The TV program follows the progress of people who are building their dream homes, and it charts the ups and downs of the build process. The program has been running for 9 years in the UK, and the Grand Designs teams have now launched a fantastic online arm – http://www.granddesignsdirectory.com to help everyone create a dream home.

The Grand Designs Directory searches through over 120,000 home and garden retailers, to find the perfect item. The retailers are all based in the UK, and sell everything from staircases to bedding!

The Grand Designs Directory is the only focused home and garden internet site that lists pretty much every house and garden retailer in the UK. Because we list every shop, the directory has all the high street favorites as well as smaller, independent stores you wouldn't normally find on the internet.

The original concept for the directory came to us about five years ago. We were sitting in a pub, moaning about how difficult it was to find unusual and interesting things for our homes. We had all just moved and were doing our houses up and we where thoroughly bored with what the local DIY warehouse had to offer us in terms of fixtures and fittings.

But where could we go to get something out of the ordinary? None of us knew where on earth to start looking for original things for our homes. As we pondered this missing service we thought we had spotted something we would help with, a gap in the home retail market. We said; “what we need is a place that lists every retailer in the UK, along with what they sell. So if I want to buy a Victorian salvaged bathroom suite I could just find out where to go locally, and wander over there at the weekend".

We decided that the internet would be the perfect place to site our interactive list, and after some conversations about how to go about building it; the concept of the Grand Designs Directory was born.

Now, five years and 120,000 retailers later, the directory is the best place to start your search for anything for your home or garden.

Just moved house? Use the Grand Designs Directory to track down your new local home and garden shops. Want to make sure you're buying quality? Check the reviews left by previous customers on the directory before you commit yourself to a purchase.

The directory also lists discounts and special offers on some inspiring and practical products, so you wont be short of ideas or helpful advice to enable you to realise your dreams. In fact, if you want anything for your house or garden, we'll tell you who's got it, who can deliver it and who has a special offer on it!

As the service is free to use for consumers, you can visit as often as you need to. Each time you visit you are sure to find something to divert, engage and inspire you to create a fresh new look to invigorate your personal space.

Also, if you have any tips as to how we can further improve our web service, we'd be delighted to hear from you, at the contact details below.