Grand Designs

Grand Designs magazine is essential reading for anyone who is building, renovating, or improving their own home. In each issue you can expect to find 40+ pages of inspirational real homes complete with in-depth project details and exclusive tours of new TV houses. Up-to-date information allows you to stay abreast of the latest architecture, design and construction ideas and innovations. Practical project features include advice from industry experts on a wide range of challenges such as building on an awkward plot, overcoming a lack of light or space, or working with a tight budget. And, as designing a kitchen or bathroom is one of the most complex – and expensive – room transformations to tackle, every month you’ll find a project feature on each, along with beautiful real-life case studies.

GRANDDESIGNS

EDITOR’S LETTER

Architecture update

Light house family

Inspirational interior schemes

Disaster-proof structure

Home and dry

Slim chance

Kevin McCloud • Our editor-at-large takes a look at how the UK’s big housebuilders are making such huge profits

Making the move • To swap city life for country living, one family took on the reorganisation of a partially converted barn

Boxy, not square • The geometric simplicity of this house belies the clever fixtures and fittings within

LIVING IN FULL COLOUR • Two graphic designers and their architect gave their creativity free rein in this kaleidoscopic family home

ONE OF FOUR • An architect and builder couple put no limitations on their ambitions when self-building together for the first time

How to gain planning permission • Familiarise yourself with the process, what information is required and how long it takes

10 Apartment renovations • Whether transforming a duplex in a former factory, turning a garden flat into a family home, or eking out every inch of a tiny studio-style space, architects focus on making good use of existing features, redrawing layouts with contemporary ways of living in mind, and adding features such as sliding doors to divide and open up rooms.

Renovation route map • How to make your project a costeffective, stress-free success

KITCHENS & BATHROOMS

KITCHEN UPGRADE

How to shop well • There are many ways to buy a kitchen, but which is best for your budget and scheme?

BATHROOM EDIT

Outdoor hot spot • Tips for installing a sauna in your back garden, along with the latest luxury and lower-cost designs

MY GRAND IDEA • A bright red extension completes architect Joe Reilly’s renovation of a 19th-century Cornish cottage