The Best Episodes of Grand Designs

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
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   8.3/10(23 votes)

   #1 - Yorkshire: The 14th Century Castle

   S7:E12/28/2007

   Every Englishman’s home is his castle but for Francis Shaw this is quite literally true. He and his wife, Karen, and their two young daughters, bought the ruins of a 14th Century castle in Yorkshire and took on the remarkable challenge of turning a pile of stones into a beautiful home. Surrounded by rolling green fields, the location is idyllic; however, the castle itself was little more than four crumbling walls.

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2. 

   8.3/10(56 votes)

   #2 - County Derry: Shipping Container House

   S14:E49/24/2014

   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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3. 

   8.1/10(46 votes)

   #3 - Worcestershire: The Cave House

   S16:E49/30/2015

   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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4. 

   8.1/10(17 votes)

   #4 - Billingshurst, Sussex Revisit 2023

   S24:E812/6/2023

   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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5. 

   8.1/10(12 votes)

   #5 - Newhaven Revisit 2024

   S25:E610/30/2024

   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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6. 

   8.0/10(14 votes)

   #6 - Revisited - Sussex: The Woodsmans Cottage

   S5:E810/26/2005

   Kevin returns to see how Ben Law's woodsman's cottage has changed. The house has bedded down into its landscaped kitchen garden and his life has changed in unexpected ways.

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7. 

   8.0/10(19 votes)

   #7 - Cambridge: The Cambridgeshire Eco Home

   S7:E105/2/2007

   Kelly and Masoko Neville set about building not just a spectacular oak frame and straw bale house, but a whole new way of life in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Kelly is a carpenter by trade and has always dreamed of building an eco friendly home with his own hands. This highly sustainable house, sitting in harmony with nature and its surroundings, will become the base for Kelly and Masoko's new self-sufficient life where they will produce their own food and energy from the land.

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8. 

   8.0/10(46 votes)

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

   S18:E911/1/2017

   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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9. 

   7.9/10(21 votes)

   #9 - The Isolated Cottage, Brecon Beacons, Wales

   S2:E48/7/2001

   An isolated hilltop in the Brecon Beacons might seem an inhospitable place for a couple's first home. But Adrian and Corinna both grew up in the area, and the ruined farmhouse they chose to restore had been in Adrian's family for generations. The site's lack of mains water and electricity gave them no qualms. True, the track up the hill was often inaccessible in winter. But the landscape was beautiful and they both felt they belonged there

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10. 

    7.9/10(14 votes)

    #10 - Revisited - Buckinghamshire: The Inverted-Roof House

    S4:E32/4/2004

    In November 2001, Tom and Judy demolished a bungalow and started building an infinitely more ambitious house. Designed on different levels, with glass walls and exposed steelwork, it was to be a miraculous piece of engineering, giving the couple and their two young children a beautiful, technologically advanced home. Tom appointed himself project manager—a job that proved to be more challenging than he had expected. Grand Designs 3 followed the first 16 months of the build. As Grand Designs 4 goes on air, how close is it to completion?

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11. 

    7.9/10(43 votes)

    #11 - The Derelict Water Tower

    S12:E510/17/2012

    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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12. 

    7.9/10(42 votes)

    #12 - South Cornwall: Steam Bending House

    S17:E310/5/2016

    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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13. 

    7.9/10(42 votes)

    #13 - Pembrokeshire: Low-Impact House

    S17:E610/26/2016

    Simon and Jasmine Dale want to build a three bed home on a hill with only £500 in the bank. And be self-sufficient in five years. Can it be done?

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14. 

    7.9/10(26 votes)

    #14 - East Devon Revisited

    S19:E710/31/2018

    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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15. 

    7.9/10(31 votes)

    #15 - North Devon

    S20:E610/9/2019

    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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16. 

    7.9/10(30 votes)

    #16 - West Sussex 2021

    S22:E29/8/2021

    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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17. 

    7.8/10(22 votes)

    #17 - The Water-Works, Whaley, Derbyshire

    S3:E22/19/2003

    The 1930s derelict water-works Chris and Leanne fell in love with was huge and its design had clearly been inspired by Gilbert Scott's Bankside power station, now better known as the Tate Modern. But nothing would deter the couple. 'We looked at it,' said Chris, 'and saw our home.'

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18. 

    7.8/10(15 votes)

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

    S9:E134/29/2009

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19. 

    7.8/10(40 votes)

    #19 - The Computer Cut House, Herefordshire

    S12:E29/19/2012

    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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20. 

    7.8/10(34 votes)

    #20 - Galloway

    S20:E19/4/2019

    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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21. 

    7.8/10(45 votes)

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

    S21:E11/6/2021

    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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22. 

    7.8/10(43 votes)

    #22 - Kent: Converted Barn

    S21:E21/13/2021

    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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23. 

    7.8/10(21 votes)

    #23 - Canterbury

    S23:E39/14/2022

    Ship’s captain Dorran promised his family he’d build a super-modern underground lair on a hill outside Canterbury. But as the epic build hits choppy waters, will Dorran fulfil their dream?

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24. 

    7.8/10(23 votes)

    #24 - South Herefordshire 2023

    S24:E511/1/2023

    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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25. 

    7.8/10(13 votes)

    #25 - Richmond Revisit 2025

    S26:E54/23/2025

    Does good architecture have the power to heal? Kevin revisits Elinor and Born, who built a clean-aired, hypoallergenic house, motivated by their two boys' extreme allergies.

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