What is wrong with people who go on Grand Designs?

[RobynRB]

Seriously, time and time again it's the same thing. Why do people feel they need to build a house the size of a cinema complex and then moan when they run out money. Most of these things could be 10-20% smaller and you wouldn't even notice. Don't these people understand that materials like wood and concrete cost money so buy less of them and the house will be cheaper.

Speaking of which, last night was a classic case... we haven't got any money, but we bought this copper bath for our bedroom and this (frankly disgusting but I'm guessing ridiculously expensive) gold and black marble for our kitchen.

It struck me the reservoir building was big enough to build a reasonable house in, maybe with a smaller extension to the side. It certainly looked twice the size of my three bedroomed house on it's own.

And of course five minutes after they started they announced they were having a child. What brilliant timing...

The programme would be more aptly titled Delusions of Grandeur.

@Jinimcoroneo , I didn't think you were being rude, and I was only giving my take on the downsides. I loved the house for how it looked.
The direction the windows face can make a big difference, as does whether or not the occupants are minimalists.

I watched it this evening and thought the same. Felt bad for them.

Just watched it last night, I thought the living areas could have been wonderful, however the kitchen marble was gross and destroyed the whole look of the kitchen / living area, but I did Ilke the exterior aesthetic of the house design. The master bedroom / bathroom was dreadful, I bet the architect had no hand in the layout of that.

I don't think you came off as rude either, @Jinimcoroneo - I thought it was an excellent example of different people liking different things, and made for an interesting discussion.

There's a current post in Home Decoration about window blinds that discusses too much light.

One of my neighbours has a north facing orangery, which I thought was not a good idea. It actually works because it has a sea view and is properly insulated.
It's not sunny and it's the view that makes it

I missed the start and couldn't work out where there money was coming from to pay back the mortgage & loans and thought it seemed like it would be another show where their dream to live on this special family land would be ruined by falling into the common GD trap of building far too big and then to need to sell it to pay off the debt.

Why didn't they do the property in stages, converting the reservoir building to live in seeing as only couple & baby and then build the concrete wing in few years, wouldn't that then be classed as new build with no vat project too?
I liked the old building but the upper floor seemed such a waste of space and gangway linking the 2 ends felt a bit prison-y the downstairs had massive windows cut in so surely it wouldn't have been dark. The awful heavy, black and gaudy marble kitchen sucked up most the light anyway.

I liked the way the new concrete build was mostly hidden into the landscape but prefered similar one years ago where they clad the outside section with window with the stone that they cleared, as this couple used to fill up the gabion baskets, as that would've helped tie it in with the old building.

Though I do wonder if sometimes they hire furniture/accessories just for the filming.
I hope otherwise they got some special influencers deal as can't see how they could look at family having spent £££ of their money on that ugly kitchen and 10k of sofas.

In total contrast tonights episode, (one week later), was relatable and brilliant.
The buildings owner, a single Dad of three, was thrifty and wanted a building for his family’s needs. No excess of rooms, and no hubristic over indulgence.
I’ll be honest, although I’ve never been the worlds greatest fan of timber cladding, but the end result, so suited its woodland & waterside setting, that I can’t imagine any other type of building being there.

Kinda takes the fun out of it though, hey?

I really liked this evenings one. I thought it was too close to the pond when they showed the graphic, but it was perfect at the end.

Only one question... did they get the caravan off site, or is it still there?

Do they still make Grand Designs?!

I haven't been able to bear it for a few years now.

The general formula is offensive to me - couple with no idea of their entitlement and privilege, want to build a fucking massive eco home and go to extreme lengths to bury it in the ground. They need a geothermal heat source because one side of the house is entirely glass, while the other is buried into a cliff face.

So during the time they should just be enjoying their lovely kids, they a building a big, knob-swinging statement to how rich and eco friendly they are.

I am pleased to say I cannot relate to any of it.

I did like last night's episode. Laser focused on cost and plans iterated when necessary. No pregnancy and no 'in by Christmas'

I know he overspent but with all the inflation last year, I thought he did very well.

His decor was the polar opposite to his mum's

It was a great house last night.
Oh my ! His Mum's house. The clutter. All I was thinking about was the amount of dust.
Her life her choice I know but if I had 2 grandchildren and my son staying for a period of time and my house was packed to the gills with unnecessary stuff I would declutter a bit.

When Kevin did his solo bit to camera at the end you could see the caravan behind the garages

Personally I'd keep the caravan and do it up. It would be great for when the little kids are teens and want to have parties in the garden. Or for guests to stay in.

Oh god, that was bizarre! The guy wheeled in his new girlfriend at the end and Kevin’s face was “wtf”. Priceless 😂

Yes, there was a MN thread at the time where we were all speculating that he'd bring in a spaniel or other pet by the way he did the intro.

The setting for this week's build was amazing. One thing I wasn't sure about was the windows in the bedrooms were quite narrow.

Last nights was a bit annoying, they kept going on about how he is a 'dedicated father' 'everything is for the kids', isn't that the same with every parent...?

Actually, just realised last weeks episode was definitely not for their kid 😂😂

I'm not sure that a lot of the people on GD are motivated by what's best for their kids. It's a vanity project for a lot of them, so they can have something suitably impressive. They waste years of their children's lives and risk all their financial security building an ugly box with a living room window that's bigger than the kid's' bedrooms!

At least the dad on the recent one, kept time and money to a reasonable level

That always grates with me too. I'm struggling to think of an episode where they have banged on about the woman being inspired as a mother in the same way. The bar is higher for us!

I did like this week's house - the focus on practical and cost rather than gold taps and loos with no doors. It may be rose tinted specs but were there not more "normal sized" family houses in the early series and less of the insane mansions?

The whole dedicated father thing made DD & I itch.
Cycling, excessive DIY, it's just family avoidance time.
Imagine watching that as either of his ex wives, I suspect they are still picking up the practical & mental load.

You have no way of knowing that at all. It said he had is younger kids three nights a week and his older lad lived with him full time. I am sure the cycling, diy etc happened on the days he didn't have his younger kids.

I thought the house was great and he kept as much as possible to budget. He also had great vision, not sure I would have thought about it at all if I had lived in the bungalow. I would probably just have renovated that. His plan though really maximised the value of his plot and left him with a very manageable debt in comparison to last weeks.

It bugged me a little too - don't all/ most parents create homes for their children? It's not really fanfare worthy.

I did like this episode though, good home at a sensible cost for once. The caravan appeared to still be there at the end, behind the garages. I wondered if the older lad still lived in it as one bedroom seemed to be set up as an office.

I was worried about the likelihood of mozzies / gnats from the water.