Grand Designs New Zealand

A rambunctious retired bricklayer builds one final house, for himself and his ever-patient wife on their farm near Whanganui.

A couple with peaceful retirement in mind, plan a rustic retreat in North Canterbury inspired by a Stealth Bomber fighter.

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.

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

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 - and 7 river crossings - inland from Geraldine is where arborist Li Tane and his landscaper wife Michelle are building their rammed earth, off-grid, sustainable 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.

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.

In North Canterbury Phil Metaxas takes on the ambitious task of completing another man's dream - that of a post-modernist castle.

In Featherston, Swedish architect Josefine Watterson tackles the challenge of creating a Passive House for her young family in pursuit of both a more sustainable lifestyle.

Tony Hodge discovers that building with the humble container is not as easy as he thought it would be on his unforgiving, vertiginous, bush clad site on Waiheke Island.

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?

Heritage building enthusiasts Ted and Ita Daniels create an ultra-modern rooftop apartment on top of one of the city's most beautiful renovations.

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?

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.

One of Grand Designs' most compelling builds, in which concretologist Ross risks life and limb to create a towering home for his family on the cliffs of Pt Chevalier.

Mahuia and Mindy are preparing to be the first-time parents and want to build a family home that will double as a recording studio and a rooftop performance space. In this episode we take you back to the home doubling as a recording studio as Mahuia and Mindy try to find harmony between an inspirational music space and a place to raise their family.

Chris Moller takes a tour of three exceptional Grand Designs homes from the last four seasons to see how they've developed and to ask the big question - was it all worth it?

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.

Kate and Ian want to live in the remote Kenepuru Sound, but it's a place tradies won't go to. Instead, the pair build off site and truck the home along a dangerous road.

Young builder Zac wants to save money by building his own home. The problem is he's promised his mum he'll build hers at the same time - and both are on top of a sand dune.

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

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

A terminally ill Christchurch man and his family are determined to stay in South Brighton despite on-going earthquakes, and the fact their house is being built on a sand dune.

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.

Christchurch earthquake refugees Andy Macbeth and Jo Denton build a modern-day fortress against the elements in alpine Queenstown.

Philippe and Sarah Lods hope to create a modernist home based on Parisian apartments on a rare empty site in the heart of Auckland's historic Ponsonby.

The series finale sees Marty import two old American barns from New York valley, which are raised by heritage builders and merged with a design for a modern home. Timber merchant Marty Verry and his Venezuelan wife Morella have imported two historic New York barn frames that could be considered the oldest buildings in New Zealand. With plans to assemble the barn on the couples' rural site on the outskirts of Auckland, they intend them to become part of a modernist mansion acting as a tribute to the different timber Marty loves. But will the new homes honour the history they are built on or is this Grand Design set to take on a life of its own?

After years of living apart with their separate children, Mike and Catherine are finally building an extraordinary straw bale together on top of a rocky outcrop in central Otego. Between them, Mike and Cathy have seven children from their previous marriages. With the last child finally moved out of home, the couple are going to build a Grand Design in which they will live alone together for the first time. They will be calling on Catherine's skills as one of the few female joiners in the country and Mike's talents as an inventor to build a unique straw bale and hemp house on an exposed rocky outcrop near Wanaka.

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.

Chris meets architect Nic Ballara, who's planning to build a house on a steep 45-degree slope overlooking Wellington. Nic Ballara clearly has a head for heights as he starts to build a family home for him and his wife Callie and their 12-year-old daughter. Nic's site in the earthquake prone city of Wellington is so steep that it looks virtually impossible to build on, however Nic is convinced he has a solution and is determined to build his first home there. A logistical nightmare lies ahead as this Grand Design looks to be an uphill battle throughout.