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...

I guess fair enough if you can afford it but when people are already massively over budget, or in debt, I don't understand why they would pay another 30/40/50k or whatever on a super high spec kitchen and all new furniture, when there must be some useable furniture from wherever they lived previously, and cheaper options for a kitchen?

I know people irl who bought all new furniture for a new house as well and claimed they were really watching the pennies So obviously it is a thing.
when we moved from a flat to a house we brought all our "old" furniture (sone was only 5 years old so not falling apart) and then gradually added more or replaced it over probably a 10 year period.

I think some people's definition of no money, differs from mine. The people on GD always manage to locate a few grand from somewhere and don't seem to go without holidays etc. That's not my definition of skint.
Or they are comfortable with huge doubts of debt and massive mortgages. Maybe it's the difference between those who know they can grow their earnings in a relatively short period of time and 'poverty' isn't a long term issue for them and those of us who know our income is pretty much set for the foreseeable.

@LadyBird1973 there is a well known designer on Instagram who has just renovated and extended a derelict cottage in the Cotswolds who spent a lot of the time literally crying worrying about finances and how skint she was. Sure enough, every piece of joinery, carpentry, fixture, fitting & finish is the top end, most expensive available and the project was finished within 12 months. So, fast & high quality which is the most expensive way to do things.

I guess it's all about the "grand" in GD.
Often at the end the people have got themselves into a lot more debt than they originally planned or budgeted for.

But in almost all cases there were probably points at which compromises could have been made.
In the first show that this thread mentions, when the original plans were done they were 200k over budget. At that point they could probably have spent a few thousand slightly tweaking/downsizing the plans....which might have saved eg 50-100k off the build.
Then there might be options on materials - that if you chose a more bog-standard type of roof/brick/windows/doors/....it saves some money...
...or you could have a normal staircase that doesn't cost 50k...
....then when you fit out the interior the kitchen/bathroom/flooring options will range from budget or value to super high spec.
And you likely could have furniture that's not brand new and very expensive
...Although admittedly almost everyone on GD seems to live super minimalist style so maybe they save money by not buying books/food/clothes/toys/toiletries etc
... oh and curtains....they must save a fortune by not buying any carpet or curtains! 🤣

I don’t think they live minimally, I think they have huge houses with enough storage to hide everything.

I prefer the older episodes, I must be honest. I don’t like the fact that everything is minimalist. Even the recent budget/‘eco’ builds like the one from the forestry carpenter woman and the couple who built on that tiny patch of land behind the supermarket are minimal with no softness or comfort about them. Architecture and design doesn’t have to be a naff pastiche to be warm and inviting. I’d like to see a move away from the cold, sharp edged boxes or at least a bit of variety.

So is that it? Was it just one finished house this series? Pathetic.

Oh well, I guess I'll go back to watching The Block on SHTV.

I know the final result is staged for tv, but few of these houses seem comfortable to live in.
How much space do 2 people actually need?
I bet the London home of the divorce lawyer and her dh was absolutely lovely - I can't get my head around the kind of thought process that decides to swap a comfortable, luxurious life with holidays and lots of quality time together, for a money put building project that forces them to lead separate lives for 3 years!

I watched the Georgian House nightmare episode, mentioned earlier from season 2.
She was completely deluded. Surely going through 3 teams of architects and being 200 k over budget before even starting on site should have been warning enough. The kitchen was the size of a football pitch.
I'm surprised her DH agreed to the 750k! mortgage.

They could have not built the orangery and the ridiculously sized garage/ gardener's quarters building adjoining the main house to bring the main house in budget.

She wouldn't stop until they appeared to have lost everything.
I would love to know what happened in the end.

Yes, it certainly comes down to budget and what is realistic. If I had to spend a little less money on discretionary items for a few months in order to buy the kitchen I want, then that makes perfect sense, if I have to forego holidays and eat ramen for the foreseeable future in order to buy the kitchen I want, then someone probably needs to teach me how to live within my means. That being said, building is a nightmare, the budget is rarely what you initially set and you shouldn't do it if you don't have a healthy contingency.

I'd forgotten about that episode, @LeavesOnTrees - I wonder what happened there too.

Sorry I missed this. Thanks for the update I always wondered what happened to it.

Who watched this weeks? It was high scoring on the drinking game, but I did feel sad about them ripping up the millstone floor.
KM was clearly annoyed about the wood all being ripped out.

It's fine for KM to virtue signal about original features, but he's not the one paying!

Re the mill, I think they made a massive mistake in keeping it 4 floors - once they realised all the internal wood was shot, I think they should have made it 3 floors, then they wouldn't have needed to excavate the floor to increase headroom and the top floor wouldn't have been such a comprise with the low headroom etc. Unless it was a planning permission requirement, I think they just got caught up in keeping the floors where they used to be rather than going back to the drawing board and making it 3 decent height floors.

I remember it from the first time round and was furious with them then too.

That floor could have been beautiful and they spent time and money ripping it out. So sad.

It was a shame that they had a water wheel and didn't utilise any hydroelectric power too.

A bit unfair of Kevin constantly sniping about the couple's "preservation" when presumably if they hadn't bought it the whole place would possibly be a pile of rubble eventually.

Yes I thought his comments about old pieces of wood being in the wrong place was a bit snippy. If it was damaged it couldn’t be put back where it was so surely it’s a good thing it is being used elsewhere.

That millstone table was utterly tasteless. I liked their garden though.

I agree with you.

I have just watched the Grand Designs revisit to the triangular house, in W. Sussex, on a hemmed in, restricted plot, with a busy road on one side, and a train track on another. I don’t think that I ever watched the original.
It was amazing to watch a master craftsman at work. I have recently also watched Britains Best Woodworker (CH4) and been blown away by the variety of skills and ingenuity on that programme. So this Grand Design episode showed all of that, supersized .
This programme certainly was a pleasant change from so many of the stereotypical entitled couples that we have all been discussing on this thread.
A very pleasant change it made too.

@Fifiesta , I watched that one too. The couple just seemed really nice didn't they? Happy with their lot in life. The house wasn't to my taste at all but it was a good one to watch and catch up with as there was actual content in the 'after'.

It helps that the triangular house is modest in size, though that was dictated by the plot. Then after living there with there ivf baby they decide it is actually big enough for a couple of foster kids. Makes a change from the usual entitled posh faMillie’s who need a mansion for their 2.4 children.

I watched that one as well. Lovely family, but I couldn't get past them calling their baby such a dreadful name!

@Toddlerteaplease what did they call their baby?

I think it was Lagatha.