ANOTHER unfinished project has Grand Designs viewers fuming
Grand Designs viewers threaten to stop watching the show after episode 5 of the series ends with ANOTHER unfinished house after a three-year project
- Lucinda set out to build a low-impact woodland home in South Herefordshire
- READ MORE: Architect who spent £550,000 to convert garages into a family home on Grand Designs fears he may have to sell it after running out of money to build bedrooms for his two daughters
Disappointed viewers of Channel 4’s Grand Designs have bemoaned yet another unfinished project on the series – the second in two weeks.
While the exterior of the ‘woodland home’ in episode five of the new series was completed ‘beautifully’, the interior was described by host Kevin McCloud as ‘one big void’ even though its owner, Lucinda, started the project three years ago.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one unimpressed viewer commented: ‘Another week. Another shed. #GrandDesigns’.
A retired furniture-maker, Lucinda had originally thought that her low eco-impact home in South Herefordshire would take no more than 18 months to complete and would not exceed a budget of £150,000.
But when McCloud visited the house he found that ‘in stark contrast to the lovingly detailed exterior’, the inside had more in common with a building site.
On episode 5 of the new series of Grand Designs, Lucinda set out to build a ‘woodland home’ in South Herefordshire. Host Kevin McCloud described the carefully crafted building as ‘a jewel’
Having complimented Lucinda on the ‘precise and beautifully crafted’ structure and admiring ‘the black stained cladding’ which ‘contrasts crisply with that diligently placed skin of ten and a half thousand shingles’, McCloud appeared excited to look inside.
Upon welcoming the presenter to her home, Lucinda warned him: ‘I feel like I should apologise in advance’ because the project was unfinished.
McCloud walked inside the property to find what he described as a ‘blank canvas’.
The inside of the house was not only unfurnished but also structurally incomplete, with no kitchen, living room, bedroom or bathroom.
While Lucinda had built the mezzanine, she had not yet started the ‘floating staircase’ that would allow her to access it. In the meantime, she relied on a workman’s ladder to reach the first floor.
The ground floor looked less like a living space than a storage site with planks of wood that she had ‘diligently saved’ for the next phase of work stacked up in a corner.
‘Beautiful on the outside and, what shall we say, full of promise on the inside,’ McCloud commented.
Keen to build the house herself with the aid of only ‘a talented team of helpers’, which included her own children, Lucinda appeared surprisingly relaxed about the state of the house, suggesting she’d need ‘a couple of years’ to finish it.
When asked about her budget, she admitted that the house that should have cost £150,000 would now come in at ‘under £300,000’.
When McCloud ventured inside he saw that even after three years working on the project Lucinda had made no progress with the interior
Planks of wood which would be used to build Lucinda’s ‘floating staircase’ were stacked up against the wall on the ground floor of the house
Yet while Lucinda appreciated the opportunity to ‘work at your own pace’ as a ‘real luxury’, viewers of the episode were less philosophical about the unfinished project.
One angry viewer posted on X: ‘Nothing more annoying than an unfinished house when the programme ends.’
Another frustrated viewer commented: ‘Why bother airing the episode when it isn’t finished? Surely it could have waited for a different series.’
While a third said: ‘Look forward to seeing a completed house inside and out, at some point in this latest series of #GrandDesigns’.
Annoyed viewers were keen to point out that this was the second consecutive week that the building project was incomplete at the end of the episode.
‘Last week’s was unfinished too,’ said one.
While another was so dissatisfied with the episode that she threatened not to watch the the programme again.
‘Right that’s it I’m not watching #granddesigns again! Another week and another unfinished project! Sort it out @Kevin_McCloud,’ she wrote.
Lucinda told McCloud that she didn’t mind that the project had overrun and was happy to be able to work at her own pace
More a building site than a home, the ground floor of Lucinda’s home remained bereft of furniture at the end of the episode
Viewers of the episode took to X, formerly known as Twitter, largely to bemoan the second unfinished project in two weeks. Not everyone was dissatisfied with the episode though, with one woman praising ‘Lucinda’s vision’
In last week’s episode architect Graeme and graphic designer Mel admitted that after two years working on their project in London’s Hackney Downs, they may have to resort to selling the property.
The pair had run out of money to fix issues with the basement – where their daughters’ bedrooms were supposed to be.
Other viewers, however, praised Lucinda’s approach to building her perfect home, with one woman commenting:
‘Deary me you judgy lot, just enjoy the almost solo endeavours of a woman in no great rush? Use your imagination? I love it and can see Lucinda’s vision’.
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