Well this programme, 'The Perfect House' on More 4 was as interesting and thought provoking as last nights and seeing as the last one is tomorrow at the same time as GD I'm going to have to tape GD!

I must admit that revisits are never my favourites and that is what it is tomorrow. The French B&B apparently.

Hello SM, I watched Alans Bottom tonight

Interesting programme, even of it was a one sided advertisement for everything modern.

He’s right, we’re still all paying the price of the massive developments of the 60-70’s modern homes, and we don’t want a repeat of that. I found it amusing he criticised people in the UK for being sentimental about house style then went back to his childhood home and had exactly the same sentimental feelings for his own.

Although I agree with a lot of what he was saying, I’m afraid the Dutch homes he held up as the perfect home did not work for me. They look inferior and won't be long before they look cheap and as dated as today’s 60’s homes do now.

I’m not against modern, its just the only modern homes I like cost over a million.

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He’s right, we’re still all paying the price of the massive developments of the 60-70’s modern homes,

Some of the less successful building in the 1960s were also built abroad but they haven't let it stop them moving on.

We are building rubbish houses now all over our country and we don't even have to wait a decade or two to pay the price.

1)Houses with ceilings really low so as to reduce costs yet we have children generally taller.

2)Houses supposedly embracing modernity by being open plan inside yet they are a developers con, put the kitchen, dining room and lounge together in an inadequate space so another bedroom is supposedly incorporated.

3)Doors are removed and special small furniture made for the showhome.

4)Front gardens are shared hard landscaping with neighbours.

5)Kitchens and bathrooms can be windowless with just mechanical ventilation.

BUT HEY, SO WHAT!!! So long as these houses look vaguely 'period' that is all that matters.

I think he handled the whole subject of houses and what they can mean to us sensitively and intelligently. The nostalgia he felt for the successfulness of his home as a child was making that point.

I don't think he was saying the Dutch homes were perfect. The whole programme was about what a subjective issue that is. He was trying to make the point that in this country we are not demanding the quality or getting the choice that we should be. We are not building our houses sustainably at present either.

Absolutely agree spongemum. It opened my eyes with regards to the look of new build houses.

I quite liked the Dutch houses myself. Lovely big windows. Even the social housing seem to have their own identity.

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Originally posted by spongemum:
2)Houses supposedly embracing modernity by being open plan inside yet they are a developers con, put the kitchen, dining room and lounge together in an inadequate space so another bedroom is supposedly incorporated.

I've never thought about this before!

Also, it seems that bedrooms might be getting smaller. The c.1957 council house I was brought up in had 3 bedrooms: two double and one single. My mate's parents' 3 bedroom house is either 1960s or 1970s has 2 single and one double bedroom. And this is despite the increase in consumerism since the 1960s ie: more space needed for portable TVs, hi fis, PCs and DVD players.

Hi I must be honest, whilst I found the "Perfect Home" fasinating to watch, an interesting visual treat, I felt the program premiss of what is the perfect home! to be a bit pointless. I think he as a writer would be better qualified to have made a programm about the "perfect read" discussing the merits of litreture!.
His snobbery and vailed ridicule to the supposed unenlightened who preferred contempory or retro archiecture I found a little irritating. His constant mantra of "light and space" is a luxury that only a few can afford. Yes the Shuttleworth home,was a good example of how this can be acheived cheaply, but can you imagined replicating this design on a mass scale. We live in an age of growing crime,and a general disrespect to others privacy,so who would be foolish enough to have such a vast expanse of glass and openess for all to see! please lets get real.

I only saw some of this series last week when it was shown on More4 (didn't catch the bit about modern Dutch houses), but one thing I also noticed was the "picture perfect" examples of modern housing they showcased. So, for example, the cancer centre in the Scottish countryside evoked feelings of calm and tranquillity in the residents - but a large part of that was probably due to it's serene and beautiful location overlooking a large lake or loch. I've no doubt the building itself aided that atmosphere of peace and relaxation, but it highlighted how the surroundings outside our homes impact our sense of wellbeing.

Alain de Botton's own childhood home had plenty of airiness and space, aided by the enormous sliding glass windows - all very desirable and practical when you have a private view that doesn't overlook another property. The fact is that for most of us, we won't have a chance to have a gorgeous glass roof over our heads that lets the light flood in - or inhabit a property that conveniently faces South. Or enjoy a scenic view out of the window across a beautiful landscape. Or even live in a detached property with a feeling of space (and some privacy) around us. If you had to build a modern house and had none of these options, what would it look like? Could it still be appealing and desirable? I'm sure it could, but we never saw any examples to inspire us.

By the way, completely agree about the open-plan designs of so many homes today - it seems to be motivated very much by building more in a smaller space from the outset, rather than because house builders think it provides a more desirable layout. This is particularly true of flats where the kitchen is incorporated into the living room.

I caught the last hour of this on More4 this evening and was then sorry I had missed the first part.

Liked the Japanese style, minimalist Zen and it got me looking at my display cabinets and wondering how much I would get for the contents at car boot sales!

The Dutch houses reminded me of the Urban Splash scheme that someone was asking about last month - he wanted to know when to buy into a redevelopment scheme, houses described as 'upside down'. Also, as stated earlier my first thoughts when I started watching was that this had been tried in the 60s and didn't work. There again, to be fair, I suspect what really did not work back then was the shared entrances and raised walkways.

Funny though that the Japanese properties he focused on were out of the towns and not therefore the way the vast majority of Japanese live.

Thought provoking!