Dad of woman who grew up in famous Grand Designs 'butterfly house' actually wanted them to sleep in pods

A TikToker has given followers an insight into her family's Grand Designs 'butterfly house'.

Prepare yourself for the sort of house you dreamt of as a kid:

Who doesn't love a bit of Grand Designs on a dark and dreary wintery evening to see all the whacky, technological and creative designs people come up with to create the house of their dreams?

But what would it be like to actually live in one of the houses?

Particularly in one which is inspired by the life cycle of a butterfly.

TikToker Emily Chetwood has revealed just what it's like having been on the Channel 4 programme and more about her dad's plans for the house, including the family having suspended pod-like beds where they would be 'zipped up like bananas'.

@em_chet/ TikTok

Over 15 years ago, Emily appeared on Grand Designs with her parents and brother when her dad, architect Laurie Chetwood, decided to design their family home.

With different areas of the house inspired by different stages of a butterfly's life cycle, Laurie designed part of the house to have wings 'to provide shade and shelter for the terraces and conservatory,' but the father also had a rather out there idea for the family's beds.

On the programme, he said: "I had this great idea that the beds we were going to use were going to be cocoons or chrysalis beds where we almost had to be suspended in them and zipped up.

"And my wife quite rightly on reflection said that there was no way she'd be going to bed in a zipped up banana."

C4

On her TikTok, Emily revealed to followers she gets recognised for being on the show despite having been five years old at the time and appearing for 'one second'.

The 22-year-old also uses the platform to share updates of the renovations going on at the home - with the family having 'moved quite far away' in 2012 and the house becoming overgrown.

When asked by followers why the family hadn't simply sold the house upon moving into an apartment in Brighton, Emily explained: "Because it's sentimental to us since my dad designed and built the house and we have many childhood memories there."

@em_chet/ TikTok

Upon returning to her childhood home at the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown to restore the property into 'an eco cottage which the whole community can use', Emily has been documenting the progress on her TikTok channel.

Her videos show followers the effects of mice and moths having run rampant in her childhood home and reveal the before and after pictures of the house as the family steadily tidy up.

With a 'hidden treehouse' in the garden, the house looks like something out of an Enid Blyton book and we - much like many of Emily's followers - can't wait to see what it looks like when it's done.