GRAND Designs returned to the small screen this week with host George Clarke at the helm, helping people build their perfect pads – and hopefully within budget.
With the show’s hotly anticipated return to Channel 4, the architect felt it was worth reflecting on some of the homes featured on previous episodes – which sometimes broke the bank.
One project that came to mind immediately was The Water Tower in Kennington, London, a property that busted the budget by a whopping £1.5 million.
The building in South East London belonged to Leigh Osborne and his partner Graham Voce, who had put everything on the line to transform the 100-foot water tower into a stunning, comfortable family home.
The couple picked up the tower for £380,000 with the expectation they’d need to throw around £600,000 at the renovation.
How wrong they were, with the final figure bill for the revamp of this Grade II listed building finally coming in at an eye-watering £2 million.
They added a two-storey glass cube to one side of the property, boasting Europe’s largest set of sliding doors (at the time, at least).
Once the build was finalised, its 7.5-metre living room offered the family gorgeous panoramic views of London.
Spread over 10 floors in total, the five-bed, four-bath digs went on sale last year at a cool £3.6 million.
The project might have shot over Leigh and Graham’s original budget by a staggering £1.5 million, but at least they’d turn a similar profit after it was flogged.
Another place mentioned during the Grand Designs episode was The Glass House in Brixton, London, an energy-efficient pad made of milky glass.
And then there was The House of Fun, a West London abode full of “rare personality”, according to estate agents.
The look back on these properties came after The Curvy Seashell House, which featured on a 2005 episode of the series, recently went on sale for £1.45 million.
