GRAND Designs fans were seriously distracted by an “easy on the eyes builder” who created an incredible home in Glasgow.
Married couple Ben Whitney and Joanna Susskind-Whitney left the Grand Designs team speechless after building their dream ‘country style’ ranch for just £170,000.
The man-made forest abode took inspiration from American country culture to create a home that looked like it could belong in Little House on the Prairie.
They were the first people to break ground in Scotland’s maiden urban self build scheme after Glasgow City Council sold them a plot of land near Maryhill for £50,000.
They secured a £170,000 mortgage – a much smaller budget than usually seen on Grand Designs – and had to do all of the world themselves.
Carpenter Ben even built his own scaffolding and used ropes to reach dangerous heights in a bid to avoid an estimated £20,000 in costs.
While animator Joanna acted as project manager to try and make things run as smoothly as possible.
Dubbed self-build guinea pigs, the couple moved out of their flat and into a caravan while overseeing the project.
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But their caravan was vandalised and burned and many of their possessions were destroyed.
They put their heart and soul into building their dream home and reckon it was well worth it in the end.
Ben said: “It’s not easy, everything is big and heavy and there’s just two of us walking around with a wee rusty timber trolley.
Joanna added: “When you come home it’s like a full day deadlifting at the gym, literally he can hardly walk.
“We’ve set the tone, it’s a lot of responsibility but it feels really nice.
“Our budget was £170,000 and so that’s what we’ve spent.”
When the home was finally completed, host Kevin McCloud described the end result as “epic.”
The TV presenter, who reviewed the property in tonight’s episode, said: “Well, howdy, Glasgow has its first American ranch.
“This is like a man made forest where the branches and twigs serve as coat hooks and the frame reaches up and out to embrace everything underneath, it is natural and simple.
“It’s amazing value, astonishing value.
“One of their many ingenious ideas to help build their home with the money they’ve got is to dispense with things other self-builders deem essential.
“If your carpenters also happen to be climbers all you need is some ripe and kit, what you don’t need is scaffolding which is another major expense avoided.
“What it demonstrates is that if you’re prepared to learn and work hard to develop skills and craft something yourselves, then anything is possible
“It’s so lovely to see this building, the first in a Glasgow city wide programme of self-builds, so it’s a landmark building.”
More than 300 people expressed an interest in the self-build scheme and only a handful were picked.
Viewers watching at home described the couple’s home as the ‘best house’ ever built, but many were distracted by Ben’s good looks.
“The Scottish version of Kev is a lot easier on the eye,” tweeted one viewer.
Many other said they “really enjoyed” the episode and the couple’s amazing build.
“This house is a lot nicer than those on last weeks,” wrote on fan.
Another added: “That was the best house in the series so far.’
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And a third commented: “Gorgeous house.”
Grand Designs: The Streets airs on Wednesdays, 9pm on Channel 4
