No HGTV show can compare to the visions on ‘Grand Designs’ – Washington Post

Grand Designs has something no other home makeover show has: host Kevin McClouds strong, dark eyebrows. The British designer frequently raises them to the sky as he ponders seemingly foolhardy schemes. The series, which launched in Britain in 1999 and focuses on one extraordinary building project in each episode, began streaming two seasons on Netflix in April. So U.S. fans can see the brows and the buildings for themselves.

In one show, Colin, who teaches flying, and his wife, Marta, a trapeze artist, decide to build a home on their airfield. They want it to mimic an aircraft hangar with materials like steel and as the British pronounce it a-loo-min-ee-um. Colin lays the foundation, guided by an online course. He has no real idea what hes doing, McCloud says. Up go the brows.

In the end, their hangar home comes to life. A poetic McCloud describes it as an airship straight out of the pages of some graphic novel.

Then theres the family who buys a run-down movie parlor. They aim to tear it down and build a new home but it turns out they must preserve the historic Edwardian brick facade. Curiously, they decide the new construction behind it will be made of concrete. McClouds brows appear skeptical. But somehow it works: The home blends brutalist concrete with rustic timber and architectural echoes from the cinema.

No HGTV show can compare with the bold visions on Grand Designs. The only downside is that my 1920s colonial now seems rather boring. Maybe cloaking it with a-loo-min-ee-um would be just the thing!

Read more of Marcs musings:

Whats making people tune into Southern Charm?

Can millennials create a new utopia in Jungletown?

Brockmire turns a crisis into a home run

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No HGTV show can compare to the visions on 'Grand Designs' - Washington Post