Grand Designs

I seldom watch the telly since the girls came along. If I do, it's usually gardening or home improvement programmes. One show which I really love watching is Grand Designs. It's really amazing to see how people take upon house building projects and create some truly wonderful living areas through sheer determination and hardwork which sometimes take years. I was awed by last night's episode. Not so much by the hexagonal building itself (though it was a very unique and unsual one) but by the houseowner who built his own house almost single-handedly and literally with his bare hands. I wouldn't bore you with the details but you can read about it by clicking on the 2nd link.

This man who's a carpenter had no prior experience in building a house but he managed to construct his own eco-friendly home (with some help from friends and his wife) using materials sourced locally. What I like most about the house is the centrepiece of the house - a staircase which was carved out of the trunk of an eight-hundred year old oak tree salvaged by, you've guessed it, the carpenter himself.

This skilled craftsman even went on to build many things inside the house, the doors carved with different motifs, the kitchen cabinets, the chairs and tables.

The lady of the house, who is afraid of heights, bravely got on the top of the house and helped lay the roof tiles. That house is truly made out of devotion, commitment and love. The interior looked like something from a fairy tale to me. What's truly admirable is the couple lives a self-sustainable life, growing their own food and fuel even to the extent of recycling the waste from the house. Being pampered with everything that I've got, I don't think I can live like them.

(all pictures taken from www.channel4.com )