Couple’s ‘miracle’ Grand Design renovation leaves Kevin McCloud speechless

The presenter said he couldn’t have pulled it off himself

Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud was left speechless by an impressive build he dubbed a “miracle” after its owners finished it on time and under budget with no prior building experience.

The impressive build was featured on the 25th anniversary season of the show, which is currently airing on Channel 4, and saw viewers introduced to Zara and her partner Giuliano from Reading, who spent £135,000 on their dream one-acre plot of land to build a mansion in the Lincolnshire Wolds.

But McCloud, who has seen many a grand design go awry over the years, had his doubts about whether the couple could complete the build on time and within their £700,000 budget, as they were doing the majority of the work themselves.

He was, however, dramatically proven wrong when Zara, 31, a makeup artist and influencer, and Giuliano, 29, not only managed to create their large, modern redesign of 17th-century malthouse, but they did so two months ahead of schedule and a staggering £75,000 under budget – spending a total of £625,000.

Reacting to the home, which came complete with a statement glass portal, McCloud admitted that he could not have pulled it off himself and said the feat had “reshaped” his opinion of millennials.

He said: “It puts on quite a show. It’s all beautifully done and very tightly finished.

“That long shape of the malthouse, that’s really good… and in the middle of it is that great piece of theatre.”

The average UK house price was £282,000 in January 2024, which is likely why McCloud described the creation of a mansion with a relatively modest budget as a “miracle”.

The mansion is a modern take on a 17th-century malthouse. (Channel 4 / Grand Designs)

It was completed two months ahead of schedule and £75,000 under budget. (Channel 4 / Grand Designs)

Zara and Giuliano pulled off a miracle, according to Grand Designs’ host Kevin McCloud. (Instagram / Zara Findlay)

The house came complete with a restaurant-sized kitchen and dining room, large, spacious bedrooms, as well as a 30-metre pergola to frame the glass portal at the centre of the property.

However, the couple were honest about the amount of work the project required and stressed that there were a few instances where their grand design very nearly went wrong.

A piece of steel, for example, was made to the wrong size and very nearly put the brakes on the whole project as it was part of the home’s £15,000 five-ton metal Corten centrepiece.

The property’s large windows flooded its interior with light. (Channel 4 / Grand Designs)

The large, spacious bedrooms had high ceilings. (Channel 4 / Grand Designs)

The process of creating the mansion was not entirely plain sailing. (Channel 4 / Grand Designs)

MCCloud said the impressive pair ‘reshaped’ his view of millennials. (Channel 4 / Grand Designs)

Giuliano said: “It’s probably been the toughest thing that I’ve done, that we’ve done. I think I went into construction delusion, thinking that each stage of the project would align nicely, but that certainly wasn’t the case.

“It really does suck up every moment of free time that you have. We had to give up every single weekend for the past 14 months.”

Grand Designs continues on Channel 4 on Wednesday at 9 pm.