Grand Designs Australia

For 10 years Pamela and Stuart have relished weekends in a tiny, unpowered hut on their cattle property in Victoria's High Country, but with retirement around the corner, they feel it's time to upgrade. Limited only by materials that have to suit the rugged conditions, what emerges is bold and unique. Pamela and Stuart clearly embrace their architect's avant-garde approach, but will they manage to transfer the charm of their old hut, with its fabulous bush character, into this brand-new rural retreat?

After living in the same home in Melbourne's Hampton for 20 years, Brett and Jenny are set to embark on a journey of blind faith, giving Brett's architect cousin Tim free rein to build a replacement for their time-honoured Californian bungalow. His exciting design will be a clear stand-out in the street. Tim is breaking new ground, the builders are thinking out of the box, and the family is about to leap from a conventional lifestyle to an uber-contemporary one.

Eco-conscious entertainers Claire and Lisa adore their hobby farming lifestyle on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, but the cute 1930s beach shack they've long shared with two pugs has lost its once savoured charm. They're upgrading and building a sustainable, modernist, entertainers' home that blends sophisticated design elements with rammed earth, recycled materials and raw finishes. It all sounds glamorous and straightforward, but with a zero-contingency budget, what happens when a wet winter meets an insidious clay soil?

Tyrone and Hailey follow the advice of a feng shui expert, or 'energy ecologist', throughout construction of their new house. An owner-built labour of love, their passive solar building has a curved living roof planted with native grasses.

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.

Brett and Rees are the proud parents of three young boys and desperately need more space. They love their inner-west community in Sydney's Annandale, so the plan is to build on the small empty allotment behind their apartment. The first sod has barely been turned when one of the heritage buildings on their boundary is in danger of collapsing. Exhausted by ongoing battles and a build that's months behind schedule, will Brett and Rees have enough grit and determination to see their project through to completion?

James and Helen plan to capture breathtaking Barossa views in their elegant new home. One room wide, 60m long, and virtually all glass, it looks straightforward on paper. The complicated part is building it.