The rear of one of Martin's bungalow projects, before and after

It’s not always practical, nor possible, to remodel your home in this fashion. That said, with the housing market the way it is, more people are deciding to stay put and build on what they’ve got, rather than incur the costs and stress associated with moving house.

The new bungalow is almost unrecognisable, but comes at a cost

The Home Show is a programme founded on this very principle. While architect and presenter George Clarke is usually unable to overhaul the facade of a property, his work on the interior architecture is right in line with Martin’s own aim of creating a flexible, usable and downright gorgeous living space.

A large detached house transformed

Whether or not such a drastic approach to home improvement can prove to be profitable is dependent on so many factors that it’s impossible to give a definitive yes or no answer. I seem to remember an episode of Property Ladder in Poole, in which developer Rebecca made stacks of cash on this type of total aesthetic overhaul. That said, she chose her properties exceptionally well, and was working in a rapidly rising market. For most homeowners undertaking this type of development, the motivation tends to be quality of life and creating a long-term family home, rather than turning a quick profit.

Like George Clarke, Martin's aim is to produce bright, stylish and practical interiors

If you’d like to see more examples of dramatic exterior overhauls, check out our exterior facelifts photo gallery, or visit Martin Swatton’s website.

Seen a great exterior facelift? Want to give your house the ultimate curb appeal? Share your thoughts by leaving comments below…

8:57pm
Maggie’s Centre by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners WINS THE 2009 RIBA STIRLING PRIZE. Ruth Reed, President of the RIBA, presents the award to Richard Rogers, a previous winner for Barajas International Airport. Our congratulations go out to Richard and colleagues, and commiserations to the four other practices that made the shortlist. Any of the nominees would make a worthy winner.

8:51pm
Not long now… So exciting. There’s apprehension in the air.

8:42pm
He gets about a bit, doesn’t he? Kevin’s now in rural Denmark at the Fuglsang Kunstmuseum. It’s very Danish, and by that I mean effortlessly cool, as well as being both warm and modern. Its layout would require a visit to properly appreciate I think – might dust off the 4Homes expenses account and go have a look. This was the favourite with the bookies, which means it most likely won’t win. By the way, it’s a crazy architect that tells the client their brief is wrong! Tony Fretton must be a brave man.

8:38pm
Argh, now I’m torn. Maggie’s Centre in Hammersmith is quite special. Kudos to Richard Rogers for this, his second building on the 2009 shortlist. It’s marvellous that every aspect of the design is geared towards comfort and relaxation, as well as to both interaction and introspection. It’s an exceptional project, and would make a very worthy winner.

8:32pm
My own personal favourite – Kentish Town Health Centre by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. As all buildings should be, this is designed to serve its visitors down to the very finest detail. This is the bookies’ longest shot, but the RIBA Stirling Prize judges don’t always pick the odds-on favourite. Anyone else mildly uncomfortable with Kevin toying with an examination light?

8:27pm
Grand Designs Trade Secrets presenters Deborah Saunt and Tom Dyckhoff look very excited to be at the architectural equivalent of the Oscars. No word on who they’re rooting for, though – Kevin’s too coy to ask.

8:21pm
Time for 5 Aldermanbury Square to shine… quite literally. It’s coated in polished steel and glass, making it rather reflective. We’ve got Eric Parry to thank for this fine addition to London’s skyline. At 18 storeys high the views across London are magnificent, and the architects have made the most of this. Inside there are mixed materials, including timber, marble and more steel and glass. The building has a timeless, impenetrable feel to it, but and yet maintains at least a degree of grace. As Kevin points out rather more eloquently, this building blurs the lines between strong, masculine architecture and the curves and soft lines more often labelled feminine.

8:18pm
Kevin mentions that one architect will win and five will go home empty-handed. However Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners are nominated twice, for Maggie’s Centre in London and Bodegas Protos. To be fair, he may have had a vino or two.

8:11pm
After a quick ad break, Kevin returns to take us on a tour around Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ Bodegas Protos. It’s a winery built to mimic the underground caverns used to ferment and store wine in days gone by. Those timber-clad curved roofs also play on the shape of wine barrel. The building has a central courtyard for staff and visitors to relax in, and critically the wine store is kept at a constant 16C not by electronic means, but rather by utilising the thermal mass of the land in which it sits.

8:04pm
Kevin’s short film about Liverpool One emphasises the enormous scale of the project – 500 new homes, 42 acres, and 26 separate architects are involved in the regeneration of the city, under the single banner of Liverpool One. Great moment when Kevin sits in the chair of Herbert, ‘hairdresser to the stars.’ Multinational architecture and design practice BDP will accept the gong if this masterplan wins over the judges.

8:02pm
Two medical buildings, an art gallery, a winery, an office block and an entire city centre make up this year’s shortlist. An eclectic mix that includes two buildings by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

7:59pm
In case you were wondering, the bookies are offering the following odds.
Fuglsang Kunstmuseum – 6/4
Maggie’s Centre – 9/2
Bodegas Protos – 9/2
Liverpool One Masterplan – 5/1
5 Aldermanbury Square – 5/1
Kentish Town Health Centre – 6/1

7:55pm
Kevin McCloud heads from his Grand Tour of Rome to Old Billingsgate, London where nerves are no doubt jangling…

Who do you think will win the RIBA Stirling Prize 2009? Leave your comments below…

Savills are listing it at £1.9million. I happen to know that this is my mum’s all-time favourite Grand Design, but she won’t be getting it for Christmas…

For more on the sale, check out the Primelocation Blog.

Like this Grand Design? Loathe it? Let us know by leaving your comments below…

For the episode guide, click here.

Read the full story here.

Click on the photos to see the full listings, complete with lots more pics for you to drool over. All properties were found using the 4Homes Property Search.

1. Dover, Kent. £950,000

1960s five bedroom coastal villa with exceptional views and indoor swimming pool.

2. Poole, Dorset. £2,995,000

Four bedroom contemporary home with high-end fixtures and fittings, and views of Poole Harbour.

3. Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire. £440,000

Four bedroom contemporary home spread over four levels, with stunning views of the Clyde estuary. Look familiar? Check out this Grand Designs project.

4. Hastings, East Sussex. £POA

Building plot with views across the English Channel and planning permission to build a cutting edge 9,000sq ft home.

5. Brighton, East Sussex. £2,500,000

Building plot with planning permission for a pair of two bedroom, ultra-contemporary homes.

Check out the 4Homes Property Search for thousands of houses and flats to buy or rent, and please leave your comments below…

The film focuses on mildly hippyish West coast architect Michael Reynolds, who has dedicated his entire adult life to studying, experimenting with and finally perfecting sustainable building methods. He specialises in earthships, much like the Brittany Groundhouse Grand Design.

Mike’s wind turbine design – so effective he had to put a building around it to prevent it taking off

Michael’s story is remarkable – over the past 30 years he has built several communities of totally self-sufficient homes, mostly in the New Mexico desert. Able to comfortably protect residents from the baking summer heat and bitter chill of winter, his homes were at first highly experimental, and some of his early projects look frankly dangerous. Despite this, through years of trial and error he’s more or less perfected many techniques which allow homeowners to live off-grid with enough electricity, water, heat and even food to be totally independent from the traditional structures that allow us to live.

In some ways Garbage Warrior is a damning indictment of the archaic planning regulations of the western world, as well as the woefully slow-turning wheels of governance in which they exist. To his credit Michael drafts a radical Bill and, after an unbelievable amount of lobbying off his own back, gets it passed through New Mexico’s legislature. The aim of the Bill? To provide architects with the legal ability to try and test bold new methods of housebuilding, in the same way that car manufacturers and bomb makers are able to test their latest madcap ideas. It’s a truly impressive accomplishment.

Part of one of Mike’s experimental New Mexico developments

The most moving sequences of the film occur when Mike and a couple of his architect buddies head to post-tsunami India to share the knowledge they’ve accumulated over their lives with local people whose homes were razed to the ground by nature. They spend a few weeks showing people how to build houses that will be warm in winter, cool in summer and will provide drinking water, using little more than discarded rubbish, common sense and elbow grease. Tellingly, Mike revels in a country where planning regulations don’t stifle him and he can use his brilliantly creative mind to its full potential.

A few months after leaving India Mike heads to New Orleans, where US citizens are suffering the same plight as their Indian counterparts halfway across the world. Immediately it becomes clear that he won’t be able to have anywhere near the same impact as he did in India, because some of his ideas are so far removed from the entrenched norm that US building regulations simply don’t allow them to be implemented. Looking at a few of his ramshackle creations this may be for the best, but Mike’s mantra is that if you don’t experiment then progress cannot be made. Quite right he is, too.

If you get the chance, I’d recommend taking a look at this film. Apart from anything else, the desert landscapes make for fabulous viewing. If you have even a passing interest in architecture and eco building methods, this film is for you.

You can watch a trailer for the film and get hold of a DVD copy on the Garbage Warrior website. Have you seen the film already? Interested in new ways of building sustainable houses? please leave your comments below…

One look at his work was enough to have me drooling all over the 4Homes office.

If you’d like to contact Guz, or just peruse more photos of his eye-popping work, you can do so at www.guzarchitects.com

Like Guz’s designs? Are you building an eco house? Please leave your comments below…

Set in a beautifully landscaped riverside location, this property scooped the big prize because it both looks great and has green credentials to boot. The red cedar cladding makes this house at home in its woodland setting, while the stylish four bedrooms, three bathrooms and high-end kitchen prove that owning an eco house doesn’t mean skimping on luxuries.

The house is also packed full of gadgets, including motion-sensitive lighting and ultra-fast broadband.

Find out more about Britain’s best home over at Primelocation.com.

How much do you think this house is worth? Would you want to live in it? Leave your comments below…