Grand Designs - New Series

[BoRED S2upid]

On reflection they missed a trick with this one. If they had started out with that much money and an exceptional architect and the problem that for the next 10 years you may have a viable plot to build on but in the future the plot will be falling into the sea they could have built something that could be taken down and relocated. What they built had a steel frame that could be unbolted and moved they surley could have solved the problem and had a nice house to leave to their kids to move to a new location.

Can those Huff houses be disassembled and moved?

[qube_TA]

Adam B said:

Tastes differ. I cannot stand clutter, fussiness of design or small "cosy" rooms and so simple clean lines, open plan spaces and limited use of bright colours appeals to me.

Plus these are new builds, so there is going to be a natural bias to more modern design, if you want old fashioned character you buy an old place.

Something like that place would be my ideal home, some small details were not my taste and I would want it 20% bigger (extra bedroom, plus a large separate lounge separate from the kitchen/dining/living area

I'm like this also. I like zero clutter, clean lines, space and light. I can't relax in my home if there are items left out or stuff on the floor. End up tidying up when I get in from work to make it all clear before I can finally sit down and chill.
It's also a pain as every Christmas we get bought ornaments and similar apparently because 'you haven't got anything', so we have to have this arbitrary thing out on display for a few months before it can quietly go to a charity shop!

[anonymous-user]

qube_TA said:

I'm like this also. I like zero clutter, clean lines, space and light. I can't relax in my home if there are items left out or stuff on the floor. End up tidying up when I get in from work to make it all clear before I can finally sit down and chill.
It's also a pain as every Christmas we get bought ornaments and similar apparently because 'you haven't got anything', so we have to have this arbitrary thing out on display for a few months before it can quietly go to a charity shop!

I just tell people "no ornaments of any kind as they will end up in he charity shop". Have not had one in years

[boyse7en]

Adam B said:

Tastes differ. I cannot stand clutter, fussiness of design or small "cosy" rooms and so simple clean lines, open plan spaces and limited use of bright colours appeals to me.

Plus these are new builds, so there is going to be a natural bias to more modern design, if you want old fashioned character you buy an old place.

Something like that place would be my ideal home, some small details were not my taste and I would want it 20% bigger (extra bedroom, plus a large separate lounge separate from the kitchen/dining/living area

I'm the same, and would love a house along broadly similar lines as the one on GD last night.

But one thing always gets me about this style of house (which has been shown dozens of times on GD over the years). Where do they put all the 'stuff' that comes with living in them?
I mean, I can throw away ornaments and vases etc with the best of them, but where do they put stuff like the hoover, ironing board, wheelie bins, spare duvets? None of them ever seem to have anything else but a wall-mounted TV - no Playstation, DVD player, etc with a nest of wires hanging down. My house is fairly minimally decorated, but there just seems to be an accumulation of essential but boring items that just have to be kept handy

The gardens, too, always seem to be immaculate, yet have nowhere to store a mower/spade/hedgetrimmer etc. I've got several sheds full of tools, paint, and deckchairs for the summer, so how do they do it?
Do they actually hide all the stuff in a lorry and drive it up the road when Kev comes a'calling?

[anonymous-user]

boyse7en said:

I'm the same, and would love a house along broadly similar lines as the one on GD last night.

But one thing always gets me about this style of house (which has been shown dozens of times on GD over the years). Where do they put all the 'stuff' that comes with living in them?
I mean, I can throw away ornaments and vases etc with the best of them, but where do they put stuff like the hoover, ironing board, wheelie bins, spare duvets? None of them ever seem to have anything else but a wall-mounted TV - no Playstation, DVD player, etc with a nest of wires hanging down. My house is fairly minimally decorated, but there just seems to be an accumulation of essential but boring items that just have to be kept handy

The gardens, too, always seem to be immaculate, yet have nowhere to store a mower/spade/hedgetrimmer etc. I've got several sheds full of tools, paint, and deckchairs for the summer, so how do they do it?
Do they actually hide all the stuff in a lorry and drive it up the road when Kev comes a'calling?

In my self-build I have all the BluRay, Apple TV, Amp etc etc in a cupboard in my office served via Cat 6 so that you only need the TV in the living room. Keeps all the crap hidden.

[dom9]

Loved the house - beautiful!

But agree with the other posters and Kevin... A lot of money to spend if it falls into the sea!

Get the feeling they'll be leaving their kids a few quid anyway though

[Adam B]

garyhun said:

In my self-build I have all the BluRay, Apple TV, Amp etc etc in a cupboard in my office served via Cat 6 so that you only need the TV in the living room. Keeps all the crap hidden.

got some pics if not a rude request? sounds nice

(the property design, not the cabling )

Edited by Adam B on Thursday 4th September 20:01

[anonymous-user]

Adam B said:

got some pics if not a rude request? sounds nice

(the property design, not the cabling )

Edited by Adam B on Thursday 4th September 20:01

Last page of this should hopefully show you.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[anonymous-user]

pidsy said:

so fed up with these sterile white, glass shiny kitchened buildings. none of them look like homes - they alllook like doctors surgeries.

how can you have a lazy day at home in a house that looks like a feature in the design museum!?

i'd be terrified to put a cup down without a coaster or even use the kitchen for cooking. these people either love the cold feeling or want it to look all design perfect for when kevin turns up, then as soon as the cameras leave, fill the place with comfy cushions and homely stuff!

Mrs CK always yells at the telly...."Where's all their stuff?!!! Where are their DVDs, their phone chargers, their car keys? Where's their laundry basket?!!!"
That said, we did spot some bottles in the shower.

[Roo]

Loved the house but not sure how well I'd sleep at night if there was a storm raging outside.

[Le Pop]

I haven't seen the new episode yet. However it has to be said that GD seems to focus on more of the white/glass/steel box latterly, rather than old castles/barns whatever which personally I find more interesting.

Fingers crossed some more variation in this new series...

[Adam B]

boyse7en said:

But one thing always gets me about this style of house (which has been shown dozens of times on GD over the years). Where do they put all the 'stuff' that comes with living in them?
I mean, I can throw away ornaments and vases etc with the best of them, but where do they put stuff like the hoover, ironing board, wheelie bins, spare duvets?

maybe the GD production team decide not to film the utility room / interiors of the cupboards / loft space?

[northwest monkey]

pidsy said:

so fed up with these sterile white, glass shiny kitchened buildings. none of them look like homes - they alllook like doctors surgeries.

how can you have a lazy day at home in a house that looks like a feature in the design museum!?

i'd be terrified to put a cup down without a coaster or even use the kitchen for cooking. these people either love the cold feeling or want it to look all design perfect for when kevin turns up, then as soon as the cameras leave, fill the place with comfy cushions and homely stuff!

I've got the Grand Designs book, and it looks back at 100 of the houses shown (some abroad). There was a couple who built a "car showroom" type place, and after a year of living in it sold it at a loss and moved. They hated living in a glass box, never feeling cosy, the feeling of "people can see in, but we can't see out" at night, no curtains so no privacy, too open-plan - the list goes on. To me, they look more like something you'd display goods in rather than something you could live in happily.

Each to their own I suppose.

[droopsnoot]

Crossflow Kid said:

Mrs CK always yells at the telly...."Where's all their stuff?!!! Where are their DVDs, their phone chargers, their car keys? Where's their laundry basket?!!!"
That said, we did spot some bottles in the shower.

Two bottles in the shower? Oh sorry, wrong thread.

I always wonder about the stuff as well, not just in GD houses, but in all of these building property shows. The woman with the minuscule cottage in the £100k build programme the other day couldn't move for boxes of stuff she had no room for in all the 'before' shots, but as soon as they'd finished the job, even though they'd converted one bedroom (or junk store) into a bathroom, miraculously all the clutter has gone as well.

And I wonder about these 'over budget' things - on 'building a dream home' the other night where they built on a tiny plot that didn't look big enough for a garage, they budgeted £60k - £80k on the build, and spent £145k, but where does it come from? Are they just mortgaged to the hilt?

Unless..... perhaps they have a massive eBay purge during the build, get rid of all their stuff, and use the money to complete the build.

Grand Designs needs to be grand though - so they've got to feature really fancy stuff with big ideas otherwise it'd just be 'Designs'. Haven't watched this weeks yet (what am I saying, I haven't watched half of the last series yet) so look forward to it.

[irocfan]

garyhun said:

That interface between glass and stone looks stunning.

agreed on this... but the whole "no blinds" thing did my head in - fine if you're swinging with your guests and an exhibitionist who enjoys a long, soothing shower but otherwise why?

I hadn't actually thought of the 'car showroom' aspect but now you mention it... Quite honestly I prefer Charlie Luxston's prog (can't remember the name) or Beenie's

[Sheepshanks]

droopsnoot said:

I always wonder about the stuff as well, not just in GD houses, but in all of these building property shows. The woman with the minuscule cottage in the £100k build programme the other day couldn't move for boxes of stuff she had no room for in all the 'before' shots, but as soon as they'd finished the job, even though they'd converted one bedroom (or junk store) into a bathroom, miraculously all the clutter has gone as well.

I shouted at telly about that too!

droopsnoot said:

And I wonder about these 'over budget' things - on 'building a dream home' the other night where they built on a tiny plot that didn't look big enough for a garage, they budgeted £60k - £80k on the build, and spent £145k, but where does it come from? Are they just mortgaged to the hilt?

Unless..... perhaps they have a massive eBay purge during the build, get rid of all their stuff, and use the money to complete the build.

This surely should become an increasing problem as money is tight. Some of the past ones have been bonkers - a £500K ish job miles over budget in Oxon/Berks where the woman was selling home-made jam or something to raise money. Like that's going to help. But suddenly they've got the money they need.

[The Don of Croy]

northwest monkey said:

I've got the Grand Designs book, and it looks back at 100 of the houses shown (some abroad). There was a couple who built a "car showroom" type place, and after a year of living in it sold it at a loss and moved. They hated living in a glass box, never feeling cosy, the feeling of "people can see in, but we can't see out" at night, no curtains so no privacy, too open-plan - the list goes on. To me, they look more like something you'd display goods in rather than something you could live in happily.

Each to their own I suppose.

It's the lack of curtains/blinds...how quickly do you adjust to long summer days (light from 04:15 ish?)...

And who cleans all those windows? Must be a full time job (esp. by the lively N.Wales coast).

Sorry to be so cynically pragmatic but sometimes I like to see homes where real people live. In squalor. Like having a kitchen without a wine cooler and a steam oven.

[anonymous-user]

irocfan said:

garyhun said:

That interface between glass and stone looks stunning.

agreed on this... but the whole "no blinds" thing did my head in - fine if you're swinging with your guests and an exhibitionist who enjoys a long, soothing shower but otherwise why?

I hadn't actually thought of the 'car showroom' aspect but now you mention it... Quite honestly I prefer Charlie Luxston's prog (can't remember the name) or Beenie's

I just finished a highly contemporary self build with lots of glass. However, all the bedroom and have shutters (and curtains too in master bed) and the reception rooms have curtains. Whilst I understand this desire to not spoil the 'lines' in a crisp house, the soft stuff makes a massive difference in warming up the place and reducing echo, echo, echo, echo!

[Sheepshanks]

The Don of Croy said:

And who cleans all those windows? Must be a full time job (esp. by the lively N.Wales coast).

That bit's easy - self cleaning glass.

[northwest monkey]

They couldn't have been that strapped for cash. My missus admired the spinning wind things in the garden & mentioned about having one for Christmas. The place they got them from was in Canada - cheapest was $1700

What I didn't understand about this build though was the couple seemed pretty smart. So in 25 years time, when they decide to sell up and downsize, then what?

I'd imagine as that property stands right now it would be incredibly difficult to get a mortgage, in 25 years when it's a bit more "sea-fronted" probably impossible.