Viewers of Worst House on the Street slammed a couple who transformed the garden of their terrace home with fake grass and plastic plants – with many branding it ‘an environmental catastrophe.’
Gemma, 34, and Scott, 42, from York, appeared on the Channel 4 programme last night as they revealed they had purchased a three-bedroom terrace house for £195,000 and had a £20,000 budget to transform the property.
Assisted by brother and sister duo Scarlette and Stuart Douglas, the couple ended up spending £31,000 to make the Victorian terrace into a beautiful family home in just 14 weeks.
However many of those watching were baffled after the couple tore down their garage to give their garden a makeover, with one writing: ‘Plastic grass. Plastic climbers. That’s not a garden. It’s an environmental catastrophe. Bloody awful.’
Viewers of Worst House on the Street slammed Gemma and Scott, from Yorkshire, who transformed the garden of their terrace home with fake grass and plastic plants – with many branding it ‘an environmental catastrophe’
Assisted by brother and sister duo Scarlette and Stuart Douglas, the couple ended up spending £31,000 to make the Victorian terrace into a beautiful family home in 14 weeks
The couple gave the three-bedroom property a contemporary makeover but retained many of the original features of the home (pictured, the dining space)
Meanwhile, they converted one of the upstairs bedrooms into a large family bathroom which they tastefully decorated with neutral tones
Appearing on the programme, Gemma explained how she met Scott seven years ago while the pair were both working in Dubai.
They ended up moving back to Gemma’s hometown of York and moved in with her parents before settling on a home to buy.
She admitted that when she first saw the house she felt it had a lot of potential, while Scott said the transformation would take a lot of hard work.
The house had been unlived in for two decades, with the hallway and stairs covered in layers of carpet which had been left for years.
Despite some viewers being impressed by the interiors, many were left baffled by the plastic garden, calling it an ‘environmental disaster’
The lounge was deteriorating and felt frozen in time, while the kitchen was so horrid, it was growing mould.
However Scarlette and Stuart were left speechless when the couple said they had a tight budget of just £20,000 – and they planned to do most of the work themselves.
As they started renovating the home, making the most of any period features they could find, they quickly realised they would need a bigger budget.
After managing to borrow cash from family and friends, their budget expanded slightly to £31,000 and they were able to complete the property for their 14 week deadline.
When Stuart and Scarlette returned to see the finished house, they were blown away by the transformations the couple had completed (pictured)
When Stuart and Scarlette returned to see the finished house, they were blown away by the transformations the couple had completed.
They were amazed to learn Gemma and Scott had only spent £130 giving the front of the house an overhaul.
And inside, the pair had given the terrace a contemporary makeover, while retaining the original features of the Victorian home.
Scarlette gasped: ‘In fourteen weeks, you’ve managed to achieve this! The way you have kept the traditional features but put a modern spin on it, it’s brilliant. It’s so well done.’
Meanwhile upstairs, they created a stunning family bathroom in the third bedroom.
Appearing on the programme, Gemma explained how she met Scott seven years ago while the pair were both working in Dubai before they moved back to her hometown of York
Scott said: ‘A lot of thoughts gone into it’, while Gemma added: ‘We’ve tried to save money in every part of the house.’
Meanwhile, the couple explained how they had torn down a dated and shabby garage to expand their outside space at the back of the property.
Instead they unveiled a small yard covered in green AstroTurf and with added plastic plants.
Scarlette said it was ‘brilliant’, adding: ‘Before you didn’t have a garden, you just had a bench!’
And the couple were amazed by the presenters told them the house was worth £298,000 after their renovations.
The lounge was deteriorating and felt frozen in time, while the kitchen was so horrid, it was growing mould (pictured, the dated kitchen in the home)
Despite the dated features in the three-bedroom property, Gemma said she had felt it had potential from the moment she saw the house
Outside, the couple had a small alley way garden – while the majority of the space was dominated by a large and dated garage (pictured)
However many viewers were critical of the couple’s choices during the renovations, particularly when it came to the garden.
One person wrote: ‘Your programme sums up our issues. An increase on paper isn’t profit – and as for that horrendous plastic garden! How can we possibly be celebrating that? It’s a garden, not a room. Awful. Depressing.’
Another added: ‘Impressed with the interior. But a plastic garden isn’t a garden. It’s an environmental disaster.’
A third commented: ‘Lovely house, grim garden. C’mon people, you can do better than this!’
The couple proudly unveiled their garden at the end of the programme – but were criticised by viewers who called it ‘an environmental catastrophe’
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