Grand Designs anyone?

[SlantyBaws]

Anyone else watching?

New series started tonight. Bonkers toff from SW London wants to convert a building in a cemetery.

I actually think they did they best they could with a limited budget.
They restored the external fabric of the building really well. But seemed to panic initially, internally, so resorted to replacing everything. Hence Kevin’s frustration.
I agree re the millstone floor. That was so gorgeous, it would’ve been great to find a way to keep it in situ.
But what I thought was lovely and endearing was their obvious emotional investment and attachment to the mill.
And I think once they’ve moved in, and the new wood doesn’t look quite so new, and the whole place looks a bit more lived in, it will settle in.
All in all, I think fair play to them for being brave enough to take it on and save it.

The front doors, are they what is referred to as “nightclub doors” ?
The exterior otherwise was finished really well but the interior suffered from lack of budget. They could have built something cottagey on that plot for £300k.

I hate this show. It's always overbudget houses sitting in a pile of mud.

@LemonSwan

I hate this show. It's always overbudget houses sitting in a pile of mud.

But quite addictive to watch.

@LemonSwan

I hate this show. It's always overbudget houses sitting in a pile of mud.

It didn't used to be. I haven't watched for a few years, but dd2 has decided it is 'comfort viewing'. This season were really quite average builds. The first few seasons had some really interesting architectural houses, without the mawkish back stories (or very rarely). I mean, yesterday's was a boring couple restoring a boring house.

Not keeping that millstone floor was a travesty. At least put a few back into the entrance hall floor. The tables were hideous.

Not impressed at all, the house looked ok from the outside, but inside it was hard to see where they’d put any actual furniture - I liked tin bath, but not wedged under the roof beams upstairs, you’d have to be a contortionist to get in and out of that.

The millstone dining tables were a travesty - you couldn’t actually eat your dinner off those, the dining area reminded me of a Lake District cafe where they’ve restored the building and made it into a mini-museum, all it was missing was a coffee vending machine in a corner.

Oh and they never sorted the beam under the house.

This was definitely one where their ambition by far outweighed their budget, and they didn’t do any justice to the property at all.

I found this week's building was the weakest of the season. I get that they fell "in love" with the building, but they should have done their research before they started. It felt like they did not realise how much money, time and work it would cost to restore this mill. I believe, they will have some nasty surprises along the line for not sorting the beam under the house.
Also, the door did not fit the building very well, imho. They should have had something a little more in keeping with the house.

But as said further up, boring house, boring couple.

It was a listed building wasn't it? I can't believe that the listing allowed them to get rid of the floor, only having to retain 2 stones inside. As bloody tables.

@CaptainMyCaptain

I would have liked to keep the millstones in the floor and just level them up. I don't think they really work as a table, you'd lose things down the hole in the middle.

That was the first thing I said - you'd spend your life chucking things down those holes!

Not keen on tonight's at all, no flow or style to it somehow (not that I'm any authority). The only thing that really pleased would have been the 'snug' with the woodburner if it looked out over the same view as they showed later.

The millstone tables were ridiculous. You wouldn't be able to put a wine glass or cup down without it wobbling over on the uneven surface. They need to top it off with a sheet of glass or something. They might have been ok as outdoor tables perhaps.

There's no way they actually had those tables. They were for Kevs benefit only as he clearly had a hissy fit about the interior.

Please no more boring easy clean generic interiors.

I loved the ill-feeling between Kevin and Leigh(sp?).

The door looks a bit like the entrance to a museum or public building but I suppose they didn't want it to look fake old.

I said the same thing. I think it was the long handles.

The thing that bugged me with this house was the distance from bedroom to kitchen. Handy if you're dieting but otherwise a pain.... I like seeing Kevin being a bit 'off' with the couples.

Yes, I said that to DP. You’re in bother if you need a drink during the night.

Couldn't believe what they did to the beautiful floor and then ended up with Fred Flintstone's table. I know they had to take them up to lower the floor, but still... And burning the old timber for wood
I did admire their determination and incredible hard work, but I think it was just too much for them and it showed in the end result.

Also I can't understand how they could possibly get insurance after their discovery about the beam under the house. I'd be a nervous wreck waiting for something to give / flood in the full knowledge that we wouldn't be covered!

wood = fuel

Thinking about the timbers, I'm sure I've seen them put steel on the end of beams when they've been rotten at the ends. I wonder if that would have been much more expensive than replacing the entire lot with German softwood.

I balance that with knowing that the building would have fallen down if they'd not taken it on so all of it would have been lost.

Resurrecting the thread in honour of last nights house.

I wish they had shown more of the interior. I wanted a walk through with the kids rooms and stuff. Our family was really torn on the look of it. I thought it was a clever design, but absolutely massive with lots of wasted space.

What irritated me though was the imposition of the house on the landscape. It seemed rather arrogant that an individual could believe their design is a gift to everyone looking at it from afar.

Just watched last night's episode - I think what made it difficult for me to decide whether I liked it or not was trying to separate my appreciation for the building as a piece of design, from how I feel about it not feeling like a domestic space, the aspects I didn't like (such as despite the abundance of glass, it seemed sealed off from the outside), my revulsion at the excess, and the client himself.

I felt a bit grudging at the end, that I thought it was a successful building. If it were destined for a public or commercial use, I would like it a lot more.

@ChevreChase - I agree. I appreciated the design but thought it looked more like an art gallery rather than a home. I also thought the excessive spend on things like the kitchen fittings didn't really add anything and made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I also tried hard to like the client - but couldn't (not that this should matter but I found his obvious need to display his wealth on the Devon landscape quite distasteful).

I thought the zinc cladding looked wavy. Couldn’t see past that 😂

The master en suite bath was right next to the sink, Kevin had to squeeze past (in a house that size!)

Also the master bed was shoved up to a sloped wall, very odd.