Grand Designs
Hackney Revisit, 2025
Season 25 Episode 4
Kevin McCloud revisits architect Graeme and Melanie, who had huge ambitions for their new home in Hackney; a comfortable haven for themselves and their teenage daughters, Isla and Indi. They wanted the house to celebrate and cement their new blended family, formed following the loss of their own partners. The only problem was where they wanted to build: on a tiny twin garage plot bought for a whopping £275,000, on a traditional Victorian terraced road. Graeme came up with an unapologetically modernist bright red design. Inside, it was to be cleverly laid out to maximise space vertically. Despite the challenge of excavating four metres down in a tight urban site, the schedule was set at just 12 months, with an equally tight budget. But a catalogue of challenges quickly hit Melanie and Graeme, from the basement contractor withdrawing due to skyrocketing material costs, to huge increases in mortgage rates draining the budget. And as the project neared completion, a final bombshell in the basement blew their schedule off course and put even their hopes of living in the house in jeopardy. Eighteen months since his last somewhat gloomy visit, Kevin returns to see if Graeme and Melanie are finally out of their hole