Grand Designs - 4th March
Discussion
GreenDog said:
Snake the Sniper said:
Have any recent Grand Designs been homely? Whilst I appreciate that may be part of what makes it Grand, none of them have appeared to be homes. Even the ones with kids in them look like modern health care/national heritage type places.
The most homely has been last weeks build. It certainly wasn't large and it had its issues but at least it didn't look like a car showroom.I just don't get the 'open plan living' obsession, what's wrong with separate living rooms and kitchen ?
Snake the Sniper said:
Have any recent Grand Designs been homely? Whilst I appreciate that may be part of what makes it Grand, none of them have appeared to be homes. Even the ones with kids in them look like modern health care/national heritage type places.
I saw a 2005 repeat of one last night and the house was an open plan, wood built in the middle of the countryside right on the edge of a big lake. lots of glass (even the staircase steps are made of sheets of glass) so you could see the views. One of the really nice touches was a huge fish tank set in one of the interior retaining walls so you could see through the 'wall' to the outside. I missed the beginning of it but that just has to be the best one I have seen on GDIf I had paid a guy 40k for that staircase it would have been stained and made a feature so you could see the craftsmanship. My bet the guy who made was sick when he saw what they did to it. Like the kitchen, what's the point of making cabinets with dovetail joints and then painting them?
Catz said:
FourWheelDrift said:
Bad echo outside 
Yeah I noticed that too.I do wonder about these polished concrete floors. Ok they might have underfloor heating but they can't be very comfy if you fancy a tumble ... erm while playing with the dog or whatever ...
whislt the project was one of the better ones of the series, it wasnt to my taste, saying that there were some features that i liked, like the staircase and the ladder
but paying £40,000 for a stair case is really top end prices, id have wanted it finnished much better for that money
why would you build a house with such a shallow roof, it rains in england, it rained for days on the show a high pitch roof would be most suited but im sure they had their reasons
why would you point the sofa away from the views, especially after spending god knows how much on the windows
and this being pistonheads
doug
but paying £40,000 for a stair case is really top end prices, id have wanted it finnished much better for that money
why would you build a house with such a shallow roof, it rains in england, it rained for days on the show a high pitch roof would be most suited but im sure they had their reasons
why would you point the sofa away from the views, especially after spending god knows how much on the windows
and this being pistonheads
riwiho said:
I hope they have a series 1 defender in there
surely thats a condridiction?doug
Trommel said:
dugt said:
but paying £40,000 for a stair case is really top end prices, id have wanted it finnished much better for that money
What did you think was was wrong with the finish?but i can admire the effort gone into making such a structure, especially if it was his first staircase
doug
Trommel said:
dugt said:
but paying £40,000 for a stair case is really top end prices, id have wanted it finnished much better for that money
What did you think was was wrong with the finish?
HRG said:
speedychrissie said:
It is interesting how much this one has split opinions. I personally thought it was one of the nicest outcomes of the recent episodes. I understand that it isnt very traditional but I thought it was very well thought out and came together very nicely indeed.
And am I the only person here who actually liked the staircase? In my opinion it was marvelous! Maybe I am seeing it more from a woodworkers perspective
And am I the only person here who actually liked the staircase? In my opinion it was marvelous! Maybe I am seeing it more from a woodworkers perspective
I loved all the different curves the kitchen worked really well - it looked durable and no doubt will get worked hard
great house, detailing was really good but I wasn't sure about the sanitaryware or the storage - it also looked like they only just moved in as there wasn't many personal effects about which made it look a bit austere
Snoggledog said:
Trommel said:
dugt said:
but paying £40,000 for a stair case is really top end prices, id have wanted it finnished much better for that money
What did you think was was wrong with the finish?Mrs B&B summed it up: another car showroom, and where are the curtains?
Mind you looking at Mrs Farmer perhaps they don't need them, she is probably running about the place naked with garlands of hawthorn and elderflowers most of the time anyway.
I cannot believe that cost £660K! Wil it still be up in 100 years? I am not so sure these tripple glazed, cedar clad boarded and skimmed homes are robust enough for real life living. Ever farmer's house I have ever been in has had a rather grubby kitchen, a filthy porch or boot room, a rickerty back door and papers and boxes everywhere.
I did however like the 'life time and then some' philosphy (if that is true), the build quality and the local craftsmen and was so glad the Eco thing didn't dominate again.
rfisher said:
Sweaty Betty the blacksmith was strangely attractive and frightening at the same time.
Quite. I was expecting the gates to be late because of an unexpected pregnancy coming in from the left field.This is about the first one so far I am unreservedly enthusiastic about. It was superb, nice people, not arrogant, got what they want and in a magnificent setting. This is also about the first one where the context was talked about, and addressed well.
I'm not sure the plywood stairway was £40,000 quids worth though it looked good at the end, and the handrail was a work of art. With an idiosyncratic Architect like that fuzzball, you are either going to succeed spectacularly or come an expensive cropper. The business with manufacturing the windows while the openings were being constructed was a serious unnecessary risk and only done as far as I can see to demonstrate how clever he was. To my mind it was the only thing which tended to suggest the opposite. As a team they succeeded spectacularly.
If we are going to be hypercritical I am not sure if and how the windows from the bedrooms worked. Having suspended that first floor deck - a brilliant piece of work most structural engineers would try to discourage you from doing - they then concealed the fact with a whole lot of walls. Having put, as Kevin said, plaster beads round all of the plaster junctions, they formed them tight, whereas just 10mm away would have left a nice clean shadow gap. And I loved the wood, I wouldn't have covered it up with that nasty grey stain - the natural colours would have contrasted beautifully with the grey of the external cedar when it mellowed. However I accept that natural wood finishes on a farm can harbour all sorts of undesirable flora and fauna, like beetles and ringworm.
Good luck to them. Brilliant. Best yet.
Beyond Rational said:
AJLintern said:
An impressive build, but not homely - more like a commercial premesis, albeit a nice one!
In many ways, that is what a modern farm has to be, I think they successfully created an upto date farmhouse.Skywalker said:
outnumbered said:
"Health Centre".
Good call. It isn't very homely is it?
cardigankid said:
but what they really lacked was a nice open fire, not a small one inside a condom,
The only point in your excellent review I disagree with. I'd have to watch again to be certain but they had more than one high - end modern swiveling Jotul log burner. Those things are capable of displaying a huge flame front while burning wood efficiently, and perfectly added to the 21st century farmhouse feel of the place. Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff