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The Best Episodes of Grand Designs

Every episode of Grand Designs ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Grand Designs!

The Best Episodes of Grand Designs

British television series which features unusual and often elaborate architectural homebuilding projects.
  1. Background image for River Thames: Floating House
    9.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - River Thames: Floating House

    S14:E7

    Andy and Nicki Bruce try to build an experimental flood-proof floating house on an island in the River Thames. But building such a complex design on a site with limited access is not easy. Andy and Nicki Bruce's amphibious house, the first of its kind in the UK. Their architect has come up with an ambitious, experimental design that has never been tried on a river bank in Britain and no one knows whether it will work. The Bruces decide to build on a site on a small island in the river. But it's not long before the project becomes bogged down in the logistical challenges of building such a complex design on a small island that is only accessible by a narrow footbridge.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Worcestershire: The Cave House
    9.0/10(1 votes)

    #2 - Worcestershire: The Cave House

    S16:E4

    Kevin McCloud follows the progress of 37-year-old Angelo Mastropietro, as he transforms a damp, dark and abandoned cave in Worcestershire. Having recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Angelo wants to create a retreat to help him cope with the news and become a 21st century caveman. He has a budget of pounds 100,000 and plans to almost single-handedly carve, cut and drill into the hillside to make the cave comfortable for contemporary living. However, there is no manual for a project of this kind, and the unique challenge soon becomes an obsession.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Billingshurst, Sussex Revisit 2023
    8.1/10(17 votes)

    #3 - Billingshurst, Sussex Revisit 2023

    S24:E8

    In 2019, Olaf and Fritha set out to build on a tricky slice of land in West Sussex, boxed in by an A-road and trainline. Kevin McCloud returns to see how their triangular triumph is faring.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Milton Keynes: Round House
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #4 - Milton Keynes: Round House

    S14:E3

    Peter Berkin and his wife Chard have decided to build a new home at the bottom of their garden. Problem is, right from the start they can't agree on any part of the design - even the basic shape. Peter wants the new house to feature a workshop where he can build a plane. He wants the house to be round. Chard however wants it to be square and practical. Peter aims to spend pounds 400K, Chard wants to keep the budget around pounds 200K. With Peter building as much of the house as he can himself, helped by his mates, and Chard taking control of the money and schedule, it looks like a recipe for disaster.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for County Derry: Shipping Container House
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #5 - County Derry: Shipping Container House

    S14:E4

    A young farmer and architect in Northern Ireland hopes to make a home out of four large shipping containers welded together to form a giant cross. Patrick Bradley has come up with a pounds 100k house design to be built out of four 45-foot shipping containers, welded together to form a giant cross and cantilevered over the top of a stream at a beautiful secluded spot on the family farm. His mum is hoping his new home will get Patrick a girlfriend. But his tiny budget is soon under threat.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Revisited – Creuse, France: 19th Century Manor House
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #6 - Revisited – Creuse, France: 19th Century Manor House

    S14:E8

    Kevin McCloud returns to a remote part of France and a restoration project of a dilapidated manor house started back in 2003 by Denise Daniel and Doug Ibbs. When Denise Daniel and Doug Ibbs gave up everything in the UK to start a new life in a remote part of central France, they couldn't have known what was ahead of them. Most people would have regretted falling in love with a massive, dilapidated manor house with just four crumbling walls and half a roof, but not Doug and Deni. This impressive, extraordinary and utterly determined couple rolled up their sleeves and slogged away day and night, doing everything themselves, year after year, until slowly but surely they created a magnificent edifice out of the ruins they bought off the internet.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for West Sussex: The Perfectionist's Bungalow
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #7 - West Sussex: The Perfectionist's Bungalow

    S16:E1

    Kevin McCloud meets Clinton Dall from Sussex, a self-made businessman and father of four aiming to build one of the largest homes ever featured on the show. Dall wants the end project to be perfect - from the finish of his mirrored cruciform steel columns, to how the floor tiles line up with the dining room table, and is willing to spend whatever it takes to achieve his vision. However, the construction represents a huge risk, as down one road lies abject failure and financial ruin, while down the other, is the creation of something sublime and almost heroic.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for East Sussex: The Boat House
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #8 - East Sussex: The Boat House

    S16:E2

    Boat enthusiast James Strangeways invites Kevin McCloud to survey progress on the construction of his new home, which his architect nephew Ben Hebblethwaite has designed to be as 'un-houselike' as possible. James has spent the past 35 years travelling the canals and waterways of Britain, and despite never liking houses, has decided now is the time to put down roots on dry land. Ben hoped a home standing on stilts above a marsh, and incorporating ship-like qualities such as a keel-shaped roof, will be enough to satisfy his boat-mad uncle. However, Ben's contractor goes into liquidation a few months into the project, taking pounds 87,000 of the pounds 300,000 budget, and when James decides to make a few tweaks to the design, alarm-bells begin to ring for the young architect.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for County Antrim: The Blacksmith's House
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #9 - County Antrim: The Blacksmith's House

    S16:E5

    Kevin McCloud follows the progress of teacher Michele Long and architect Michael Howe, who want to restore and transform a 100-year-old blacksmiths in County Antrim near the coast of Northern Ireland. With virtually no practical experience, Michael wants to do as much of the project as possible by himself. However, the weather on the coastline is fierce, and the freezing weather coupled with a tight budget of 150k means the build is stretched from one to three years.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Somerset: The Concrete Cow-Shed
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #10 - Somerset: The Concrete Cow-Shed

    S16:E6

    Kevin McCloud follows the progress of private chef Ed Versluys and pilates instructor Vicky Anderson, who want to convert a concrete cowshed in the Somerset countryside into a three bedroom home. With the help of one young builder and the knowledge they can learn from the internet, the couple plan to project manage the conversion themselves. However, they have only eight months and a budget of just over pounds 200k to make a warm and comfortable home with straw bale walls and wide expanses of glass.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Lewes: The Rusty Metal House
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #11 - Lewes: The Rusty Metal House

    S16:E7

    Kevin McCloud follows the progress of Stephen Yeoman and Anita Findlay, who want to build a cutting-edge, post-industrial house covered in rusty metal. However, their prominent riverside plot in the traditional and architecturally conservative area of South Downs means everyone will be watching. The project proves to be a real rollercoaster when the fitting of the rusty steel cladding goes wrong, cash flow problems threaten to bring work to a halt, and the couple announce that a baby is on the way.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Revisited – Herefordshire: The Recycled Timber-Framed House
    8.0/10(45 votes)

    #12 - Revisited – Herefordshire: The Recycled Timber-Framed House

    S18:E9

    Following the work of Ed and Rowena Waghorn as they continue to build a handcrafted, five-bedroom house on an eight acre smallholding in Herefordshire, 10 years in the making. Progress on the build was slow as Ed decided to do most of the work himself, and after four years the house was still a shell. Now, years later, is it possible this house may finally become a medieval masterpiece?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for North Devon
    8.0/10(28 votes)

    #13 - North Devon

    S20:E6

    Edward and Hazel plan a shining white art deco lighthouse on a rugged beautiful clifftop. But almost immediately their wildly optimistic plan runs into trouble.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Newhaven Revisit 2024
    8.0/10(8 votes)

    #14 - Newhaven Revisit 2024

    S25:E6

    On a nostalgic revisit to the first ever Grand Design, from back in 1999, Kevin finds out if Tim and Jules are still flying high in their timber-framed home on the cliffs above Newhaven

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for The Derelict Water Tower
    7.9/10(43 votes)

    #15 - The Derelict Water Tower

    S12:E5

    Kevin McCloud marks the 100th episode with one of the programme's most ambitious projects to date. Leigh Osborne and Graham Voce want to convert and extend a landmark 150-year-old water tower in central London into a luxury home. Grade II-listed, derelict and with 6ft-thick walls, it's a huge challenge for the pair, who also plan to build two structures at the base - a lift shaft connected by a series of glass tunnels, and a modern living space. The result will be a four-bedroom property over nine floors, complete with a room at the top offering spectacular 360 degree views across the capital.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for South Cornwall: Steam Bending House
    7.9/10(41 votes)

    #16 - South Cornwall: Steam Bending House

    S17:E3

    Kevin McCloud meets Tom and Danielle Raffield, whose lifelong passion has been steam-bending wood. They've used the technique to create extraordinary furniture and lighting, but now plan to use it on a larger scale. In an attempt to escape the confines of their tiny gamekeeper's lodge, they have decided to build a wavy wooden house in South Cornwall, completed with curved cladding, twisted furniture and interior walls covered with weathered timber. With a £100,000 budget, the pair have decided to do a lot of the building themselves, and Kevin is on hand to discover whether they're up to the challenge.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Pembrokeshire: Low-Impact House
    7.9/10(40 votes)

    #17 - Pembrokeshire: Low-Impact House

    S17:E6

    No description available

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for East Devon Revisited
    7.9/10(25 votes)

    #18 - East Devon Revisited

    S19:E7

    Kevin returns to Devon to meet Kevin McCabe, who wanted to build one of the biggest houses ever on Grand Designs, out of mud. Seven years after it began, the cob castle is complete.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Revisited: The Woodman's Cottage, Sussex
    7.8/10(15 votes)

    #19 - Revisited: The Woodman's Cottage, Sussex

    S9:E13

    No description available

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for The Computer Cut House, Herefordshire
    7.8/10(40 votes)

    #20 - The Computer Cut House, Herefordshire

    S12:E2

    Kevin meets a pair of civil-partnered university professors, Celia Brackenridge and Diana Woodward.  They have enlisted the services of industrial designers who have developed a new computer-assisted method for cutting precision-engineered building blocks, however although the technique may be clever, its creators have never created a building before

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for Galloway
    7.8/10(31 votes)

    #21 - Galloway

    S20:E1

    Andy and Jeanette plan a precarious cliff-top build on the west coast of Scotland. There are battles with extreme weather, budget overruns, and a sudden emotional shock.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for South West London: Cemetery Keeper's Lodge
    7.8/10(44 votes)

    #22 - South West London: Cemetery Keeper's Lodge

    S21:E1

    Justin plans to restore a neo-Gothic cemetery keeper's lodge and convert its toilet block into a luxury extension complete with a moat and swimming pool. But can he keep his budget under control?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for Kent: Converted Barn
    7.8/10(42 votes)

    #23 - Kent: Converted Barn

    S21:E2

    Kevin McCloud meets Greg and Georgie who are taking on the highly ambitious task of converting a dilapidated, 35-year-old barn in Kent. The build will be a huge challenge involving the painstaking conservation of the existing rotten structure, building a new two-storey internal steel frame and recycling everything they can to stretch their £250,000 budget.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for West Sussex 2021
    7.8/10(29 votes)

    #24 - West Sussex 2021

    S22:E2

    Master carpenter Olaf faces the biggest challenge of his career: creating an oasis for himself and his partner Fritha on a tiny slice of land in Sussex near a mainline railway and A-road

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for South Herefordshire 2023
    7.8/10(22 votes)

    #25 - South Herefordshire 2023

    S24:E5

    Furniture maker Lucinda wants to construct a beautifully crafted, two-storey, highly insulated timber home in the woodland of South Herefordshire on a very modest budget, and without using heavy machinery.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Best Episodes Summary

"River Thames: Floating House" is the best rated episode of "Grand Designs". It scored 9/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/15/2014. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Worcestershire: The Cave House".