10 Grandest Grand Designs | 4Homes

7. Tuscany Ancient Castle

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7. Tuscany Ancient Castle (Image 7 of 11)

The Cost: £700,000, plus cost of derelict castle & land
Janne and Howard's castle in Tuscany is arguably the grandest design ever, in the purest sense of the word. And all that grandeur comes at a cost; the budget doubled as this determined couple battled Italian bureaucracy and infamously complex Tuscan planning regulations.

Beneath the traditional stone facade, this building had to be earthquake-proofed. That's no mean feat in a building 1,000 years old. After years of wrangling and hard graft, Janne and Howard are the proud custodians of an ancient monument containing five luxury bedrooms, magnificent exposed oak beams, a gorgeous swimming pool and views most people can only dream of.

Disagree with our list? You can leave your comments below.

More On The Tuscany Ancient Castle
Tuscany Ancient Castle: The Story
Tuscany Ancient Castle: Photo Gallery

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Comments

I agree this is one of the top 10 - I would love to have seen it finished even if it did not have all the decor as Helen's vision. What passion and drive this woman had - to hell with the cost. Chees Ann

Posted by Ann on 17/11/2009 05:15:19

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Dibs, the house your looking for is the Straw House of Islington. You will find it in the episode guide. What an extraodinary building!

Posted by Margie on 11/11/2009 12:03:11

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To Zaheer, we would be happy to teach you to design your own house using shipping containers. Go to www.fultonsalomon.com where you will see one of our container based projects that will appear on Grand Designs Australia (The Dare House) To the architects for the water tower house, very well done! i wish we had zinc roofing contractors as did the work on that project.

Posted by geoffrey fulton on 09/10/2009 08:26:54

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Hi, I am in New Zealand and we don't have any really old buildings. I have been to the UK a few times and love the history and the old buildings. I love watching Grand Design especially when its about an old building being restored. Keep up the good work the program is wonderful. I know heaps of people here that love it as well. All the best, Anne Porteous

Posted by Anne Porteous on 08/10/2009 03:48:57

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I'd just like to ask, why did'nt grand designs not do a revisit on the tuscany ancient castle when it was completely finnished? All the other grand designs that i've seen to date are very impressive.

Posted by edward noble on 08/10/2009 02:19:54

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My favourite Grand Design was the Italian house in Puglia where they run Art and 'food' holidays - beautifully done from local materials in a superb location, best thing I've ever seen. Much better than the formulaic glass boxes that we usually see.

Posted by Polly on 04/10/2009 12:50:32

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Hi, I'm trying to remember which episode had a building which was built in London, right next to the main London railway line. It was built on springs to absorb the vibration caused by the trains and had a sandbag wall to absorb the noise from the trains. I'm heading down to London with my kids and wanted to point it out to them and let them see how it was built. Is anyone able to help me??

Posted by Dibs on 19/07/2009 15:49:47

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Hi, does anyone know where I can do a part-time course (evening and weekends) where I'm able to design a home myself (on paper....). Of course it would be to the level of an architect but nonethless get things rolling (i.e. answering many questions) as to the kind of house I would like to build.

Posted by Zaheer on 12/06/2009 12:25:20

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Truly magnificant build demonstrating many green technologies, and an exemplar of a carbon NEGATIVE home.

Posted by euuken on 19/03/2009 19:17:27

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