I grew up in the Butterfly House made famous by Grand Designs – my father wanted us to sleep in zip-up cocoons suspended from the ceiling
- Emily Chetwood shares her unique experience of her childhood home
- The property’s design is inspired by the life cycle of a butterfly
A woman who grew up in the famous ‘Butterfly House’ from Grand Designs, has joked on TikTok that it’s ‘tough being a celebrity’ and she still gets recognised for her brief appearance.
Emily Chetwood shared her unique perspective on living in one of Britain’s quirkiest properties – the house that was inspired by the life cycle of a butterfly.
The episode of the property show aired over 15 years ago, where we first saw the structure that was built by Emily’s father, architect Laurie Chetwood.
Mr. Chetwood runs his own architectural company in London called Chetwood’s Associates.
Emily Chetwood (pictured) shared her unique perspective on living in one of Britain’s quirkiest properties – the house that was inspired by the life cycle of a butterfly
Emily told her TikTok followers that her dad had wanted her and her family to sleep in very unusual beds.
She explained he wanted them to sleep in pod-like beds, zipped up as if they were in cocoons, fitting with the butterfly theme.
In the clip Emily posted from the show, he said: ‘I had this great idea of beds that we were going to use that would be cocoons or chrysalis beds, where we almost had to be suspended in them and zipped up.
‘My wife, quite rightly, on reflection said there was no way she was going to be going to bed in a zipped up banana.’
Reflecting on the idea behind the building, he continued:
‘The life cycle of a butterfly has been almost enmeshed into the design.
‘The wings provide shade and shelter for the terraces and the conservatory itself.’
Emily’s dad wanted them to sleep in pod-like beds, zipped up as if they were in cocoons, fitting with the butterfly theme
Emily returned to the Butterfly House during lockdown to restore it into an ‘an eco cottage which the whole community can use’
The episode of the property show aired over 15 years ago, where we first saw the structure that was built by Emily’s father, architect Laurie Chetwood (pictured)
Grand Designs host, Kevin McCloud, was fascinated by the layout of the property.
On the show, he said: ‘At first sight it doesn’t appear a very practical building but this is a family home that embodies one big, mad idea.
‘It may all look unconventional but the Chetwood’s are prepared to live with the eccentricities of a home they built themselves.’
The whole seating area is suspended from the ground and the property itself is very open.
Emily’s TikTok video has gained over 75,000 likes and nearly 200 comments.
One person commented ‘Did you really live here? It seems crazy that everything is so open! Did you move to a normal house?’ to which Emily explained that she and her family moved to an apartment in Brighton in 2012.
However, she returned to the Butterfly House during lockdown to restore it into an ‘an eco cottage which the whole community can use.’
Emily has been documenting the process, filming house tours and videos of it being cleaned – one was captioned ‘when u leave your house and return 6 years later.’
The last update was back in 2021, so what the restored Butterfly House looks like, remains a mystery.
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