Kevin McCloud’s Grand Design Gripes: Too Many Bathrooms?

How many toilets are too many for one home? Kevin McCloud, the presenter of Channel 4’s Grand Designs, suggests that it’s when the bathrooms outnumber the actual occupants.

After 25 years of presenting the programme, McCloud has revealed that one of his greatest irritations is the overprovision of WCs in Grand Design builds. “Why do people judge the status of a house by how many toilets you can offer your guests? It’s absurd,” he shares in an interview with Radio Times marking the show’s anniversary.

His biggest annoyance of all? “Things being too big. Most houses could shrink overnight by a third and the occupants would never notice.”

He also expresses frustration over the complexity of builds that could be much simpler. “Complexity has become a demonstration of the need to be grand,” he says.

But despite his disdain for unnecessary extravagance, McCloud reveals himself as a big fan of Ikea, championing clever designs and the budget-friendly products of the Swedish home furnishing chain. “I have Ikea cupboards and drawers; the work surfaces are by Cosentino and the taps are posh. I am a fan of Ikea, the democracy of good design, and also of properly sustainable furniture, and I like doing stuff myself.”

McCloud developed his aversion to excessive numbers of guest loos over years of planning builds, suggesting that if the trend for status toilets continues, they could become as desirable as the number of bedrooms a property offers.

A 2018 study found that 82% of two-bedroom homes sold by Hamptons International had at least two bathrooms, and more than a third of four-bedroom homes had at least four, the Sunday Times reported.

Meanwhile, a 2017 study by insurers Direct Line found that to make a home more desirable to buyers, it should have two bathrooms for every three bedrooms. According to 70% of the estate agents asked, any four-bedroom house should have 2.6 bathrooms, and a five-bedroom property should have 3.5 bathrooms, according to Ideal Home magazine.

The publication added that the surveyed estate agents suggested adding a bathroom might not be the best way to add value. Instead, 91% agreed that converting or extending a property to create a bedroom would be a better bet.

McCloud told the Sunday Times in 2019: “Bathrooms are extremely wasteful in terms of resource, yet people are putting more in their homes than there are actual occupants. Four people live in the house and put in six toilets. I don’t understand that. You can’t use more than one at a time and, frankly, you only need to use it four or five times a day. Estate agents have always sold houses by the number of bedrooms; soon they’ll do it by the number of WCs.”

The special anniversary episode, Grand Designs: 25 Years & Counting, will be broadcast on 11 September at 9 pm, kicking off a brand-new season for the show. The episode will feature McCloud revisiting some of the series’ most memorable builds, along with some of its most challenging projects.

Channel 4 says, “This special episode offers a reflection on the legacy of Grand Designs and its impact on the world of home innovation and design. Featuring the most ambitious builds and touching human dramas, with the biggest budget overspends and disastrous delays thrown into the mix, this special will celebrate a true Channel 4 gem in its momentous anniversary year.”

Additionally, a special 25th-anniversary book, Grand Designs at 25, will also be published to commemorate the occasion.

Source: The Guardian, Radio Times, Sunday Times, Ideal Home Magazine