The WORST episodes of Grand Designs New Zealand

Every episode of Grand Designs New Zealand ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Grand Designs New Zealand!

Architect Tom Webster meets people all over Aotearoa who are challenging architecture, geography, sustainability, technology, and even standard building practices to create innovative, cutting edge homes.

Last Updated: 11/4/2024Network: TVNZ 1Status: Continuing
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Point Chevalier: Music Box House
star
6.00
23 votes

#1 - Point Chevalier: Music Box House

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/7/2017

Mahuia and Mindy are preparing to be first-time parents and want to build a family home that will double as a recording studio and a rooftop performance space.

Watch Now:Amazon
Feng Shui Palace
star
6.68
22 votes

#2 - Feng Shui Palace

Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/5/2020

Kim Powell and Boon Yap scour Northland for the perfect spot to build a Feng Shui home. It's a rollercoaster ride.

Watch Now:Amazon
Auckland: Vinegar Lane Apartment
star
6.82
34 votes

#3 - Auckland: Vinegar Lane Apartment

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/24/2017

A young Auckland couple borrow a fortune to build their first home - and along the way face delays, budget blow-outs, and becoming new parents.

Watch Now:Amazon
Christchurch: Shipping Container Home
star
6.83
69 votes

#4 - Christchurch: Shipping Container Home

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/6/2016

Building with shipping containers seems like a creative way to create a home, but construction falling a year behind is only the start of this Christchurch family's build problems.

Watch Now:Amazon
Copper Curve
star
6.83
12 votes

#5 - Copper Curve

Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/9/2020

Aaron and Christine Green create an unconventional, curvaceous creation in Cass Bay. It's as much of an artwork as it is a house, but at what cost?

Watch Now:Amazon
Hamner Springs: Tree House
star
6.91
32 votes

#6 - Hamner Springs: Tree House

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/17/2018

Ric and Boio turn a tree house childhood dream into reality. But building in a pine forest where trees frequently blow over in winter storms complicates things.

Watch Now:Amazon
American Gothic
star
6.91
64 votes

#7 - American Gothic

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/25/2015

Chris meets builder Steve Sygrove, who's planning to build and ornate and colourful American Gothic home in the Titirangi bush. Fifth generation builder Steve Sygrove and his wife, Chrissy, have a passion for things pretty, floral and pink. Their unique build in the Titirangi bush near Auckland is a handcrafted American Gothic style house complete with ornate detailing like a Juliette balcony, spandrels, a horseshow window, lacework valences, and interior walls made of fabric. Steve rallies against the bureaucracy that is stifling the creativity in his craft and expects this grand dame of a building will be his swansong.

Watch Now:Amazon
Lighthouse
star
6.91
22 votes

#8 - Lighthouse

Season 6 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/26/2020

Ex cops Sumita and Cameron Dale want to build a lighthouse with virtually no money. Will they pull it off? And what will the neighbours say?

Watch Now:Amazon
Steel House
star
6.97
65 votes

#9 - Steel House

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/18/2015

Chris meets Scottish migrant and urbanite, Scott Lawrie, who has a dream for a new life and a radical new stainless steel home in the remote hills behind Pakiri. Sydney-based writer Scott Lawrie's plans for his new life in New Zealand are encapsulated in a sculptural steel house he is building on a remote rural hillside behind Pakiri beach. Scott has an unrelenting refusal to compromise on his "legacy", but a budget can only be stretched so far. Will Scott realize his extraordinary dream?

Watch Now:Amazon
Te Arai: Tuscan Lodge
star
7.00
36 votes

#10 - Te Arai: Tuscan Lodge

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/24/2018

Cathy and Vince strive to create a massive Italian style villa with petanque court and heated pool. But their budget takes on a life of its own.

Watch Now:Amazon
Mount Ruapehu: Log Home
star
7.00
32 votes

#11 - Mount Ruapehu: Log Home

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/26/2017

Ski enthusiast Ash dreams of building a traditional European Log Cabin at the base of Mount Ruapehu. But will his daughter's input compromise his dream?

Watch Now:Amazon
Helensville: Imitation Villa
star
7.00
36 votes

#12 - Helensville: Imitation Villa

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/19/2017

Kelly wants to recreate an ornate historic homestead in Helensville - just like one she fell in love with as a child. And she's not letting her six kids hold her back.

Watch Now:Amazon
Medieval Castle
star
7.03
32 votes

#13 - Medieval Castle

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/16/2019

Creating a 50-metre long castle wall is just the first of many uphill battles a brave family faces as they tackle the gargantuan task of creating a Medieval Castle in north Canterbury.

Watch Now:Amazon
Nelson: Black House
star
7.03
29 votes

#14 - Nelson: Black House

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/17/2017

George and Yvonne are leaving Auckland to retire in Nelson. They've chosen a difficult site over a tidal estuary and George wants to paint the entire house black - inside and out.

Watch Now:Amazon
Earthship
star
7.04
69 votes

#15 - Earthship

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/11/2015

Chris meets Gus and Sarah whose solution to spiraling house prices is to make their first home an Earthship - an off-the-grid house made of recycled rubbish, earthen bricks and clay. An Earthship is a non-traditional home built using recycled materials such as bottles and tyres, and even mussel shells for insulation. Young Coromandel couple Gus and Sarah Anning decided to step outside the norm with their Grand Design when they realized they couldn't afford a traditional home. Enlisting the help of community volunteers, both here and overseas and using unique building techniques originally designed for the desert in California, it's not certain how this Grand Design will fare in Coromandel's temperamental climate.

Watch Now:Amazon
Sand Dune
star
7.10
10 votes

#16 - Sand Dune

Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/6/2022

Charles Webster, a man with a passion for technical engineering, and his wife Yvonne pour their energy into creating a home in the shape of a sand dune on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Watch Now:Amazon
Ōkaihau
star
7.11
19 votes

#17 - Ōkaihau

Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/25/2022

In Kerikeri, local weekend market and café owners Warrick and Judy Hyland are building the biggest house they can on a budget. However, a global pandemic and building supply crisis force them to make some heart-wrenching decisions.

Watch Now:Amazon
Cranmer Square: Red House
star
7.12
26 votes

#18 - Cranmer Square: Red House

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/7/2018

Photographers Johannes and Jo face double trouble - a heritage restoration with the addition of an architectural statement home on the side.

Watch Now:Amazon
Clifftop House
star
7.12
69 votes

#19 - Clifftop House

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/8/2015

Chris meets Hamish and Diane Divett, who are rebuilding their house on the most unlikely spot - on the edge of a crumbling cliff top that plummets 40 metres to the sea below. Surfing Pastor Hamish Divett and his psychologist wife Diane have lived by the ocean for years, but in a dark, south-facing house that failed to take full advantage of the beautiful vista. To get the view they desperately desire, the couple have decided to push structural and logical planning to the limits. By building on a crumbling cliff with a sheer drop to the sea below, the Divetts will push their team to the edge to see this Grand Design though to completion.

Watch Now:Amazon
Round House
star
7.13
16 votes

#20 - Round House

Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/8/2022

Carefree childhood memories are the inspiration behind 32-year-old James Davis' complex build on the Kapiti Coast.

Watch Now:Amazon
Sounds Hideaway
star
7.13
23 votes

#21 - Sounds Hideaway

Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/19/2020

An off the grid monolith in the Marlborough Sounds is a challenging build. But when you live 12,000 miles away like the O'Briens, it's nigh on impossible.

Watch Now:Amazon
Mangawhai: Jetty House
star
7.15
39 votes

#22 - Mangawhai: Jetty House

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/10/2018

Antiques lover Patty scours the country for historic materials to build a contemporary home. Her journey throws up weighty challenges like what to do with a hundred year old wharf?

Watch Now:Amazon
Wellington: Green House
star
7.17
24 votes

#23 - Wellington: Green House

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/31/2018

Sustainability experts Karl and Amelie have a dream to build a home heated from the sun. But on a steep, windy Wellington hillside site they're challenged right from the start.

Watch Now:Amazon
Taylor's Mistake
star
7.17
35 votes

#24 - Taylor's Mistake

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/9/2019

Six years in the making, Craig Jarvis' tiny 65 square metre home overlooking Taylor's Mistake is Grand Designs' longest running house build. Hand built, but is it finally finished?

Watch Now:Amazon
Waiheke: Canopy House
star
7.19
32 votes

#25 - Waiheke: Canopy House

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/31/2017

Wedding dress designer Robyn and husband David have a dream to build a home that looks across a native canopy. But will getting materials to their Waiheke site make the build impossible?

Watch Now:Amazon