Grand Designs NZ

An old tennis court in Paraparaumu is set to become a couple’s new family home but the project lobs up a series of backhanders.

Lake Tahoe. Two psychologists undergo their own stress tests building a Mountain Modern home overlooking Otago Harbour.

The dream of a sustainable rammed earth house at Waikanae risks crumbling in the face of building delays and steadily rising costs.

Concrete Californian. A concrete, steel and glass citadel above a popular Auckland beach combines austere functionality with luxury living

Lake Ohau. A cherished family holiday home at Lake Ōhau is rebuilt after destruction and near death experience.

Waiheke Wonder. Plans for an elegant “empty nest” home on Waiheke Island are swamped by a sea of mud and a tsunami of rising construction costs.

In the Waitaki Valley, Michael and Olivia Pavelitch discover they have their work cut out for them when they embark on breathing life into an historic rabbiters’ cottage.

When John and Sharon Russell bought their vertiginous site above Queenstown for their shared-ownership holiday house, they thought their biggest challenge would be signing up other owners...

An hour inland from Geraldine is where arborist Li Tane and his landscaper wife Michelle are building their rammed earth, off-Grid, mountain home for their family

On a steep site in the wilds of Mahurangi, just north of Auckland, architect Felicity Brenchly is prepared to do whatever it takes to get their family home built.