GRAND Design 2013 inexperienced home renovators wowed viewers with their cinematic house build.
Going from a 1920s picture house to a picturesque dream home, Gywn and Kate impressed fans of the hit show as they renovated an old local cinema.
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Devoted viewers of the Channel 4 show will recognise the couple from Thorne, Doncaster, who appeared on the show in 2013.
Gwyn and Kate ap Harri were house hunting in their local area and wanted a bigger garden and an open-plan living space for them and their children Jac and Dylan.
What they were after seemed tricker to find than they thought, with properties that ticked all the boxes costing upwards of half a million pounds, so their next option was to build the home they wanted.
The pair were determined to transform a local Old Picture House into their dream home, and fans are still talking about it.
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When the old cinema came to their attention, not only did it have the potential to be everything they wanted, but it also saved a local landmark.
In February 2011, the duo bought the property for £90,000, and after initially setting a budget of £350,000 by the time they had completed the property in 2013, they had gone over it by £100,000
Now with a more modern white render and timber cladding, the impressive house also has an open-plan living area that connects to the garden and once housed the auditorium by a giant hydraulic window.
At the time, Gwyn, who runs a software company for schools, said: “We have a nice home on Queen Street, but it’s got a tiny garden, and our two lads are growing up fast.
“We noticed that the old abandoned nightclub (as we knew it) was up for sale, and we enquired into the possibility of knocking it down and building a nice family home on the plot.”
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He continued: “Yeah… we’ve said to lots of people that the main reason we wanted to move from our existing house is that we wanted a bigger garden for our kids to run around in, and it’s absolutely true! To find ourselves doing what we’re doing is a consequence of that one thing.”
The married couple enlisted the help of Gwyn’s old school friend Jeremy Southgate, a London-based building designer, to help take on the mammoth challenge.
Then Grand Design host Kevin McCloud called them “remarkably brave” for deciding to put complete trust in the only designer they knew.
Two and a half years later, the risk paid off, and they were rewarded with their dream home.
Sharing the story with their fans once more, the Grand Design team took to their Instagram last year and shared a series of photos with their 145k follows.
Reminiscing on the couple’s triumphant house makeover, viewers commented on the post to share their praise of the renovation.
“One of my favourites!,” one fan said while another added: “Gah!!! I remember watching this one!! Such an incredible transformation!”
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