I grew up in Grand Designs’ famous ‘butterfly house’ – dad even wanted us to sleep in zip-up pods

A WOMAN who grew up in one of Grand Design’s most quirkiest homes has shared a unique insight into the property.

Dubbed the ‘Butterfly House’, the famous property featured in an episode of Grand Designs over 15 years ago.

The Channel 4 show’s presenter Kevin McCloud was left fascinated by the structure.

It was built by architect Laurie Chetwood, who runs his own Architectural company, Chetwood Associates, in London.

And now his daughter, Emily, has revealed she still is recognised for her very brief appearance on the show.

Posting on TikTok, she told her followers how her dad had wanted the family to sleep in very unconventional beds.

Laurie wanted the beds to be zip-up cocoons, which would be suspended from the ceiling.

However, the idea was immediately shot down by his wife, who told him she wouldn’t sleep in a “zipped up banana”.

Despite not getting his way with the beds, the seating area of the house is fully suspended from the ground.

As the name would suggest, the family home resembles a butterfly, and has wings which act as shelters from the sun.

“The life cycle of the butterfly has almost been enmeshed into the design,” said Laurie during the classic episode.

Years later the family left the property and now live in an apartment.

Fans of Grand Designs replied to Emily’s video with their thoughts on the unique home.

“When you’ve finished cleaning, contact grand designs for a revisit… I need to see this in HD not 2005 pixels,” said one.

Another said: “Did you really live here? It seems crazy that everything is so open! Did you move to a normal house?”

“omg i remember watching this,” said a third.

While a fourth posted: “I remember this you abandoned it and it got all over grown.”