Grand Designs home blasted as ‘absurd mish-mash’ & ‘like a shipping container’ hits market for £500k
A BRUTALIST home which featured on Grand Designs and drawn criticism online has gone on the market for £500,000
Maite Alegre and her husband Carlos Dean, both 61, set out to build their very own Spanish-inspired bespoke home, and the project was covered on the Channel 4 programme in 2022.
The Oxfordshire house, which merged Maite’s vision with plans by Chance de Silva, took four years to build, and the pair spent three years living there.
Maite, from Rioja, Spain, had intended to spend just £150,000 on the home, but costs rose to a total of £600,000, the Standard reports.
It has now gone on the market with estate agencts The Modern House for £550,000.
The work started in 2020 and the pair moved into the property in September 2021, completing it with the help of extra loans and their pension pots.
Carlos said: “When we set out we were just completely naive.”
Maite added: “People told me it was going to be tacky and horrible but I had a feeling… and we are very happy with it.”
She described the time she spent designing and building the house as “the happiest four years of my life”.
Despite their love for the project, the couple, who have three children aged 23 to 34, have decided to sell up and move away.
Maite’s parents are “getting older”, Carlos says, and the couple have been spending more time with them in Spain, sparking their deicision to move to the country.
The listing describes the home as taking a ‘distinctive form’ with double-height glazing and unique diagonal larch cladding that ‘contrasts against its steely aluminium frame’.
It also mentions how it is around a 30-minute drive from Oxford and a five-minute drive from Bicester Station, which runs a direct service to London Marylebone.
Channel 4 Lifestyle uploaded a clip of the house on its YouTube account, which was viewed more than 10,000 times.
Some commenters were blown away by the “fantastic outcome”.
But others were less positive about the project, with one writing: “More brutalism, I hate all these large windows that just put the family on view.
Most lavish Grand Designs homes
OVER the years Grand Designs has showcased the most lavish and luxuries properties in the country – here are some of the best ones
- Dingle Dell Annexe
This property featured on the show back in 2018 and was built as a zero carbon home.
The ambition was to have luxury, comfort all the while the house being constructed entirely of mud.
It’s located in Ottery, Saint Mary but there’s a catch – you’re not able to stay in the main house.
However, you can stay in the annex which will cost you £450 for two adults and two kids, for two nights.
- Dome Lake House
This stunning property is situated on the Lake District and featured on the Channel 4’s show 10th series.
Its owners had fallen behind on their mortgage repayments and were at risk of losing the home before a supporter helped out.
Since then the abode has proven to be a hugely popular rental and operates as a B&B.
The house boasts a huge pool and spacious kitchen and dinning areas.
- Peckham House
This home featured a long time ago, in series five to be exact, and is also known as the The Sliding Glass Roof.
Its owners couldn’t afford to buy a property in London and so bought a piece of land at auction.
The ‘experimental’ house features a sliding glass roof and bedrooms as pods on the mezzanine.
The three bed house sees a wall in the master bedroom completely disappear allowing the garden to become part of the room.
It features a spa as well as a fold down cinema.
- The Water Shed
This property featured on a recent series of Grand Designs and instantly had viewers fascinated.
It’s located in West Sussex and was transformed from a tired, rundown house into a luxurious home.
Daniel and Nina Rowland designed and built the timber-cladding house on their own.
They used their skills as a architect and interior designer to create the stunning property.
“Is there no such thing as a private life? Did they ask the rest of the estate if they wanted this eyesore in their estate?
“Because this is what it is – an eyesore. Yet again, all generic, all bland, all plastic.
“Every house around the world is starting to look exactly the same.”
One commenter said: “What an absurd plan. Too much steps. Not enough space for sitting room.”
Another said that the house bore “no relation to its neighbours which makes for a mish-mash and no community identity”.
A third said: “I thought it was boarded up shipping containers.”