Kevin McCloud follows some of Britain’s most ambitious self-building projects, as intrepid individuals attempt to design and construct the home of their dreams.
In this episode, Kevin meets south London chef Corinne, who loves to cook and entertain and is rustling up plans for a beautifully crafted, double kitchen home designed around her love of cooking. She’s found what she thinks is the perfect plot to take in sweeping views while enjoying an al fresco dinner with friends – a slither of garden down the side of the house she’s lived in for the last 24 years. Unusually for London, this wedge-shaped end-of-terrace plot is on a hill and surrounded by beautiful woodland.
However, Corinne’s challenging site also sits within a strict conservation area, meaning a further series of tight restrictions, hurdles and headaches to overcome as construction gets underway. But beyond the stress of building, Corinne also has a personal motivation for creating a home she loves. She recently got divorced and then spent lockdown having cancer treatment in isolation. For Corinne, the house is a unique opportunity to create a space that represents a new lease of life, and one that is shaped on her own terms. This house is vital for her on so many levels. She isn’t doing the build completely alone, though – she’s engaged an architect to collaborate with, and their relationship is a key to success.
The contract is to deliver the house for a given price, but early setbacks with groundworks, the surging cost of materials and Corinne’s expensive tastes mean a relationship that starts out amiably enough is soon put under real pressure.
GRAND DESIGNS, CHANNEL 4, 9pm
