Well, there was me thinking U75 was all about Left-Wing politics and Punk Rock and there's a Thread about "Grand Designs!"
I must say, having read all of it, that it's been great fun observing all your thoughts. I am a fan of the show, even though I hate property porn with a vengeance, but you're all right: there is clearly a pattern at play, there are certain cliches that reappear over and over again and Kevin is just so sceptical and negative.
I think in some ways the programme doesn't help itself as it compresses time, so a 4 year build with a couple in their 30's won't necessarily reveal all the struggle and sleepless nights as they wouldn't have aged that much (though their kids might, if they have any). I suppose the Hobbit House that has taken 20 years and still isn't finished is more revealing of the logistics involved in both house building and making the programme - the couple were markedly older at the end than the start.
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the "House of the Year" specials that have appeared periodically in Decembers past? Some of them are enormous, money-no-object design projects rather than cosy homes to be lived in, but some have been small and modest.
I am a keen Environmentalist and would love to self-generate my own energy and be off the National Grid, so any homes that prioritise that aspect will always appeal to me more. I generally don't have an issue with anyone who appears on the show, whether they have money or not. I think sometimes the editing could be a bit kinder, but I also think the show can be guilty of making it all look easier than it actually is.
Personally, I wouldn't self-build, but I'd be more than happy to move into a house whereby somebody else had already done all the work! I'd be more interested to explore Green technologies and retrofit them to an existing build, I think that might be more cost-effective, maybe even try and get it close to passive house standards.
I also don't care too much about what something looks like from the outside as I think most of us spend more time on the inside looking out, so getting an attractive interior with lots of light and great views would be of more importance to me. I'm also a big fan of wood as a building material, both outside and in, as it's warm and organic, so cladding your home with sustainable versions of the stuff would work for me.
I also think, because it's just me living here, I wouldn't bother having lots of smaller rooms, I'd have fewer rooms but bigger in size with floor to ceiling windows. And I'd avoid black like the plague! Have lots of warm and inviting colours and soft furnishings. I'd be hammering those 3D computer models like a maniac!
I'd also never project manage, make sure everything is carefully costed in advance and leave all the complicated and technical stuff to the experts as it's their livelihoods.
One of my favourite houses was built by an elderly retired couple and it was a Hauf Haus:
Prefab homes in superior quality. ✓ Individually planned ✓ Wood-glass architecture ✓ Turnkey ✓ Smart ➜ Start Here!
www.huf-haus.com
Failing that, something that could be constructed off-site and then transported to the location. The Huf Haus took 7 days to put up once it arrived - all the ground works had been pre-prepared and the house arrived by lorry in pre-fabricated parts. The German builders then just put it all together, like a giant kit, and I think it had already been pre-wired and insulated, too. It was water-tight after just one week, so interior fittings and fixtures were very straightforward. I can't remember about the windows, I think they came as part of the package, but everything fitted first time, no fettling involved!
I just find the programme very inspiring and usually come away dreaming of living out my final years in such a place, so I always admire anyone who's had the bollocks to at least try it.
www.standard.co.uk
www.knightfrank.co.uk
