I'm very proud of the IKEA kitchen I built in my home. Herefordshire HomeKevin MacLeod, 64, one of TV's best-known architecture and design gurus, says he remains keen to learn new skills. House Beautiful We'll share some clever design hacks to save you money, recommend some essential renovations to make this year, and explain the value of hiring an architect for your home renovation project.
We heard you installed a new IKEA kitchen…
KMC: I love design, especially Scandinavian design. IKEA is a retailer with a great sustainability record. I can't complain about the way they do things. They also have a 25-year warranty, so they're pretty durable. After looking around the market, I thought, “Right, I'll just make it myself and see what happens.” I wanted to make it myself to save money. I literally put the cabinets together with screws. I'm a pretty hands-on person and I really like to have skills where I can hack and tweak things.
Do you have any hacks you can share?
KMC: I bought an expensive tap and also a matching Cosentino Dekton worktop, which is an amazing material. And they're a fantastic sustainable company. Their whole factory runs on renewable energy. It's all electric ovens, and they make ceramics from waste materials. The story is so interesting and the products themselves are so durable.
I'm all for buying something, altering it, changing the look a little bit, and putting an expensive overcoat on it. I've done that. How to dress something up is something you learn from experience, right?
What else do you want in your home?
KMC: My home also has beautiful items made by amazing makers and artisans – I'm not entirely dependent on the world of one retailer or one maker – in fact I just went to the cupboard an hour ago and pulled out a pot made by Colin Gorrie. [a 20th century British ceramicist] – A pot I’ve owned for over 40 years. The idea is that as you go through life, your things travel with you.
What are your guiding principles when decorating your own home or planning a more ambitious renovation project, such as an extension?
KMC: One of the first things I learned 40 years ago, before I wrote my first book on design. [Kevin McCloud’s Decorating Book, published in 1990] – The idea of how important it is to follow your heart. To be unique, not to follow trends too much, to do what you want to do, and not to worry about what people think or what will sell.
I've seen this on TV so many times over the years of filming. Grand DesignIt's been 25 years now. When one does something a little different, something out of the ordinary, something a little quirky sometimes, and does it with total conviction, that's a great thing. When you hesitate, or do things half-heartedly, or don't do them with conviction, or don't do them with passion, it just results in, “Oh, that's kind of a shame.”
This is a lesson in life. Whatever you do, if you do it with passion and conviction, research and execution, Really Give it a try, it will be more than fashion, it will be a reflection of you and you will love it, others may not, but it's your home, not theirs.
Kevin in his Dream Home Kitchen on Grand Designs Live
Can you think of a passion project that really stands out to you?
KMC: Almost every great English country house has that bizarre pink room, or blue room, or bright yellow painted ballroom, whatever it is, and you think, “That's weird,” but it's been achieved with a lot of passion and a lot of money.
Examples of this passion abound: Lord Dashwood painted his drawing room bright blue; [at West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire] When I came back from the Grand Tour and on TV [Grand Designs in 2015]There was a man named James Strangeways who wanted a very small house, half boat, half house, on a river in East Sussex. His nephew [architect] Ben Hebblethwaite designed it for him and James has always wanted to make changes and now wants to add the Crowsnest, it's a really really beautiful little house and the design was perfect for single living.
Pinterest and Grand Design Magazine or House Beautiful When you find a strange or unusual place in a magazine, that's the place that sticks in your memory. A perfectly composed shot with no animals in it, no cords dangling from a table lamp, no objects or personal belongings in it is a dry shot. A truly interesting place is one that is bursting with personality from the people who live there.
Grand Designs, East Sussex 2015: Architect Ben Hebblethwaite builds stilt house for his uncle James Strangeways
When it comes to home improvements, big or small, what's worth doing this year?
KMC: Summer is fast approaching, and if it's going to be anything like last year's or the year before, anything that provides coolness and shade will be a good idea. This could be an awning, gazebo, an outdoor deck area for shady outdoor living, or even just planting deciduous trees in front of the house to provide shade in the summer and light in the winter.
Hydrate yourself as well as your room so that humidity has a cooling effect on your skin. I've talked about this on Grand Designs Live, but some very simple ideas include wetting stone steps or balconies, or placing a clay pot filled with water in an open window. The water will then evaporate through the pot, cooling the air entering the building. This process is called evaporative cooling, and it's the same way air conditioning works, but easier to achieve.
There are lots of technical and simple ideas for blocking the sun from a property. Whether it's a complex brise soleil or building a shady gazebo outside your kitchen, it can be as low-tech or as high-tech as you want it to be.
Another very interesting technology is to combine solar panels with a ground source heat pump that works in reverse, extracting heat from the home and storing it in the ground for winter.
Kevin photographed at a Grand Designs Live event
Grand Design The overwhelming popularity of folding doors has been attributed to them, but are folding doors still as versatile as they are today?
KMC: Like anything else, windows are not the solution to all problems. I've seen great systems where windows are simply bi-fold doors that, when folded up, can be folded up into a closet, making it look like the wall disappears for six days a year. Windows are great for letting the outside in and the inside out, and you can basically fill your room with leaves.
Some people love them, some hate them. I also love the big single piece of sliding glass because it's less of an obstruction to the view. The other benefit of a bi-fold is that you get all the views and features and a draft-free, super sealed system. That's hard to come by. But if you love a bi-fold and think it will change your life, go for it.
What value can an architect bring to a renovation project?
KMC: When you hire an architect for a home renovation, extension, etc., you get what you pay for in terms of fees. You get it back in terms of solutions, better design, and the happiness, energy, and joy that the resulting building brings. You get a beautifully shared, well thought out, truly considered outcome, without any nasty shocking details.
The premier home exhibition Grand Designs Live will run from 4th to 12th May 2024 at the London ExCeL. Grand Designs Live For more details:
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Jane specialises in advice articles for House Beautiful magazine and writes about a wide range of topics from gardening and DIY to tidying and mindfulness. Based in Yorkshire, she recently renovated the 1920s home where she lives with her family.
