Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Telly addicts

Related: Film discussion forum.

Original poster

Grand Designs anyone?

317 replies

SlantyBaws · 06/01/2021 21:09

Anyone else watching?

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

OP posts:
OhYouBadBadKitten · 03/09/2021 12:27

That bathroom was really weird! it was totally as though they'd forgotten. the whole point of a home is to live in it.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 03/09/2021 12:29

and it bizarrely seemed claustrophobic inside, with the window shapes and massive walls interrupting the views, rather than framing them.

LadyTiredWinterBottom2 · 03/09/2021 21:54

It was so awful. I could not see where they soent £125k on the kitchen. So he has lots of money and he has worked for it but all l could think was there are people without access to clean water and they've spent 125k on a few cupboards. I am sure it was bragging rights.

Netaporter · 04/09/2021 05:43

I thought that was the most interesting design the program has had in years. I don’t agree the owner was boastful, I think he answered questions honestly/naively that Kevin asked (with hindsight he probably shouldn’t have answered the kitchen cost quite so truthfully) and obviously the producers edited the program around the sexy stuff - cars, his company etc. He’s obviously achieved great success in his mid 30’s but unlike other owners wasn’t trying to micromanage every detail/trade on site so actually we saw less of the drama with builders and more interesting dynamics such as bonkers architects who don’t appear to have considered structural engineering to build their designs Confused Agree the zinc looked wavy in places (that would’ve driven me mad… ) and the bath/sink placement was indeed odd.. IMO they should’ve had a lot more bespoke furniture/cabinetry etc (like the kitchen) to give the interior as interesting finish as the exterior as the sofas looked a bit furnitureland. I loved the light strips in the walls and the sense of space and light, but if you looked at their previous home the interiors were very similar/generic. I did love the fact they weren’t precious about the design of the kids bedrooms though and scooting around those floors as kids must be awesome Grin. But who knows? Maybe they ran out of cash? Maybe they’re still developing their own style.

longtompot · 04/09/2021 10:33

The light strips down the hallway were a stroke of genius. Is was like there were shafts of light coming through an open door. Slightly sci-fi as there were so many, but I liked that.
The house, not so much, but appreciated the design and the work. The fitting of that glass though. Stomach in throat time.
I miss the old days of Grand Designs where you learned about new materials and how laminating beams worked by Kevin showing us with strips of card and a cup of water. In the old days, the kitchen surface would have been looked into more, but I didn't quite hear what it was called and so can't look it up to see what it is and why they might choose it.

BreakfastOfWaffles · 04/09/2021 21:31

[quote PaulGallico]@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).[/quote]
I have had to turn off many an episode because I have found the subjects so horribly self-absorbed. I think it's a trait amongst many people who undertake these big projects sadly.

SudokuMania · 05/09/2021 08:52

@longtompot the kitchen material was Dekton
https://www.dekton.com/usa/countertops/]

Would have liked the building a bit more if it was not surrounded by the other houses. And that bathroom arrangement would really annoy me.

artquejtion · 05/09/2021 21:04

I thought it was horrible, absolutely ugly. The interior was quite nice and 'ordinary' albeit high spec. The corridor lights reminded me of a laser beam in a Mission Impossible movie, a bit ridiculous in a home.

I cannot imagine living in a family home without any connection to the outdoors.

Laughingravy · 06/09/2021 09:00

I stuck with this one to see the end result, I didn't take to the couple involved at all. Money no object projects rarely captivate and his smug glee at not having to sell any of his oh so obvious collection of boys toys grated a lot.
As a museum or art gallery on a waterfront great but as a family home it left me cold, looking like a restaurant with an open kitchen and the executive lounge at an airport. And having somehow got planning, lord knows how, to put it in a paddock in rural Devon to then totally disconnect from the outdoors was just strange.
Despite Kevin's approval and their satisfaction would anyone really give them the £2.5 million they spent on it?
And as an asides I can't help feeling that our society doesn't function very well if a developer in a small provincial city can get that rich that quick.

Ridingthegravytrain · 06/09/2021 10:16

I got the impression from the industry he was in (and maybe money he has) he got the planning via who you know not what you know

Laughingravy · 06/09/2021 11:49

@Ridingthegravytrain

I got the impression from the industry he was in (and maybe money he has) he got the planning via who you know not what you know
You may say that, I couldn't possibly comment Wink
Dirtystreetpie · 08/09/2021 21:23

I really like the couple on this evening, very interesting design

Fabbydabbydoozey · 08/09/2021 21:32

I was thinking just the opposite! They both seem silly and desperate to ‘be different’. So much so that they’ve ended up with a house right next to a road chugging out fumes and a massive sewer practically underneath their house. I also don’t like the design, loads of pointless pointy corners.

Duetorain · 08/09/2021 21:48

Interesting one this week. I like the couple but they seem a bit crazy, They know they wanted a baby and decided to buy a plot between a busy road and a train line, though they have the allotment. Presumably they didn’t have any survey or they would have known about the massive sewer.

Dirtystreetpie · 08/09/2021 21:57

They’ve done a great job.

Fabbydabbydoozey · 08/09/2021 22:02

It does look lovely inside. But still, not a great location.

mumofblueeyes · 08/09/2021 22:12

I just caught the end of tonight's. Was there some sort of memorial thing on the end screen, someone who passed away in 2021? I was too far from the TV and couldn't work out who it was in memory of?

billysboy · 09/09/2021 07:11

this couple , have they never heard of location , location , location !

Pure folly to build this where they did and a case of good money after bad

OhYouBadBadKitten · 09/09/2021 07:57

@mumofblueeyes

I just caught the end of tonight's. Was there some sort of memorial thing on the end screen, someone who passed away in 2021? I was too far from the TV and couldn't work out who it was in memory of?
I think it was the chaps brother.
Snookie00 · 09/09/2021 08:00

The memorial was for the woman’s brother I think he had helped out on the project so was in some of the background shots.

Didn’t like the house or plot but was impressed by the guy’s hard work and skill. He is a master craftsman and his work was beautiful.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 09/09/2021 08:03

The craftsmanship on last nights house was absolutely spot on. The lines were beautiful. I loved the way the roof dipped into the ground too.

But they didn't seem to leave any green in their outdoor space. It was all hardstanding. I guess that explained the need for a massive soakaway. I wonder how vulnerable they are to surface water flash flooding now.

Hopefully as we move towards electric vehicles, some of the noise and pollution issues will settle.

artquejtion · 09/09/2021 08:59

Despite the location, sandwiched between that main road and railway line, I think it was an amazing project.

Even more so, considering the guy did it almost single handedly, hats off to them. It was certainly a more attractive house than the one the previous week.

Wonderful that their IVF was successful !

Jujujuly · 09/09/2021 13:37

Weird that one of them obviously had kids already (there were bunk beds in the baby’s room and kids’ artwork all over the fridge) and they weren’t mentioned at all. Also didn’t like the IVF focus - seemed really weird to have shots of them walking in for their egg collection!

His work on the house was fantastic but the location was so terrible. They seemed to have spent over £400k in total - surely they could have bought something much better for that!

OhYouBadBadKitten · 09/09/2021 13:41

I did wonder about the bunkbeds!

Dulra · 09/09/2021 14:03

Weird that one of them obviously had kids already (there were bunk beds in the baby’s room and kids’ artwork all over the fridge) and they weren’t mentioned at all

Probably from a previous relationship and they probably didn't have consent to include them.

I loved this episode yes not a great site but a better built house for the location then the semi-ds next door.