WALKING into a stunning circular tower, with panoramic views over the Bristol Channel, I took a sharp intake of breath at the sheer beauty of the outlook.
The Storm Room Edward Short was proudly showing me was the piece de resistance of his now-doomed dream home, Chesil Beach House, which featured in the “saddest ever” Grand Designs.
Downstairs, the incredible glass-fronted property boasted six huge, airy bedrooms with balconies looking over the water, an office with a sea view to die for, a cinema room, various spacious living rooms and an infinity pool.
But the lighthouse-inspired clifftop mansion cost the music producer £8million and led to the breakdown of his marriage to Hazel, who appeared with him in the 2018 programme along with daughters Nicole and Lauren, and left him drowning in debt.
Tragically, Edward has never even lived in his beautiful house, which he is still unable to sell six years on from the programme, and is unlikely to break even when he does.
He has admitted as much ever since I first visited the home in 2022, when the painstaking project was finally completed.
But dreamers like him are just what makes Grand Designs – which turns 25 today – the compelling show it is.
It’s not just about property porn, and lusting over the incredible houses some people can afford to build, but about the real struggles that people go through to get there.
Faced with Edward’s own brand of blind optimism, and refusal to compromise, presenter Kevin McCloud was visibly frustrated
But it made for brilliant TV.
Over the years, we viewers have oohed and aahed at wacky ecohouses, crazy conversions and frankly weird living spaces.
We’ve watched, astounded, as visionary owners turned water towers, a vinegar factory and the unforgettable cave house in Wyre Forest, Worcestershire, into amazing spaces.
But we can’t help feeling a little smug when disaster strikes, costs spiral, and dreams go up in a puff of smoke – reminding us why we’ve never ploughed our life savings into converting a cowshed in the country into a five-bed show home. It’s human nature.
We can also sigh over the gorgeous homes which some manage to complete on the show while shouting at the telly at every build we consider a monstrosity or blot on the landscape.
But behind every design is also a human story, which can often move us to tears.
Few can forget the 2022 episode which saw John build an £1.8 house he could live in with wife Helen, with the help of their son, after the couple had been forced to live apart by a severe stroke which left her disabled, in 2018.
Despite his problems, Edward Short remains stunningly optimistic and has no regrets that he gave his Grand Design his best shot.
“With hindsight, obviously, building a lighthouse was not the right idea but I still own it and we’re still not at the end of that chapter,” he cheerfully told me recently.
While most of us sit in our boring humdrum homes, or fantasise about the self-build we might one day own if only we had the cash, it’s those dreamers and optimists that act on their vision that keep us glued to Grand Designs after quarter of a century.
Here, Kevin Adjei-Darko explores other budget breakers that have appeared on the show.
Simon and Jasmine Dale and their children embarked on a sustainable living project in Lammas, Pembrokeshire, Wales, with just £500 in their accounts.
They aimed to live off the land in a government-backed village and had to prove self-sufficiency within five years.
The couple used earth, straw, and timber for construction and relied on purchases from car boot sales and eBay for furnishing.
The project faced initial challenges and relied on volunteers for labour.
By October 2013, Simon hoped to have the house ready for the family to move in by the following winter. However, setting up a small business as a condition of staying at Lammas delayed their plans.
By August 2014, they were able to add to their £500 thanks to Jazmine running horticultural courses and selling produce. Simon also did consultancy work on low-impact buildings.
They spent around £5,500 on insulation and damp proofing for the house.
Four years later, the family finally settled into their new home, having spent a modest £27,000. Kevin said it was “the cheapest house ever built in the Western Hemisphere”.
But tragically, in 2018, their eco-house burnt down in a New Year’s Day blaze, leaving them homeless.
The Hux Shard in Devon, featured on Grand Designs in 2021, ended up costing 199 per cent more than planned, totalling £2.5million instead of the initial £835,000.
Even Kevin McCloud admitted the whole design was a case of property developer Joe and his wife Claire Pridays having “more money than sense”.
The kitchen alone cost an astounding £125,000. Claire said: “It is an expensive kitchen but you can’t buy it from the high street. It’s the focal point of the house.”
The huge house spanned 6,000 sq ft, had five bedroom suites, and included a cinema, a gym, a study, and a utility room.
It was plagued with many problems from the start, including delays, bad weather, the Covid crisis, and the task of putting in 46 panes of glass that cost £200,000.
Once completed, the house’s project manager Phil said: “It has been a nightmare of a project. There’s nothing worse than when stuff turns up and it doesn’t fit together. But as I’ve always said as I’ve gone on and on, we’ll get there on on and on.
“I wouldn’t want to live there. But I’m emotionally attached to it. We’ll look back in time and drive past and think we built that.’
Despite the budget and social media’s backlash, Joe and Claire were ecstatic about their new build.
He said: “I am completely and utterly satisfied and that’s quite rare for me. This is exactly what I hoped it would be.”
This mansion in the coastal village of Quarr, Isle of Wight, cost Bram and Lisa Vis a whopping £3.3million to build. They took out ELEVEN loans to finance the project.
Initially budgeted at £800,000, construction costs eventually reached £2.2million. The couple paid £935,000 for the plot, bringing the total to over £3million.
When featured on Grand Designs in 2015, host Kevin said it was the most expensive project he had ever followed.
The property features a private beach, heated swimming pool, and jacuzzi, and its stunning exterior is made of stone and timber.
Inside, the open-plan kitchen-living area offers panoramic views, while the ground floor includes a sitting room, two studies, and two double bedrooms with beach views.
Upstairs, the master bedroom suite boasts a roof terrace and a waterproof TV in the en-suite bathroom. The basement houses a games room, laundry room, and three additional bedrooms.
When the couple put the home on the market, estate agents expected it to sell for £4million. But after it failed to sell, £1million was slashed off the price.
This meant it was eventually listed for a lower price than it cost to build.
Tiffany Wood and her husband Jonny aimed to build a high-end German pre-fabricated home in Bath.
The groundworks turned out to be the most expensive ever featured on the show, with an initial estimate of £300,000.
However, they encountered multiple setbacks, including discovering an underground stream and the neighbour’s wall collapsing.
Despite these challenges, the couple eventually completed their five-bedroom, 4,000 sq ft home constructed by German manufacturer Baufritz.
Despite its well-insulated and ventilated structure, the project’s finances remained undisclosed.
Tiffany eventually revealed in 2011 that the cost was around £2.25 million, significantly surpassing the initial £1million projection.
