Foundations of hope

Grand Designs visited Hackney Downs where Graham and Mel and their daughters Isla and Indi are a blended family with each losing their respective partner. As a result, the engaged couple craved stability, security and a space for each child so they wouldn’t have to share a small bedroom anymore.

What happened on the first visit

Their solution could be considered unconventional. They bought a 66sqm garage plot in Hackney Downs for £275,000. Here will stand the red, sculptural form home designed by Graham.

The plot is hemmed in by neighbouring gardens, a garage, and a footpath. Considering the plot is half the footprint of the average UK home the biggest issue was creating space for the family.

Excavation

Graham and Mel’s solution was to excavate four meters. The excavation needed to be right up to the boundary with the sides strengthened by steel-reinforced concrete half a meter thick. The hope was to create an extra 63sqm of living space.

The couple expected a build time of 12 months and with a cost estimation of £400-£450,000.

The build began in November 2021 with the garage demolition having to be done by hand. In spite of this they were down in a matter of hours.

Good luck at last?

Then some good luck presented itself as Mel and Graham were able to buy the neighbouring garage for £15,000 meaning their home’s back wall wouldn’t butt against the structure and would gift them some more space and light.

Unfortunately, the extra land and design changes meant an extra £35,000 was added to the cost which ate away their £30,000 contingency.

The costs kept climbing when their contractor pulled out of constructing the basement for the agreed £150,000 but by the spring they found a new one but with a new cost of £175,000. The extra was borrowed from the bank and to save costs they decided to project manage the build.

The excavation began but by the first week of July, when the job should have been finished, only half of the site had been dug up. The biggest issue was the builders having no space on site and no access for a skip.

More delays

Eventually by November 2022 the build team poured the groundworks slab which marked the end of the groundworks stage. By the start of December, the team start the steel and timber frame construction at a cost £30,000 but thankfully It only takes two days to erect the whole frame.

The momentum doesn’t last long though as by January 2023 it is discovered that there is a problem with the welded steel frame. A few of the beams have to be replaced by a team different to the one that installed them.

By this point the property should have been finished two months prior but as the structure goes up the couple rethink the layout of the home, putting the kitchen where the living area was supposed to be and considering a mezzanine.

Disgruntled neighbours

With the shell up, £32,000 worth of slimmed framed windows were installed but due to the build being months longer than planned, the disgruntled neighbours gave the couple four weeks in which to remove the scaffolding so they would be left with a month to fit all their cladding.

Breaching these terms would cost them £1,000 a week so they decided to abandon the brick façade on the ground floor, replaced with a coloured render.

Red tinted exterior-grade cement particle boards go on the rest of the exterior, which is sustainable but painstaking to cut and fit.

Mel and Graham sanded and sealed every board in order to ensure a vibrant colour, then the installation team cut and drilled holes in each before erecting onto painted mounting rails and spacing each exactly 10mm apart.

Physical strain

Over 500 individually prepared panels were needed for the exterior.

The physical strain had started to take its toll on the couple who had been visiting the site every day after work as well as weekends but by July 2023 the interior starts to make headway.

Graham and Mel found time to visit Marrakesh where the geometric tiles that Mel has designed for the home are being created. This may seem excessive but the cost of creation in the country is comparable with buying tiles off the shelf in the UK.

Back home, there are concerns with the construction of the basement. As a result, the interior of the home remains unfinished due to the issue.

Bespoke staircase

Thankfully the winding steel bespoke staircase was installed albeit without balustrades as well as Mel’s tiles.

Lightwells bring natural light into the basement. Upon entry there is a spacious hallway where Mel’s large tiles go across the whole floor. A door leads to Graham and Mel’s bedroom with an en suite.

The bespoke steel staircase leads down into the basement where eventually each daughter will have their own bedroom and a utility room.

Interior styling

The first floor has a double vaulted ceiling with a sitting room and open-plan kitchen and dining area. Carefully placed windows will bring in green views from three sides. Graham has integrated a terrace at the rear, accessible from the upper floor.

The unforeseen setback means that the project is yet unfinished and this sadly means that if they can’t find the finances to rectify the issues then they will be forced to sell.

Kevin acknowledged the struggle the family faced in creating their forever home. ‘Graham wanted this build to be a manifestation of love and it is all heart so let’s hope this family overcome this next hurdle,’ he said.

A revisit to Grand Designs Hackney Downs (2025)

If you’ve done any self building you will know it involves bringing a vast array of human energies. As well as pooling all your resources while at the same time juggling family demands and all kinds of external emotions.

And in somewhere like London where things cost so much, you’ll also understand that all those problems multiply tenfold.

This was the reality as we revisited the ‘Heartbreak House’ in Hackney Downs. Eighteen months had passed since Kevin last saw Graham and Mel, and him as well as us an audience were wondering if they’d overcome the ‘monster in the basement’ or had to sell after everything?

The exterior

On first look the house is as lovely as ever, pretty in pink. The perfectly placed cement boards are as heart-warmingly gorgeous as when they were first installed, clearly withstanding the British weather.

The place looks even better now it’s finished, with fencing and cladding down the side, showing a clear boundary to the property.

Graham smiles: “It was the hub of activity and now it’s the hub of tranquility.” He is clearly relieved and elated, but there is no need for modesty in this stylish triumphant house.

As we venture inside the property, we are immediately captivated by the tiles, which are beautifully done after Mel had them handmade in Morocco. They look even better laid, grabbing your eye immediately, as Kevin states “It’s like looking into a kaleidoscope.”

The beautiful view of the nearby cherry trees ensures the space is bathed in the dapple light of the trees, with beautiful nature views.

The monster in the basement

We are all keen to see the results and hear the story of the basement, but it’s clear to see it’s in a good state as the cover is gone and the stunning feature staircase brings much needed daylight to the space.

The basement was fixed by adding a 2mm wall around the outside, which now provides an attractive planting edge.

It’s well lit, with all darkness and gloom banished. Each of the girls’ bedrooms is connected to a shared light area, and there is also a utility room down there.

The couple explain how they didn’t have to pay for the basement repairs in the end, the company responsible had to cover the costs. This meant they were able to finish the rest of the house.

Mezzanine in the gods

The beautiful staircase doesn’t just lead you down to the basement, it carries you up to the sun open terrace, too. It’s a cleverly inserted ‘mezzanine in the gods’. It enables the family to enjoy some outside space. It’s placed next to the office and studio which is far more spacious than one would expect.

It’s clear the home is a protective haven for the family, which is exactly what they had set out to create.

Budget

How much was this beautiful property in the end?

The couple’s original budget had been £450,000, but after the impact of COVID, Brexit and the rising costs of materials, the end cost was £550,000. This is mitigated by the fact that the basement company made good on the judicial decision to cover the repair costs.

So it’s a happy ending for the Hackney Downs house. From the ashes of loss, a wonderful phoenix of a building has risen, surviving the trials of its construction.

---

READ MORE

• Over budget barn conversion: Grand Designs 150-year-old Bedfordshire barn
• Every house from Grand Designs season 24 (Autumn 2023)
• Grand Designs announces two new series for 2025