We poured £270k into Grand Designs home & lived in caravan for YEARS to afford it – before it was dubbed ‘ugly shed’

A COUPLE who ploughed £270,000 into their dream Grand Designs home were forced to live in a crumbling caravan for three years.

Steph Wilson and husband Alex then faced critics describing their Leominster newbuild as "a huge ugly shed".

The couple used corrugated iron to line the outside of the building, on the site of Steph's grandfather's farm.

Alex himself called the material "ugly" and "like a shed" as they filmed the build for the iconic Channel 4 show.

The couple had a budget of just £250,000 and faced delay when Alex unexpectedly lost his job just as building was set to begin.

An original estimate on a design reached £495,000 - on top of buying back the land, which cost £200,000.

CARAVAN LIVING

The couple were forced to live in a caravan for three years as they battled to get the project off the ground.

It had holes in the floors and a gap in their door which let freezing air flood into the space.

The situation got so bad Alex was forced to perform an emergency operation on the door, haphazardly taping insulation against it to stop cold air getting in.

And their two children barely remembered a time they hadn't lived in the caravan by the time the build was complete.

Architect Jessica Barker, a childhood friend of Steph, saved the project after an original design went £250,000 over budget.

It's still very industrial. It's still a shed

Alex WilsonGrand Designs homeowner

Grand Designs' Kevin McCloud said: "Jessica wants to cover the home in these corrugated sheets. Affordable and local, produced just outside Leominster.

"They're not exactly what you'd expect to find on a house but Steph and Alex are familiar with this stuff. It's used on farm buildings, oh yes and on mobile homes."

Steph added: "In the beginning we were both absolutely dead against it. We wanted timber. But Jess worked me round. One of the reasons was it's much cheaper. But I so think it's going to look slick."

Alex was not so keen, adding: "It's still very industrial. It's still a shed."

Using the sheets instead of timber saved the couple £11,000.

Kevin said: "It's not to everyone's taste. By that I mean not to Alex' taste."

Alex added: "I'm not sure to be honest. It's very black. But Steph loves it so that's all that matters."

Unveiling the final look, Kevin said: "The mysterious black barn has wrapped itself around the house like a cloak.

"It took a bit of time to get used to but with the timbre it works," said Alex.

And the couple even managed to get a bit of money back from their dilapidated mobile home.

Steph: "The caravan sold and it's going next week. We got £1,400."

Many viewers loved the look of the final product.

One wrote: "This was one of my faves."

Another added: "Loved this one, simple and beautiful."

Another compared it to a barn, tagging a pal: "Looks like your barn is already being copied."

It comes after a woman revealed the heartbreaking reason why she spent £1million transforming her home on Grand Designs.

And an architect told The Sun how the roof of his ambitious build collapsed on-air.