Grand Designs returns to converted Somerset cowshed which seemed doomed when its ‘total amateur’ owners ran out of money – to find an off-grid haven after seven-year renovation costing £450,000
- Ed and Vicky, originally from London initially started their mammoth cowshed conversion project in 2016
- The pair came across several challenges, plagued by their amateur status when it came to building & design
- But Kevin McCloud was wowed by the welcoming family home, with the couple now learning to live off land
Grand Designs has revisited the former cowshed in Somerset which an ambitious couple from London bought in 2015 with dreams of creating their dream off-grid haven – with host Kevin McCloud marvelling at how they are entirely self-sufficient from their 12 acres of land.
Ed and Vicky, originally from London, decided to escape the rat race in 2015 and buy the property on a small plot of land in the south-west countryside on which to built their self-sufficient home – but by the end of the episode a year on, they were still a long way from achieving their dream.
Plagued by several setbacks stemming from the couple’s inexperience in housebuilding, viewers watched Ed re-laying the cement on the floor of the house just days before his wedding after the first attempt had resulted in a wonky floor – as he admitted he was an ‘absolute amateur’ – and before long the couple had run out of money entirely.
Six years later, Kevin McCloud has returned to Somerset to discover the couple, who now have two sons, are finally living in their off-grid home, which has been furnished and decorated in a rustic, eclectic style and even has an outhouse for guests. In total the cost of the land and the build, including the off-grid systems, came to around £450,000.
Kevin revisited Vicky and Ed’s off-grid home in Somerset in tonight’s episode of Grand Designs, which was left barely habitable at the end of the presenter’s first visit when the amateur housebuilders blew their £200,000 budget. Now, the house is a self-sufficient paradise
Vicky and Ed’s self-sufficient home has an outdoor bar which is perfect for entertaining their guests in the summer
Their new home has a huge dining area with a communal dining table adorned with flowers, while the room itself is decorated with a huge world map
Ed and Vicky’s off-grid home is finally finished after the pair blew their initial £200,000 budget in one year of building and ran out of money to continue
The couple, from London, decided to escape the rat race in the Big Smoke and move to Somerset where they purchased a disused cowshed which they wanted to convert
While the £225,000 cost for land and cowshed left the couple with a £200,000 budget – after Vicky sold her flat in London – and took months longer than the couple had originally planned, the pair admitted it had been an enormous challenge but added they are now thrilled with their new home, which ‘tells a story’.
They are also proud of their investment in the off-grid systems, which came to some £26,000, including solar panels and a wind turbine among other details.
As the couple have started a new life running a catering business using ingredients from their 12 acres of land, they host large groups of people in their communal-style dining room – and they even have annexes for Vicky’s dad, Paul, and for holiday lets.
At the beginning of last night’s revisit episode, Kevin recalled how the couple had left London for Somerset seven years ago, ‘in pursuit of a new, off-grid way of living’.
He added: ‘They risked their hopes and their dreams (and their money) on the derelict walls of an old, ruined cowshed.’
The new home has several dining and reception areas to host several guests at a time, in a communal feel as part of the couple’s catering business
The house has an outdoor seating area which people can use during the summer months, as it looks out onto the couple’s eclectic garden and the Somerset countryside
Ed and Vicky’s kitchen is picture-perfect, after initial issues with the build saw the couple living in limbo with a barely functional home
The compact bedroom in the cabin of Vicky and Ed’s off-grid home features a compact homemade bunkbed, perfect for little guests
The couple’s stunning kitchen opens out onto the decking outside with floor-to-ceiling French doors, which they use to entertain guests
Kevin recalled how the couple had ‘no building experience and very little money’ when they bought the disused cowshed, meaning Ed had to do much of the work on his own.
‘Ed was determined to learn everything he needed to know about construction… from the internet,’ Kevin recalled.
Clips from the original episode showed how the couple began to have doubts about their project, as Vicky asked: ‘Are we just making the biggest mistake?’
By Kevin’s last visit to the property, a year after the project began, the couple had run out of money and the presenter described their home as ‘barely habitable’.
The cowshed straw bale walls, and was just about functional for the couple to live in, but their goal of a fully self-sufficient home was a long way off.
Vicky and Ed’s garden is filled with different coloured shrubs as well as climbing plants growing up homemade lattice fences, with pebbles on the ground
The couple’s garden looks out onto the Somerset countryside, after Ed and Vicky decided to move to the south west from London in 2015
Outside the couple’s home is a pebbled garden with plenty of outdoor seating so Ed, Vicky and their guests can soak up the sunshine while looking out on a countryside view
When looking from the inside out, the house allows for sprawling views of the countryside in Somerset, with Kevin calling it a ‘commanding view’
Kevin said: ‘It would seem Vicky and Ed’s dream for a simpler life might never be realised.’
He added: ‘I could have told them it would take much longer than they’d originally managed, but then, no one listens to me, do they?’
While the house was furnished by August 2016 – nearly a year after the couple’s initial plan – Kevin was also curious to see to what extent they were able to lean into the more sustainable lifestyle they yearned for.
However, despite the Grand Designs presenter worrying the couple might not finish their project at all, he was pleasantly surprised on his latest visit to Vicky and Ed’s house, which has been turned into an eclectic haven in the heart of the countryside.
He described it as ‘really, really lovely’ and ‘welcoming’, praising the simplicity of the build.
‘There’s not a hint of showroom,’ he praised.
Complete with an open plan kitchen and dining area which has stunning hardwood surfaces, the Vicky and Ed’s home is perfect for entertaining guests.
The couple – who now have two young boys and a dog called Bumble – have over the years taken steps to become more and more self-sufficient, as was originally the plan with the build.
Vicky, who up until last month worked for the NHS, told Kevin that the pair have now taken the leap away from their last bit of fixed income because she wanted to spend more time with her children.
She teaches pilates from her now completed and fitted studio, but the pair’s main income comes from catering work which is ‘rooted in their landcape’.
Ed revealed that they are able to feed 50-group parties weekly, largely sustained with ingredients from his garden and animals, which includes sheep, geese, chicken and pigs.
They also supplement their funds by renting out holiday cabin – which Ed built entirely from start to finish by himself – as they lean more and more into their off-grid lifestyle.
Ed also praised the couple’s reliance on rainwater – although the couple admitted they sometimes have to order some in – as it’s teaching their children the value of the precious resource.
Ever the optimist, Ed insisted there always ‘more to build’ – even joking that he wants to dig his own grave on the land, and supply catering at the wake – whereas Vicky admitted she is now happy to sit back and relax, after an intense seven years of getting their house to where it is now.
The couple left viewers with the message that moving to a more sustainable lifestyle is possible – even if may take a long time.
‘Just go for it,’ Ed advised jovially. ‘You may fail…just go for it and try.’
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