The show kicked off as usual by outlining the overarching theme of the series, before discussing what will be covered in that episode.

Converted Airstream Caravan in Glastonbury, Somerset

First up, George explains that houses nowadays can cost as much as £250,000 making it difficult for some people to get on the property ladder. This is why many decide to take on small building projects that for a fraction of the cost.

George went to meet Mark and Charlotte, caterers from Somerset who had spent the last 10 years renting in one place or another. They had become tired of that kind of lifestyle and wanted to set up a more permanent and comfortable home for them and their young daughter. After a dream about a shiny silver trailer and the very next day they went to Gloucester to look at caravans.

They are housesitting and only have 9 weeks to turn a 1954 Airstream caravan into a homely and comfortable living environment. It cost £10,000 to buy and they have £5,000 to spend on doing it up.

Their plan was to create a diner area that had a retracting table, a kitchen area in the central section and a bedroom curtained off for some privacy at the back. As they were intending on finding a farmer’s unused field to place it, it needs to be self-sufficient and off the grid with solar panels and eventually a composting bin.

When asked if they have done anything like this before, Charlotte said she loved the idea of doing things up but because they have always rented, they’ve never been able to put their ideas to the test. Most of the time was going to be spent on the interior because the exterior wasn’t looking too bad. However, because of the curve shape and lack of more money, they have to use recycled and repurposed materials and furniture and make it fit.

George’s Garden Hideaway

Will and George started making plans for his hideaway garden by taking a trip to the local DIY store to look at possible materials. George wants the shed hideaway to have a sliding roof in the middle and for the kid’s area to be a place where they can make a mess and it won’t matter, while he also wants to shorten its width a little to make a space along the side for a hidden garden for his kids.

As Will lives 80 miles away from George, they decide that Will is going to do most of the work on the build at his workshop, making flat panel styled parts that can be assembled once they are delivered to George’s house.

Beer Can House and Abandoned Futuro House in Houston, Texas

While heading towards the Beer Can house, they drive past an abandoned UFO-like Future house and talk about its history a little and how although they went out of fashion and not many were built; in terms of design they were ahead of their time.

Next, they head over to a very ordinary house that was transformed by a very ordinary man thanks to his very ordinary pastime. John Milkovich, with the help of his wife Mary, drank 50,000 cans of beer and used the cans to clad his house to make it into a work of art. All the cans were cut, flattened and used and it almost has a musical quality as lots of the parts move in the wind or when something brushes against them.

Will and George proceed to unleash some terrible can-based puns! Oh dear! As the owner has died, the house has been converted into a museum and is a famous landmark in the town.

Shipping Container Glamp Site in Cornwall

George points out that camping and glamping has become a great income source for farmers, who usually make more from guests staying at their unique holiday sites than they do from their turnips and carrots.

We then meet John and Sally who are planning to convert a shipping container into a one of a kind, all year round, weather proof glamping experience.

In the beginning it looks like everything is against them. It takes 3 hours to get the shipping container from the truck to the plot of land and once it is placed on a breezeblock base they realise that some of the worst weather in years is heading their way,

Undeterred they proceed to have a panel removed from the structure, where the door will eventually go. Then the storm hits and pushes the container off its base. Time is something they don’t really have and all setbacks are problems because they have their first booking in just 8 weeks’ time.

Will takes a trip to London to meet a man named Olath who has made a three tier shed in his garden, that has three purposes – a storage place for his tools, a home office out of the home for his wife to concentrate on work and a playroom where his daughter can keep and have access to all her toys.

It only cost a maximum of £2000 for something that has three clear functions. Olath says that one of the good things about small builds is that you have to be disciplined with how you use space to maximise it to its full potential.

We then head back to the Airstream caravan in Glastonbury, they are using recycled and repurposed materials and Nathan, a guitar making friend of Mark is helping him. Nathan laughs that both he and Mark thought his own work would come in handy, but because Nathan is used to dealing with very small measurements and not larger ones, it isn’t as helpful as they thought it would be. He basically figures a lot of it out as he goes along. Charlotte takes the same approach as she makes curtains, blinds and a surround for the headboard of the bed.

It then shows the newly converted shipping container in Cornwall. George arrives to find that despite the bad weather, they have converted it into a very liveable and comfortable rustic holiday space. It actually is raining when he arrives and the field has been turned into a muddy mess, but the container itself The shipping container glamping site has three main areas, a sleeping area at one end for up to 5 people, and a big table in the middle for the living area and a snug at the back for relaxing at night. They also have built a decking area and an annex with a fully functioning kitchen, shower room and toilet.

They have made it very simple, with hardwearing but easy to put up wooden panelling, with one original wall exposed to add a bit of character and show what it used to be. There is also some exposed aluminium of the shipping container’s outside, in the decking area.

Despite spending around £22,000 on the build, they are making £860 for a week’s stay from guests and getting bookings all the time.

In the last segment of this week’s show, he returns to the Airstream caravan build in Somerset and it looks amazing with lots of character. He comments that because they have not used anything new and just made use of whatever they could get their hands on; there is a mishmash of different textures, finishes and materials.

One of our favourite things was the fridge that was made from an old suitcase. No, seriously, we are telling the truth. What’s more, it actually works. There is a heat converting panel attached to it and a fan and it’s all plugged in can keep things chilled and fresh in the main compartment of the suitcase.   It also has doors that have been upcycled into cupboards and an old vegetables box has been turned into a simple drawer that looks amazing.

When they are talking about the building process and how well it has turned out, Mark says that he owes a huge amount of gratitude to Nathan, who really helped him make it exactly the way they wanted to. Even though they virtually doubled their budget, they now have a place to stay and don’t have to pay rent and move on constantly. Though, they are still trying to find a suitable field to set up home.

Can’t wait for next week’s show which includes a Japanese style pod hotel made from an unused and rough looking double decker bus – that should be really interesting and very inspirational for anyone who would like to try designing and building their own glamping site. This is something the team at Discover Glamping would love to do if we ever had the chance and budget.

George and Will take a look round a build made entirely from junk on the next part of their trip across Texas and Will visits a house in London which is supposed to be one of the most fun. There is actually a part of the house that has a switchable wall view, where it can either be a plain wall or a window to the street outside.

We can’t wait and we hope you read our thoughts and review of it next Friday!

Thanks for reading!