Pump House is a compact, off-grid home for simple living. Owners and guests can enjoy a quiet night, a cup of tea and quality time with their horse, George.
A single tea tree on the site of this beach house became the focus of the project. The aim became to showcase nature, rather than try to dominate and control it.
Coromandel Bach was conceived as a container sitting lightly on the land for habitation. A 'bach' is a New Zealand term for a simple holiday shack.
Hiding at the bottom of a London garden, this glowing writer's shed is the perfect whimsical escape for an author/illustrator who loves children's books.
At first glance it's a typical Victorian-era worker's cottage. Only on closer inspection you realize there's something unusual going on behind that facade...
When designing this small, 100 m² home in Victoria's goldfields, Architects Design Office started with the dining table to make the house fun and sociable.
This truffle-inspired hideaway could be a caveman's home. Paulina the cow had a role to play in this unusual home's construction. You'll never guess how...
Bushfire regulations are a challenge. Homes can end up like bunkers. Chenchow Little's Stewart House is a bushfire proof house that doesn't sacrifice looks.
Mount Ninderry House is a sustainable house that takes full advantage of its stunning natural setting without the extra cost. And check out that pool!
Snowy Mountains House is designed for living off the grid in style. The home works with nature to resist extreme winds, collect rainwater and shed snow.
In true glamping style Kurreki Beach Retreat has real beds but opens completely onto a courtyard and uses mosquito nets and shower curtains where necessary.
Salt Creek Rural Retreat is a one bedroom, one bathroom sustainable accommodation. The tiny prefab building enjoys beautiful views over 20 acres.
Bridge House takes full advantage of a naturally stunning site, straddling a creek bed and touching the earth lightly environmentally and physically.
Bisley Place House is a suburban home built for family life and interaction. Bending the rules creates an incredible indoor-outdoor space for the family.
The Dragonfly is a self-contained addition to an existing holiday home. It maximizes views and appreciation of the site as a model for compact living.
Tucked into a particularly wild and isolated part of Victoria's Central Highlands you'll find this small bush house built with trees found on the site.
Southern Highlands House's new tiny work space, feels more like an art piece than an office - well proportioned, beautifully curved and effortlessly simple.
How exciting to unload an architecturally designed house off a truck, unwrap it (like a giant Christmas gift) and move straight in -- with Happy Haus, you can!
Tucked away on a treed site on Australia's beautiful Great Ocean Road, Treehouse takes in stunning ocean and tree views.
Tucked away in a subdivided backyard in Melbourne's Inner North, Nest Architects created a delightfully compact two-bedroom home with a beautiful sunny garden.
\"This exhilarating location with its towering eucalyptus trees and diminishing scars from that phenomenal day required a design response equally as unique.\
This modern replacement for a derelict weatherboard cottage takes full advantage of the sun, the surf and views of the rolling hills.
Eco-friendly Bruny Shore House reaches out from one of the steepest parts of the site to take in the dramatic Tasmanian coastline.
The 8.2-Star Energy Rated Leura Lane House is an impressive 2-bedroom prototype for energy efficient housing perfect for rural sites.
Islington House brings sunlight deep into the home and shows off the personality of its owners. A unique home for a unique couple.
Designed more like a sophisticated tent than your traditional home, The Mook can be built on any site with minimal disturbance.
From the outside Hill Plain House has an Australian agricultural feel. Inside, it's another story; dark moody and richly detailed.
A modest, cement clad building sits deep on a north facing bank opening to the landscape and overlooking the valley and ocean below.
A palette of masonry, timber & stone is pushed to their physical limits. Fairbairn House is a material delight…
A modern home with great views, connection to the outdoors and a stellar location -- on a site the size of an average suburban garage.
This coastal cottage proves that quality always trumps quantity. The small house will age gracefully thanks to quality materials.
Dogtrot House is a permanent campsite. Like early one room cabins built by farmers, it has everything you need and nothing you don't.
Despite prescriptive council requirements, 10 (!) adjoining neighbors and a difficult orientation, this home defies the odds to become a light, welcoming retreat.
The Great Ocean Road House proves that extraordinary locations sometimes call for a simple architectural solution.
Aireys Inlet House -- like all good second homes -- creates connection to nature in contrast to the clients' busy city lives.
To make the most of a tiny site -- 10 x 15 meters -- amongst low lying neighbors this double story home was partially submerged.
Cranky Corner doesn't sound like the ideal retirement home, but this farmhouse in the Hunter Valley is a comfortable and sustainable place to retire.
On a magnificent, but challenging site, Tinbeerwah House is a beautiful, economical home that sits lightly on the land.
Über Shed is not *just* a shed. It's also a rural retreat that reinterprets the rustic charm of traditional agricultural sheds for modern living.
A quintessential tin shed is reworked into a modern living/working space in Syndey's gritty inner city.
Named Soe Ker Tie (Butterfly) Houses by the workers on site, these six innovative pavilions provide affordable accomodation for Thai orphans.
The Delta Cabin uses local materials which contrast with the natural surroundings, while still feeling warm and human.
Dramatic topography, bush setting and diverse climatic conditions were the driving forces in this environmentally friendly design.
A Launceston suburb renowned for its Californian Bungalows gets a new development that reinterprets the iconic style for modern, medium density living.
A house inspired by 20th Century naval camouflage. There's something you don't hear everyday…
A local shed company prefabricated this home, saving both time and cost. But Whyatt House doesn't look like a typical shed…
A modern interpretation of the traditional granny flat is a very stylish summer pad for this family's grandparents from overseas.
This 'Bach' - a New Zealand term for a small holiday shack - is built inside a shipping container. It's a self-contained, portable, and fun retreat for a family of four.
In the middle of a bustling Vietnamese city, architects a21studio have designed a low-budget but high-style oasis for a renowned architecture writer.
This home is tucked into lush forest on New Zealand’s Waiheke Island. Entry is via a wooden draw bridge! And that's just the beginning…
For less than the price of a new car, a rusty old shipping container is transformed into a stunning guest house. What a bargain!
Everyone needs a bit of sunshine in their lives. That's why Bow House goes out of its way to let the sunshine in.
Tackling difficult topography, a heavily treed site and a modest budget, Blackpool House defiantly lofts amongst the treetops - a modest, modern treehouse.
A series of spaces at this small weekender create numerous places sit and enjoy the inspiring surrounds which are comfortable year round.
When there's snow on the slopes, there's no better place to head after a long day than this finely crafted ski lodge. There's even a Japanese style bath to soak your aching bones.
Nestled on the banks of the Murray River in Victoria, Australia, this tiny self-sufficient cabin retreat becomes part of the wider landscape.
This family know how to save serious Won. They created a modern and bright container home using just three 20' shipping containers. A translucent skin provides extra space at a rock-bottom price...
Just because you live in an affordable, eco-friendly shipping container house doesn't mean all your neighbors need to know about it...
Japanese Architects are used to dealing with tiny sites. Love House has enough space for a couple (and a bunny) in just 33 square meters.
Stonewood House is a modern, but sensitive home which sits comfortably with homes of heritage significance.
This small house is sustainable, low-maintenance, affordable and it's pre-fab so it arrives (practically) ready to move into.
Hover House by Bower Architecture is built on a disused backyard tennis court in Mt Martha -- a great example of infill housing.
This new shack takes better advantage of the views and has enough space to host this multi-generational family during the holiday season.
Hidden and embedded into the landscape, Cabin 2 is a self contained extension to an existing 1960s log cabin in bay side Blairgowrie.
The design of Orange Grove House is so good the clients couldn't stand to sell as they'd planned and decided to move in instead!
A reinterpretation of a traditional terrace home keeps council happy, while a series of courtyards inject life into the home.
You can't see the sea from this modern beach house. Undeterred by the lack of view, it faces a sheltered internal courtyard instead.
A prefab home designed around passive solar design principles is warm, comfortable, energy efficient and looks prefab-ulous.
A central courtyard makes this inner city home feel spacious and light despite its modest size and materials.
Easterbrook House uses a humble set of materials and simple forms to ensure the landscape its rightful place as the highlight.
A combination of materials in their raw state and a humble aesthetic make this New Zealand beach bach simply stunning.
A modest, energy efficient home in New Zealand's spectacular wine country makes the most of sweeping views…
Dubbed 'The Ark', this child-friendly house has loads of character and a story to tell. It's the antithesis of a minimalist white box.
Middle Park Studio isn't a house. But if it were, it would be a great example of how we can develop backyards with laneway access into smart, sustainable homes.
A modest retreat provides shelter, warmth and comfort in the wild and isolated of the remote setting.
In this case, the Green House effect is the impact light and air can make to a family home for a florist…
Instead of a generic mass-built home, this family built a home designed to suit their lifestyle and the sub-tropical Brisbane climate.
Designed in a flood-prone area, this modest, sustainable beach house touches the earth so lightly it appears to float!
A modular home constructed of engineered timber (instead of steel) is the perfect fit for a steel slope in New Zealand's seismic zone.
North Perth House sets out to prove an affordable yet generous family home can be constructed on a small inner city block.
Hereston Gardenhouse pops up in a disused back yard and demonstrates a way to make cities more dense and (importantly) sustainable.
The brick exterior of Five Courts House belies its light-filled interior which surrounds five courtyards arranged around the perimeter.
ArchiBlox' Carbon Positive Prefab House means it's no longer enough to just be carbon neutral, when you can be carbon positive.
With the help of friends and neighbours this beautifully crafted home was realised on a budget closer to a caravan than a family home.
Like all good beach houses, Marcus Beach House explores lightness, filtering natural breezes and integrating indoor/outdoor spaces.
Seaview House is made up of a series of pavilions, designed to fit in with neighbouring old weatherboard cottages without sacrificing contemporary appeal…
Clad in burnt timber and weathered steel sheets, Pacific House is a beautiful house that takes full advantage of the dramatic site.
Architect Will Harkness placed this holiday home carefully among a number of established Gum Trees to take advantage of the view.
Trentham Long House treads the line between old-fashioned simplicity and the conveniences of contemporary life.
In accordance with a local planning law, Arrowtown House is a series of small buildings similar to the the surrounding historic sheds.
In a quiet corner of Melbourne's Inner-North, Modscape's modular, pre-fabricated and sustainable Tower House stands out from the crowd.
MAMIL haters, beware. Bike House is designed for a family of four bikes-lovers who have foregone the family car for a two-wheeled alternative.
There's no moat at Fortress House, but this quiet weekend retreat ensures a private, relaxing counterpoint to the owners' busy lives.
Set in stunning surrounds Wakatipu Guest House is a two bedroom home that provides comfortable accommodation for up to eight people.
A large suburban home for an extended family in the suburbs doesn't need to look and feel like a cookie cutter McMansion…
Somers Courtyard House is a low maintenance home to accommodate an expanding family with regular guests. The best part? It's completely off-grid!
Sean Godsell Architects explore the traditional verandah to create a stunning beach home sheltered from the extremes of coastal life.
At Humbug Studio the striped canvas However, these canvas stripes are in fact deck chairs from which to view paintings hanging in the studio.
Like a roof on its side, Ashburton House's sawtooth facade is self-shading, blocking summer sun from striking and heating the surface.