We’re not ones to encourage binge drinking at 4Homes, and in the spirit of Grand Designs we’d suggest you substitute tequila for organic, locally sourced freshly squeezed fruit juice, but here’s a Grand Designs drinking game.

We found the game via this most amusing Facebook group. You could pick any random episode and you’d be out of your tree. Watch a whole DVD box set, and you’ll require a stomach pump. You have been warned…

Read the Grand Designs Drinking Game rules (Facebook membership required)

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Please help Kirstie Allsopp find her missing ring – reward £1000.

We’ll put up something on 4Homes about this ASAP, but in the meantime you can find out more info here – www.kirstieslostring.co.uk

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Sewing is the new going out. Decoupage is the new designer wallcovering. Reusing old fabrics to make patchwork is the new black… However you want to put it, craft is back in a big, big way. And just in time, too - with the credit crunch affecting us all, we’re all looking at ways of making our homes not just a retreat from the harshness of the world, but a cheap, or at least affordable, retreat at that. Bang on cue, enter our favourite homemaker, Kirstie Allsopp, whose new show Kirstie’s Homemade Home, starts in April. She’ll be tackling all sorts of projects, from making cushions and revamping lampshades to buying furniture at auction, as she decorates a house from top to bottom over the course of the series. Better still, we’ll be featuring each episode in detail, and we’ve got tons and tons of fabulous ideas, advice and inspiration lined up to help you turn your house into a home – on a budget. Plus, we’ll show you how to complete your own craft projects in Kirstie’s step by step DIY How Tos. Watch this space.

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We may need to change our 10 Wackiest Grand Designs piece so that, in true Spinal Tap style, it goes up to 11.

This week sees Daren and Adi up sticks and move to Brittany in northern France, to build a tyre-walled ‘earth ship’ out of more or less entirely reclaimed and recycled materials. With no architect, and only a bunch of hippyish volunteers helping them to build, I was worried this might end up like the Medway Eco Barge (for those who haven’t seen that episode, things didn’t exactly turn out well).

Fortunately, Daren & Adi’s commitment to the cause, depth of research and basic hard graft produces a home that’s certainly quirky, but rustic and ultimately charming. The house is completely off-grid and produces its own heat, light, energy and water. More modest than grand, but exceptional nonetheless.

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On Friday The Architects’ Journal published the results of a survey on the recession and the architecture profession. The numbers don’t make for great reading, with 20% of architects saying they’d taken a paycut, 50% of practices saying they’d laid off staff, and iconic Foster + Partners announcing they’ll be letting up to 400 staff go.

4Homes’ own Deborah Saunt, architect and co-presenter of Grand Designs: Trade Secrets, had this to say: ‘People are getting desperate. It really is bad out there. It’s a bloodbath.’ And with RIBA President Jack Pringle predicting a five-year slump, things look like getting worse before they get better.

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Channel 4 News has reported that Northern Rock are making £14billion available over the next two years, for first time buyer mortgages and homeowner remortgaging.

This comes at the start of a week where the Government is expected to (quite rightly) increase pressure on the banking sector to make bailout cash available to businesses and prospective house buyers.

Read the full story here.

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The government have released a draft strategic document which outlines plans to give every existing UK house a green makeover, as well as dramatically raising the bar regarding the building regs for new homes.

The intention is to bring all UK homes to a level ‘approaching cation neutral’ by 2050. Unfortunately the document fails to specify where the money’s going to come from to pay for it.

You can read the full story here, and get info on how to save energy in your home here.

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A bit of Tuesday afternoon daftness – 20 famous skyscrapers made entirely from Lego bricks. Faves of mine include the CN Tower and the Gherkin, although they’re all impressive. Check them out here.

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Just finished watching the office copy of tomorrow’s Grand Designs, and it’s certainly a one-of-a-kind project. The house comprises a huge clay tile arch, built using an ancient Spanish technique never attempted before in the UK, with two separate buildings nestled beneath. It’s an airtight passive house that’s so energy-efficient that owners Richard & Sophie reckon they’ll be able to flog £1800 of electricity back to the National Grid every year. The arch itself is covered in a soil roof that by now must be ready to burst into bloom, helping an undeniably large building blend into the surrounding countryside.

The episode features some of my favourite Grand Designs staples: living in a caravan on-site (and through winter nonetheless), a mid-project baby, and Kevin McCloud explaining some engineering principles using small models. I loved every minute.

You can watch Grand Designs tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9pm on Channel 4. If you miss the show, catch it on Channel 4’s Watch Online service.

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