I’ve recently made a new TV series for Channel 4 called ‘Ugly House’, which is all about making existing ugly houses look good again.
We have 25 million existing homes throughout the UK of all different styles, shapes and sizes and, as most of our housing stock is well over 50 years old, many of our homes have been adapted to suit the needs of different homeowners over the years. There is also no doubt that fashion, style and people’s tastes dramatically change from generation to generation too, which means that many of our homes are modified so much they begin to lose sight of their original design and in many cases become a bit of a mess. The series was all about me putting together some of the most talented architects in the country with Ugly House owners and showing that with great design and creativity even the most ugly home could be made lovely again on an affordable budget. The challenge was to not only transform the outside of the house, but also to make the house work inside for 21stcentury living too.
The architects came up with a wide range of solutions that included reconfiguring the internal space, as well as adding extensions on the side and rear of the house to increase the floor area. But, there was one house in Hertfordshire, redesigned by architect Laura Clarke, where she made some simple but effective changes to the outside of the house to make it look good. Every home is different with its own unique set of problems, but there are common solutions that can be applied to outdated homes.