From an 'invisible house' to a former derelict water tower and a barge plagued with problems, TV show Grand Designs has featured some mad and marvellous Kentish creations.

If you're tired of staring at your own thoroughly ordinary four walls, why not revisit the homes in the county visited by Kevin McCloud and his camera crew?

This is what Kent Online did and we have summed up the architectural feats and monumental mishaps screened to the nation over the years.

Denise & Bruno Del Tufo's water tower

Furniture restorer Denise Del Tufo and her husband Bruno, a special needs teacher, transformed a water tower at the bottom of their Rolvenden garden, in to a glass-clad home on stilts with views across the countryside.

Having branded it 'an ugly brute of a building' at first sight in the 2006 episode, Kevin later described the glass and zinc creation as one of his top three projects from the entire show.

The couple first bought a Victorian cottage on the land and their solicitor suggested they research the water tower at the end of their garden.

It transpired the tower was designed by acclaimed architect Edwin Lutyens, the creator of the Cenotaph in London, to supply water to nearby Great Maytham Hall, the inspiration for the classic children's book The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Their new home was 11 months in the making, with the work costing around £300,000.

The project was significantly slowed down and £50,000 over budget because of soaring steel prices.

The couple sacrificed all their home comforts while the building work was carried out, staying in a caravan on their land.

But the sacrifices were forgotten once the pair were cocooned in their dream home.

The Water Tower was put up for sale in 2017, with Bruno citing practicalities as they got older.

"The house is a delight to live in but it’s better to move while we can and before we have to...it’s like handing over a baton" he said.

Chris Miller & Szu Liu's 'no plan' barge

This 2007 episode should really have been in a programme called No Grand Design.

We watched parents of two, Chris Miller and Szu Liu Laine, both social workers, try to turn a £10,000, 86ft steel barge, moored on the River Medway in Rainham, in to a spacious eco home.

They had no drawings or written down plans, and the outcome was solely based on the scrap and second hand materials they found for the project as the days went on.

The aim was that, having lived in a cramped flat, the boat would solve the pair's 'no money, no space' dilemma and the family could also live as sustainably as possible.

But, as the episode unfolded, many obstacles occurred, from fall-outs with builders over windows that didn't fit, unskilled labour and a rush to find a mooring for the imposing boat.

A mooring finally obtained, the family were later evicted and accused of damaging the jetty.

When Chris described Kevin's preferred approach of a thought-through plan as "anal retention", Kevin responded memorably: "It isn't anal retention, it's called design and it's a process which has been around for about six thousand years and it's proven to work."

One of the sadder episodes, as the credits rolled the family were still unable to live in their incomplete boat and fighting the eviction.

The boat reared its head once again four years later when it was found apparently washed up on Essex beach, vandalised and still unfinished.

Richard and Sophie Hawkes' architectural first

This house was so good for the environment that it actually made energy and sold it back to the grid, with the owners receiving a cheque of £1,800 a year from the government, rather than paying utility bills.

Described by Kevin as an 'architectural first' in the UK, the roof was a 'gravity defying' unsupported arch made from 26,000 tiles and constructed using a method popular in the fourteenth century.

When first told about the arch by couple Richard, an architect who designed the building, and his wife Sophie, he declared "it's lunacy".

The pair, who had moved from the city to the Weald, near Staplehurst, were determined to make their creation as sustainable as possible.

Needing no heating, it was so well insulated that only the sun and human beings were required to warm the surroundings.

Technology enabled stale air to be trapped and subsequently heat the building.

As well as inspiration for all those trying to do right by the planet, this 2009 episode was thoroughly entertaining.

A particular highlight was Richard musing about how much porn content there was in the recycled newspapers and magazines used as insulation.

There was also drama 20 months in to the build when a large section of the arch colapsed, leaving a gaping hole in the roof. Luckily no one was hurt.

Sophie gave birth to a baby boy, Archie, during the building project and the pipes in the caravan where the family were staying, frozen over winter.

Intending to spend £250,000, the couple ended up paying out £450,000 on the house.

But it was spectacular and innovative, as proven by the fact Cambridge University placed sensors in the walls, to monitor how heat was stored and released.

Bill and Jean Letley's bungalow of the future

Bill and Jean Letley had been living in their bungalow near Maidstone, which they built themselves, for decades.

But their beloved home became less hospitable as Bill's health deteriorated and he started using a wheelchair.

So, the couple's daughter Jo and her husband Paul decided to build a home for them which had been designed by the respected late architect Richard Paxton, which would suit Bill's needs.

The building would have no narrow doorways or steps, with doors and windows which open automatically, which in 2009 was a pretty big deal.

Hailed by Kevin as 'the bungalow of the future', an unsupported roof, described as a prototype, was used and there was also a cutting edge underground heating system.

With a £200,000 budget, Paul, an underfloor heating specialist and Jo, who worked in PR, did much of the building themselves, despite having no experience.

They bought all the equipment online and taught themselves how to use it, que scenes of the pair driving forklifts which made me very nervous.

The project dragged on and there was a few tense conversation between mother and daughter, as Jean felt she was being left out of the decision-making.

However this was a touching episode, with Bill looking forward to making his way to the patio and sipping a glass of wine, with no help required.

John Cadney and Marnie Moon's Finnish log cabin

One for keen Lego and jigsaw fans, this 2005 episode saw carpenter John assemble pre-cut, imported planks of wood into a family home.

John and his partner Marnie had been living in a caravan for eight years years and, in what was described by Kevin as a shack, for another eight, with their three young children sharing a room.

Fed up of this arrangement and inheriting money from John's parents they decided to build a spacious and environmentally-friendly log cabin on land owned by Marnie's parents near Rusthall.

The wood was cut to design in a Finnish factory and shipped over.

Despite only building furniture in the past, to save money John managed the project.

The hours were long, with his passion almost turning into obsession.

While John was working for 12 hours a day on the house, Marnie became the main bread winner, looking after the children while giving riding lessons and also feeding the workers.

The budget ballooned from £90,000 to £120,000 and the family had to stay in John's workshop for two more months than planned.

But the results were worth it, with the children very pleased they finally had their own rooms.

Speaking afterwards, John said: "My primal need was to build something for the kids. I would build expensive furniture for people in nice houses and we were living in a shack."

Mimi d'Costa and Andre's invisible house

Nestled deep amongst foliage and hills is a home you might have to squint to see.

Made solely of wood and glass, the creation reflects the trees the surrounding and blends in to the background.

The extremely minimalist Headcorn home, which includes a pool and a roof covered in 4,500 plants from the local area is the dreamchild of Mimi d'Costa and husband Andre, a doctor.

Splashing out £650,000 on the home, during the 2009 episode the couple, who have two boys, scrimp and save where they can.

Despite having no experience, Mimi is project manager and in charge of co-ordinating numerous sub contractors as the build, they claim, is too "bespoke" for one company.

This, memorably, results in the mum using string to laying out where the foundations will go.

Her dedication to the home though is admirable and we watch as she and Kevin plant the 4,500 cuttings.

The budget expands (when does it not?) and the couple are forced to get more credit cards.

But the result is an exceptional piece of architecture which made this writer look around glumly at her own brick house, with a murky, sludgy lake nearby the closest thing to a pool.

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