like this as property porn Smile

I also enjoy Ideal Home magazine. But start by flicking through to see what all of their children/pets are called. They tend to be in the realms of the pretentious. I particular remember a couple with a son called Oliver and a cat called Olive Confused

GertBySea · 12/09/2013 09:49

I just don't think there is much else to do in a caravan without heating except to make a GD baby.

ubik · 12/09/2013 09:56

I thought Kevin was ridiculously nice to that couple last night. He made it seem like the guy had singlehandedly designed, financed and built that vanity project.

We were kinda Hmm at the beginning when we were told that guy had is 'own eco-taxi firm' and she was a SAHM. And yet they had bought a plot for £400,000 and were then going to build a house - I think project ended up costing £900,000 but they were unclear about whether this included the cost of the land.

And all the time I was thinking...how are they paying thier rent? How are they paying the mortgage? What are they living on? How has he got finance when he is self employed? And has then sold his company?

And all I can think is that these two are independently wealthy. All this huffing and puffing about money and then they start buying top spec heated loo seats and fucking slate walls and swimming pools.

Money problems, my arse. These were rich people building themselves a house. I wish they had stopped moaning about money.

scrappydappydoo · 12/09/2013 09:57

LOL my dh loves this programme. I sit and make snide comments. Usually about how they're going to clean the high ceilings and miles of glass windows and yes where are the curtains and blinds - I would loathe that lack of privacy. However I did like they're use of the awkward space last night and was in awe that they had no neighbour trouble (as far as we know).
My fav Shock episode was when the couple build an underground home at the end of a posh mews in London complete with disco floor - the neighbours are up in arms and then they managed to knock a wall down - all for a house backing onto a railway line.

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