{"id":75896,"date":"2025-08-17T21:14:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T21:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/75896\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T21:14:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T21:14:05","slug":"has-the-curse-been-lifted-notorious-1m-grand-designs-eco-flop-home-that-left-cash-strapped-owners-living-in-a-caravan-could-finally-welcome-residents-14-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/75896\/","title":{"rendered":"Has the curse been lifted? Notorious \u00a31m Grand Designs eco-flop home that left cash-strapped owners living in a caravan could FINALLY welcome residents…14 years later"},"content":{"rendered":"

The owner of an architectural dream that turned into a nightmare played out in front of millions of TV viewers is hoping it is third time lucky to make the modernistic mansion earn its keep.<\/p>\n

Businesswoman Yvonne Malley has reopened Dome House as a house-to-rent with a resident chef, 14 years after the beautifully designed house captured the imagination of Kevin McCloud and the team from Channel 4<\/a>‘s Grand Designs.<\/p>\n

It was originally the project of architect and owner Robert Gaukroger, who hoped to make the modern, seven-bedroom pad the family home of his dreams.<\/p>\n

He dedicated two years and \u00a31million constructing the unique hillside project above Bowness-in-Windermere in 2011 and Kevin called his vision ‘awe-inspiring’.<\/p>\n

But when the cash ran out, the family of two adults and two small children were seen by millions selling their possessions to survive.<\/p>\n

The prospect of losing everything became a stark reality as they fell three months behind with their mortgage. Eventually, they were forced to move into a mobile home.<\/p>\n

That was when the cavalry in the form of retired businesswoman Yvonne Malley, from Rossendale, Lancashire, rode to the rescue.<\/p>\n

‘It was heartbreaking to see the family struggle, especially the children and, as I had some cash which wasn’t really making any interest, I offered a loan,’ said Yvonne.<\/p>\n

\"Businesswoman <\/p>\n

Businesswoman Yvonne Malley has reopened Dome House as a house-to-rent with a resident chef<\/p>\n

\"Featured <\/p>\n

Featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs, Dome House is a unique experience in an incredible setting<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The property has its own indoor swimming pool and a ‘Dome Room’ – a beautiful indoor open space with incredible views<\/p>\n

\"14 <\/p>\n

14 years after the beautifully designed house captured the imagination of Kevin McCloud and the team from Channel 4’s Grand Designs<\/p>\n

\"Robert <\/p>\n

Robert Gaukroger hoped to make the modern, seven-bedroom pad the family home of his dreams<\/p>\n

\"He <\/p>\n

He dedicated two years and \u00a31million constructing the unique hillside project above Bowness-in-Windermere in 2011 and Kevin called his vision ‘awe-inspiring’<\/p>\n

‘But then I began to pour more and more money into the project and, at the risk of sounding foolish, I ended up being owed \u00a3650,000.’<\/p>\n

She ended up buying the property, paying another \u00a3900,000, and spent another \u00a325,000 rewiring the property, putting in new drains and replumbing it.<\/p>\n

She then put her son Philip and his wife Joyce Maguire in to manage it as a bed and breakfast.<\/p>\n

Despite their best efforts, it struggled to work as a business and was sunk by the pandemic. Joyce’s health suffered and the couple eventually went off to France to start again.<\/p>\n

Yvonne then put Dome House on the market, but when no one was willing to pay the asking price of \u00a32,750,000 she had a rethink.<\/p>\n

‘I had to either reduce the price or keep it and make something of it. I chose the latter,’ she says.<\/p>\n

She was introduced to Haley and Dave Hadfield, who had built up an award-winning gluten-free caf\u00e9 and delicatessen in Altringham, Cheshire, called Off the Wheaten Track.<\/p>\n

They agreed to move into ground floor rooms within Dome House originally designed as a holiday flat, with Haley taking on the role of in-house chef and Dave taking care of the front of house duties.<\/p>\n

\"Beautiful <\/p>\n

Beautiful stain glassed windows are a feature throughout the property including the bedrooms, and make for stunning pictures at night<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Dome House can sleep up to 10 people and has attention to detail throughout, carrying themes from room to room<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The mansion has played host to a number of celebrities, including a soap star and an ex-FA cup manager<\/p>\n

\"Yvonne <\/p>\n

Yvonne put Dome House on the market, but when no one was willing to pay the asking price of \u00a32,750,000 she had a rethink<\/p>\n

\"Up <\/p>\n

Up until 2016, the property was in a state of disrepair, but has now been fully kitted out with modern features<\/p>\n

For more than a year the building has remained empty, with Yvonne putting more cash into repairs and improvements, and reshaping the house to match the new vision.<\/p>\n

‘I had such negative views about Dome House, with all that has gone on there, but I am so positive about it now,’ she says.<\/p>\n

‘It looks absolutely fantastic, now we have had all the work done and it always had views to die for across Windermere.<\/p>\n

‘This time I am taking personal oversight of the business as owner and will be more involved in making it work.’<\/p>\n

Haley, aged 54, originally from Irlam, and David, 52 from Denton, Manchester, are equally optimistic.<\/p>\n

Haley, who was the BBC’s relocation manager during the move to Salford before pursuing her life-long love of cooking as a career, says: ‘Yvonne thought Dave and I would be a perfect fit for her vision.<\/p>\n

‘It seemed that the deli business was coming to a natural end, when we met Yvonne through a mutual friend.<\/p>\n

‘She offered us this lifestyle opportunity to move to the Lake District and run a luxury, exclusive-use house.<\/p>\n

\"For <\/p>\n

For more than a year the building has remained empty, with Yvonne putting more cash into repairs and improvements<\/p>\n

\"Since <\/p>\n

Since featuring on Grand Designs in 2011the property has undergone an extensive renovation<\/p>\n

\"Its <\/p>\n

\u00a0Its previous owner, architect Robert Gaukroger, built Dome House in 2010 after buying a plot of land from his neighbour, Jane Moore<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The second floor is taken up with the lounge, dining area and an open kitchen where Hayley’s rustic recipes will be created in full view<\/p>\n

Dave adds: ‘This was opportunity and unique adventure we couldn’t resist.’<\/p>\n

The house certainly has its attractions, perched high on a fell overlooking Windermere with balcony views of England’s largest lake and the fells beyond.<\/p>\n

There is an eye-popping ten-metre-high atrium entrance hall, leading to a staircase to the five luxury bedrooms, games room and heated swimming pool on the first floor.<\/p>\n

The second floor is taken up with the lounge, dining area and an open kitchen where Hayley’s rustic recipes will be created in full view.<\/p>\n

The balcony facing West runs the length of the room. When it is too dark for the view, there is a 75-inch TV and log-burner for the colder months.<\/p>\n

It is within walking distance of the centre of Bowness-on-Windermere, with all of its tourist attractions, and the other way is yards from Dales Way, an 81-mile hike to Ilkley in West Yorkshire.<\/p>\n

The chances are guests will want to stay nearer-by.<\/p>\n

Clientele are expected to be of two types: one, a couple looking for a boutique hotel, all-inclusive; the other, a whole house experience for groups up to ten people.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A modern styled bedroom with a sofa and an en suite wioth a green and cream colour theming<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The mansion has balcony views of England’s largest lake and the fells beyond<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A bedroom looks out onto a picturesque balcony with a table and chairs sat outside the door<\/p>\n

\"Outdoor <\/p>\n

Outdoor seating with a bottle of wine looking out over the stunning views of Windemere<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The property comes complete with a private apartment, boasting its own kitchen and comfortable and plush living space<\/p>\n

‘We expect intimate groups of families or friends for celebrations like birthdays, anniversaries, renewal of wedding vows or even small wedding parties,’ says Dave.<\/p>\n

‘If people with disposable income want to take a complete break and have everything done for them, while they refresh and relax, we will make that possible,’ he adds.<\/p>\n

The couple are also making local contacts to provide experiences and activities from lakes cruises and clay pigeon shooting to golf, kayaking, trekking, foraging or spa beauty treatments.<\/p>\n

‘It is an inexhaustive list. Whatever the client wants,’ says Dave.<\/p>\n

And Hayley is keen to source as much of the ingredients for her cooking locally as possible.<\/p>\n

She has even started her own herb and vegetable garden on site.<\/p>\n

Because the house is built into a hill, the third floor has direct access onto a fellside garden. Also outside are patios, a sauna and seating areas.<\/p>\n

With its sedum-covered geo-dome roof topping off the building, it has the feel and appeal of a ski chalet in the lakes.<\/p>\n

Dome House may have finally found the awe-inspiring role envisaged by Kevin McCloud all those years ago.<\/p>\n

All prices, based on \u00a3650 per person for two nights, are all-in, covering bed, breakfast and dinner, and drinks. Dogs are allowed, but not on top floor cooking area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The owner of an architectural dream that turned into a nightmare played out in front of millions of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75897,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,100,460,134,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-75896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-dailymail","14":"tag-design","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}