Do you have a Grand Design in mind? (Grand Designs Magazine) (Grand Designs Magazine)

Member Name: Pandora321

Product:	Grand Designs Magazine
Date:	03/11/09 (80 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting, informative, good mix of text and photos

Disadvantages: If you're not into houses then this is probably not for you!

My hubby and I are slightly mad about home design and can't wait to build our own house. Unfortunately, we have the minor issue of paying off our debts first, so we spend a good deal of time living vicariously through others' experiences whether it's 'Location, Location, Location' or 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'. Bearing in mind we want to eventually build our own castle, it's probably unsurprising to find that one of our favourite programmes is 'Grand Designs', the TV show where self-builders dream big and build the house of their dreams - including a couple of castles!

So it was with great delight that I received a year's subscription to Grand Designs magazine as one of my Christmas presents last year. The magazine is connected to the show in that one or more of the TV show's houses are featured in further detail, and the show's presenter, Kevin McCloud, usually has an article about his opinion on (for example) saving energy in your home, but the magazine also has stacks of other useful and interesting information about building houses and extensions, refurbishing houses or rooms, styles and fashions in the home, cool gadgets, garden design and much more.

The magazine has a good blend of informative text and gorgeous photographs (that mostly make me drool). Personally, the interviews with particular interior designers sometimes go a bit over my head, but, being a nosy sort of person, I particularly love the insights into other people's houses and the ideas it gives me for my future build. The breakdowns of costs for each self-build that the magazine features is extremely useful for anyone thinking of taking this route - whether you've got a castle, tree-house, contemporary box, barn conversion or eco-home in mind. The magazine is jam-packed with ideas and also contains details of books and companies where you can find further info if you're interested in something particular.

The Grand Designs magazine has been invaluable for me as I plan my dream, with detailed articles on foundations and drainage (who'd have thought there were so many varieties?!) all the way up to the pros and cons of different roof materials (clay tiles, concrete tiles, steel tiles, slate, wood shingles...), as well as important subjects such as budgeting throughout your build, and project managing. At £3.50 for 200 or so pages, it's good value for money in my opinion, and even better when you subscribe for a year (£24.50 currently, making it £2.04 each for the 12 editions).

I'd definitely recommend this magazine to anyone interested in this subject area, and certainly to anyone contemplating building their own house.

Summary: Great background reading for anyone planning a self-build adventure