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!
Anthony Burke presents Grand Designs Australia, meeting nine ambitious families across Australia as they tackle the challenge of a lifetime - building their dream homes. With a special guest appearance by Kevin McCloud.
#1 - Lewisham, TAS
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/14/2019
Alice is a long term fan of the small house movement and on a sloping site facing the Southern Ocean. She's creating a petite 40 square metre pod, offering all she needs and nothing more.
#2 - Chain Of Lagoons, TAS
Season 10 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/2/2022
When Lynne and Paul met while sailing five years ago, neither had plans to fall in love, let alone relocate to the wilds of Tasmania to build a home. But that all changes for the Melbourne couple when they visit the Apple Isle and find a beautiful stretch of coastal wilderness with panoramic views over the Tasman Sea. With grand plans to build a huge Modern home, they decide that Paul will project manage construction. But living onsite for months on end in a battered up old caravan will test his skills, endurance and ultimately his health.
#3 - Coffee Camp, NSW
Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/26/2022
Obstetrician Gary and nurse Clare left the hustle and bustle of Sydney for a more peaceful pace in the lush, rolling hills around Nimbin, NSW. But it wasn't just the rural life they were seeking - Gary had long held plans of building a dome-shaped house, reminiscent of the beautiful vaulted structures he'd seen while travelling through Europe in his younger years. With plans to trial an experimental construction system for their remarkable spaceship-like home they struggle with every step of the project from collapsing access roads to blocked cement trucks! With money running out and the project running over, Gary and Clare's relationship is strained, and hopes for relaxing country hideaway turn into what seems to be the impossible dream!
#4 - Carlton, VIC
Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/19/2022
Building a big house in inner city Melbourne is a tricky business stymied by heritage overlays, a lack of available space and soaring property prices. But architect Annalise and project manager Kim have a plan to thwart those hurdles and turn their tiny 1850s Carlton terrace into a multi-storied modern home with a large garden and a triple car-stacker. Their secret - to dig down and build up and out - creating a remarkable home that bridges the old and the new, and redefines living in the inner city. The catch - Annalise is based in Dubai with the kids, while Kim is left to project manager this complex and unusual build in the face of border closures, lockdowns and construction delays. As the project drags on with his family on the other side of the world, the pressure tests Kim's resolve and his relationships.
#5 - Inverloch, VIC
Season 10 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/12/2022
In 2016, a fire destroyed the much-loved old family homestead on Alistair and Belinda's dairy farm, in Inverloch, Victoria. And while a lifetime of happy memories went up in smoke, the couple were determined to create something new that would reflect the family's farming history, while providing a home to entice their kids to stick around. With Belinda supervising the build, they embark on a bold new project to create a comfortable home that looks like a dairy shed, complete with silos for bedrooms. But trying to recreate an authentic looking 100-year-old barn using both old and new materials is harder than it looks, and it's not long before Belinda feels the pressure to get it right.
#6 - Goobarragandra, NSW
Season 10 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/5/2022
Trevor Robinson loves a challenge and there's nothing he likes more than flying his ultralight aircraft over the NSW Snowy Mountains. It's a pastime that's all the more remarkable for the fact that Trevor was paralysed when hit by a car on his motorbike a number of years ago. Now Trevor and wife Jeanette are looking to build a very special home close to nature in which Trevor can move about easily in his wheelchair. When a 15 acre block comes on the market in the Snowy's spectacular Goobarragandra hills they pounce with plans to build a remarkable underground home overlooking their 1.5 kilometre river frontage. With Trevor as project manager the build gets underway, but as the months roll on his health starts to deteriorate not only impacting how much time he can spend onsite, but whether he will be able to move to his underground retreat at all.
#7 - Ascot, QLD
Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/12/2021
Joe and Hayley design high-end homes for others, but this is their chance to build their own. The curved, bold design includes a monumental staircase and a full-sized tennis court – but is it too ambitious?
#8 - Greenwich, NSW
Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/5/2021
Dion and Turi have big plans but a limited budget when they build a new, harbourside home. As the daring build, with a lap pool running through it, becomes all-consuming, there are doubts they will finish.
#9 - Hawkesbury, NSW
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/28/2021
Simon and Lauren want to convert a tiny 150-year-old church into their family home. This means honouring the history of the church while creating a modern house – will they succeed?
#10 - North Perth, WA
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/21/2021
Perth couple Angelo and Kasi love the bulky concrete buildings from the 1950s. But when they see the plans for their new family home, there are a few surprises. Will they embrace the unique design?
#11 - Tamar, TAS
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/14/2021
Matt and Eloise leave Melbourne for Tasmania. But the budget for their build means Matt has to do most of the work himself. An injury, pregnancy and a giant Great Dane puppy all add to the chaos!
#12 - Hawthorn, VIC
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/7/2021
David and Jenny have a dream to live in a super-modern terrace house in a traditional suburb. But their daring plan to create a three-storey home really pushes stress levels and finances to the limit.
#13 - Mystery Bay, NSW
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/31/2021
When Rob and Sally buy land for their new home, they are faced with endless challenges. The build must withstand the elements, celebrate the amazing views and blend effortlessly into the surroundings. Is it possible?
#14 - 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.
#15 - Rivett, ACT
Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/28/2019
Peter is building an underground eco bunker that's self-sufficient, sleek and completely one of a kind. From the outside it will eventually look like a bush garden, but below ground, a man cave.
#16 - Yarraville Pigeon
Season 12 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/18/2025
In Yarraville, Victoria, a passive house builder starts a crusade to build the healthiest home in Australia on the site of an old pigeon club house!
#17 - Lockleys, SA
Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/7/2019
Tony and Tania want a million dollar house on a $400,000 budget. Working off handshake deals with the architect and builder, will their dream home be finished?
#18 - Curl Curl, NSW
Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/31/2019
Stephen has spent the last 15 years at the helm of his own construction company building homes for other people. Now with his first child on the way, he's finally building his own, and the plan is to make it grand.
#19 - Stanley Windmill, TAS
Season 7 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/1/2018
Phillip lives in a quirky cluster of buildings -a shed and a heritage listed windmill. With the help of his architect friend Greg, they will link the historic structures into a contemporary, cohesive whole.
#20 - Daylesford Long House, VIC
Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/11/2018
Brisbane based architects Donovan Hill, helped Trace and Ronnen create the most original grand design, incorporating a giant greenhouse that encloses a house, garden, stables and animal pens.
#21 - Stirling Glass Stone House, SA
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/15/2017
Six years ago Louise and Steve bought two acres of a rambling English garden in the Adelaide hills. Using the local stone their dream home will be a rustic two storey stone farm house with a modern twist.
#22 - Aldinga Beach Dune, SA
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/8/2017
Set on a small block overlooking the Southern Ocean, this three-pod home straddles a pair of four-meter high sand dunes on the protected Aldinga Scrub conservation area on the South Australian coast.
#23 - Ocean Shores Chipboard, NSW
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/25/2017
GP Zewlan and her electrician husband Tom, want an architect designed home in a great location on shoestring budget. Working within a tenuous loan framework, what they create is inspiring.
#24 - North Bondi Urban Cliff, NSW
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/27/2017
Brendan and Penelope dream of a multi-tiered, multi-million dollar home, complete with infinity pool on the side of a cliff in Bondi. But when they constantly change plans, will it ever be finished?
#25 - Kensington Curvy, VIC
Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/1/2017
Architect Tim Hill has made his name designing small, radically shaped, timber houses. Now it's time for Tim's family to up-size to a new house that will be curvaceously shaped like a foot.