The WORST episodes of Grand Designs Australia
Every episode of Grand Designs Australia ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Grand Designs Australia!
Grand Designs Australia tells the stories of new homes and perhaps more importantly the Aussies who are building them. Based on the award-winning UK series, Grand Designs Australia is the first international format of the critically acclaimed show. The series charts the in-depth process of elaborate design projects undertaken by self-builders - from the initial details of blueprints, to the long and often arduous task of turning the designs into a practical living space. No design is too ambitious when it comes to creating your dream home. But discovering the hard realities that complicate your plans can often be too much to bear. Hosted by leading Australian architect Peter Maddison.
#1 - Clovelly House Revisited
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/22/2013
Julie and Patrick fast tracked the construction of their modern beachside home, thanks to a firm of pre-fab builders in Victoria. Peter re-visits them to learn how they have settled in.
#2 - Mt Tamborine, QLD
Season 8 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/11/2019
David and Sarah are in love with MtTamborine, the place they were married 22 years ago. They're now about to build a long-awaited home-away-from-home there, on lush mountain acreage boasting a rainforest and creek.
#3 - Coober Pedy 'Dug Out', SA
Season 10 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/15/2023
Constructing an underground acropolis in the desert town of Coober Pedy is an ambitious undertaking, but when Paul's parents retire, he wants to build them the ultimate 'underground Greek mansion'.
#4 - Newtown 'Hat Factory', NSW
Season 10 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/8/2023
Warehouse living in the buzzy inner city! For Anita and Kris Martincic it was a long held dream after years living and raising their children in Sydney's suburban south. So when a 100 year old derelict building known as the Newtown Hat Factory comes on the market, they jump in - dazzled by its potential and the chance for a sophisticated life of music, art and great restaurants. With grand ambitions and starry-eyed excitement they finally get underway rebuilding the hat factory, but what starts as an interesting architectural challenge, soon becomes a nightmare of endless delays and relentless cost blowouts. With the stresses and the bills mounting, Anita and Kris are forced to consider what it is they value most - the old hat factory or their health.
#5 - Yellingbo Artist's House
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/24/2012
Art teacher and sculptor Laurie Smith and his wife Renee Hoareau, a trained artist turned web designer, are both zealous art lovers; so joy of joys when, after years of searching they found the ideal block to create their ‘sculpture in space’. It’s almost as if this picturesque piece of Victoria, with its red alluvial soil, was designed especially for their new dream home. Their vision is to create a sort of domestic gallery that will inspire both inside and out. A modernist cube shaped construction of steel, stone and glass that celebrates and pays tribute to some identifiable artistic references. This will be a place to live, work, create and display their extensive art collection in equal measure. Inspiration comes from many sources – for example the 25 metre long stone facade with its tricky curved window is reminiscent of a well known state gallery. But handing over artistic license to a construction team is a big ask especially after an oversight at one of the first jobs on site, the concrete pour. It’s an early reality check that tests their ability to let go and trust. Will they manage to go with the flow and end up with the art house they so desperately crave?
#6 - Battery Point Glass House
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/31/2012
Adventurous, outdoorsy types, Greg Kay and Trish Knight, live in the ideal spot to enjoy nature - right on the waterfront in Hobart’s exclusive Battery Point. The view is dazzling and the aspect fabulous so when the time comes to downsize, they don’t want to go far – and end up buying the block next door. The plan is to subdivide, sell the heritage cottage at the front of the block and build a new house at the back, facing the water. But councils have a way of altering even the best laid plans – and after several set backs and a re-think, Greg and Trish find themselves embarking on an epic upsizing adventure. The old cottage must be integrated into a massive new house with two distinct zones – historical cottage at the front, ultra modern glass, timber and exposed concrete extension at the back. But it’s not easy. Stubborn blue stone bedrock, steep, narrow, restricted access, and a rogue sewage line indicate trouble ahead. Add to that an architect given free reign, contracts done on a handshake, and Greg’s insistence on quality, and you have a schedule blow out with a budget spinning out of control. The big question is – can they afford to live there?
#7 - Inverloch Sand Dune House
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/10/2013
After eight years of planning, Melbourne couple Glenn and Kate Morris are finally making a start on their striking, sustainable ‘sand dune’ house near Inverloch on Victoria’s Gippsland coastline. For them, this crescent shaped, spaceship-like design is the ultimate response to a wind swept location. Once building gets underway, the couple need even more patience as attention to detail is paramount in this curvaceous new building. Lets hope it lives up to their high expectations.
#8 - Hunters Hill Textural
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/28/2013
Daniela Turrin, Niran Peiris and their son Calum are doing something no-one in their historic street in the prestigious Sydney suburb of Hunters Hill has done before. They’re knocking down their old house to build a smaller one. But these are people who believe that the family that spends time together stays together – a premise that forms the core of the design of their new home.
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#9 - Stonyfell Watertank
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/17/2012
Life in Adelaide, the driest capital city in Australia, has made Mike Dare and wife Lowen Partridge passionate about conserving water. Like many people, they decided to put a couple of water tanks in their new house. But these are tanks with a difference. Massive, custom designed steel anchors that support the house above the ground. With the roof acting like a giant funnel, 100,000 litres of water can be caught and stored in the tanks which are hidden behind internal walls. It’s out of the box thinking and what Mike does best. With 40 years of design and engineering work on some of Adelaide’s most prominent buildings, he’s developed a reputation as a lateral thinker. But Mike is now responsible for creating something that looks great too and preferably in the colour he’s most comfortable with – grey. Mike likes total control so he’s acting as architect, engineer and project manager. Working with logical systems on a house built largely offsite in factories, what could possibly go wrong? Just all the things he can’t control: the weather, the schedule, his walling company going broke and most importantly – his wife’s opinion of the colour grey.
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#10 - Very Small House
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/28/2010
Architect Domenic Alvaro and his partner Sue Bassett are urban animals who love the inner city suburb of Surry Hills in Sydney. However their dream location comes with a nightmare price tag. So, they come up with a unique way of keeping costs down and do this by buying very small and building very tall. After buying a tiny corner car park measuring 7m x 6m they set out to create 220 square metres of light filled living space. Their vertical build comes together quickly thanks to pre-fab concrete panels which fit together like Lego. Construction itself is fast and efficient but there are interesting challenges on site. A miniscule block and two narrow cross streets won’t submit to the needs of a gigantic crane in a hurry – and the crane is essential as it hauls the huge panels and windows into position. Basically something’s gotta give – and it does. Will the result be worth the hassle?
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#12 - Hornsby Heights Adobe
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/31/2013
Ardent collectors Kerry and Judy have a passion for Sante-fe style, mud houses even though they live on a sloping bush block on Sydney’s north shore. Inspired by an unconventional builder who changes his mind (and their design) on a regular basis, they set out to create a home out of recycled timber and corrugated iron, rendered in clay dug up from the side of the road. It may be straight out of the American mid west but this hybrid home will have a distinctly Australian flavour and provide an earthy backdrop for their many artistic objects, artifacts and collectables.
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#13 - Clarence 'Container House', NSW
Season 10 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/15/2023
Dennis and Karen have long dreamed of living in the wilderness and in 2013 they finally bought their perfect bush block in Clarence, a tiny pocket of the spectacular Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. But beauty comes at a price... bushfires are an ongoing threat and designing a house to withstand them is a challenge. For Dennis, an engineer, the answer is obvious - a house made of steel. He sets about refurbishing seven giant shipping containers into his and Karen's new home.
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#14 - Deakin Retro '70s House
Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/10/2015
Barbara and Bill love modernist design so they've sought an architect designed 70s style home. Bill has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease so the home's curved roof line and glass entrance is designed for the future.
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#16 - Paynesville Industrial
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/12/2012
Ten years ago retired Civil Engineer Bernie Ryan and his wife Ruth, packed up their three kids and moved to Paynesville, a charming seaside town in Victoria's popular Gippsland Lakes region. Bernie’s a tinkerer with a huge shed filled with crazy projects started in a flurry, but left unfinished. Needing a new house and unwilling to pay a builder, Bernie takes on the construction himself, armed with an eccentric, industrial design, a minimal budget and a cowboy attitude. Bernie wheels out his old crane and ropes in a bunch of retired mates to lend a hand. He’s built bridges and industrial constructions before, but this is Bernie’s first ever house - and his ‘she’ll be right’ attitude lands him in hot water when the building inspector turns up unannounced. Bernie tries to do as much as he can on the cheap, with supportive Ruth ever hopeful he’ll pull it off, so the family can move from their rough old shed into a real home. This is a makeshift, do-it-yourself construction that could easily end up a shambles. Will this be the one project Bernie manages to finish, or a blight on Paynesville’s picturesque skyline?
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#19 - Steels Creek Earth House
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/7/2012
Edd and Amanda lost everything when bushfires swept through Steels Creek. Determined to stay with the land they love, they're building a concrete bunker embedded in the landscape with one side facing the outside world.
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#20 - Kyneton Flat Pack
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/26/2012
Kyneton, a country town in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, is known for historic architecture and bustling farmers markets. It’s the perfect place for foodies Rod Moore and Di Foggo – who are embarking on a huge life change. They’re farewelling a classic Victorian home with traditional furnishings and building a brand new, cutting edge flat pack house on a rugged escarpment overlooking the racecourse. Di is a keen gardener and wants to create a lofty paradise with a wide, rolling view. They’ve been burnt before with budgets spiralling out of control and schedules doubling, so they have chosen a high end, quality flat pack home knowing there’s a fixed price and a speedy schedule. Trouble is, the land isn’t complying and from almost day one generates unexpected problems. Seems even the most regulated grand designs are at nature’s mercy.
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#21 - Byron Bay Beach House
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/15/2012
Max and Mariella have been planning to relocate to Bryon Bay since the birth of their daughter Ruby. As successful property developers, an ambitious build shouldn't be a problem - but handing over control to a local building team is harder than they thought. From the outset they make fundamental changes to the design making it a headache for the builder and for Max. Something has to give - especially when the bank learns the house they're loaning money on isn't quite the house being built.
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#23 - South Melbourne Brick
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/17/2013
Greg, a former bricklayer is passionate about two things – his family (partner Emma & their 4 yr old son Archie), and...bricks. As a testament to his love for both, he’s building (literally with his own hands) a tri-level, solid brick contemporary terrace house with a cantilevered pool on the top floor. He’s creating it from the rubble of their well loved old house located on a narrow corner block in Sth Melbourne – all that will remain of the original building is its classic Victorian facade. Greg has dreamt of building this home for years and is certain the time is right, even though it means sharing the place with the in-laws.
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#24 - French Island Barge, VIC
Season 7 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/25/2018
With his own machinery and help from family and friends, Mike plans to build a large spotted gum clad home, in an off grid, koala filled paradise. However, he faces the challenge of transporting the materials via barge.
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#25 - Hamptons House
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/25/2010
If ever there was an ideal place for a Hamptons house outside the Hamptons, the Gold Coast hinterland would be it – wide open spaces, balmy sea-kissed air and a sense of prosperity. For Steve and Lisa Morley it’s the American dream or nothing for their 4,000 square metre block. They love everything about the Hamptons style, from the warm timbers, to the many windows, pavilion style design, parquetry flooring and classic, soft interior furnishings. Lisa has done her research, designing many elements herself and will stop at nothing to fulfill her dream.
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