There was a stir on Grand Designs when one participant accepted their dilapidated building "can't look any worse". Gwyn and Kate took over an old 1920s cinema in Thorne, Doncaster opting to knock down the auditorium and erect a new structure, all the while preserving its original facade. In a rerun from 2013 airing on Thursday (August 8), the duo disclosed they spent £90,000 acquiring the venue, then allocated £350,000 for refurbishments.
However, their renovation adventure saw them overshooting the budget by £100,000, with total costs hitting £450,000 for the restoration of The Old Picture House. Presenter Kevin McCloud questioned: "It's a cinema. Or it.
.. was a cinema? What a state! You can't make a hash of this.
It couldn't look any worse," reports the Mirror . He described the site as "unloved", a tough revelation for Gwyn and Kate, who envisioned their two children growing up in the revamped home. Ultimately, the project was a success, and the former cinema was transformed into a Modernist-style residence with assistance from Gwyn's childhood acquaintance London-based architect Jeremy Southgate.
The resulting property offered an open-plan living space flowing into what had been the cinema's auditorium, and managed to retain the historic cinema frontage, complete with new fittings yet still showcasing the beautiful architecture reminiscent of its cinematic past. Gwyn elaborated on the family's decision, revealing to The Sunday Times: "We have a nice home on Queen Street, but it's got a tiny garden, and our two lads are growing up fast. We noticed that the old abandoned nightclub (as we knew it) was up for sale, and we enquired into the possibility of knocking it down and building a nice family home on the plot.
" Despite their enthusiasm, they had zero expertise in construction, as they confessed: "We knew nothing about architecture, nothing about modernism, and Kate wanted something traditional. We had never done a building project before! "..
