Sunday 8 December 2013

Callignee II :: Recycled House From Grand Designs Australia

{image credits: Alicia Taylor & Lifestyle Channel}

This project is one of my all time favorites for its aesthetic design and outstanding sustainable approach. 

Built from the remains of the original house, which was destroyed by the tragic bushfires of Black Saturday in Gippsland, Victoria, in 2009, this home recycles what it can from the fire and adds the latest fire resistant materials to make a eclectic, warm and resilient new house. 

This home is best explained by these links to Grand Designs Australia's house tour and video diary.


Eco or natural initiatives from this project:

1. Reuse, recycled materials where possible from your original house.

2. Due to the need to use fire resilient materials, this new home uses a mix of recycled timber, surviving structural steel, burnt concrete, glass and rusted Corten panels for the interior walls, floors & ceilings. This illuminates the need for any internal; plasterboard, panelling, painting, architraves, tiling, skirting and tiles.

3. Reduced your house size - Think about the number of rooms you really need, can some be dual use and what size do you really need? By reducing your house size you reduced your building, materials and running costs.


Designer - Sean Hamilton, Hamilton Design  
Builder - Chris Clarke, Swale Developments

Have fun


Sunday 1 December 2013

Recycled Driftwood Christmas Tree Ideas


For those of you that are heading to the coast for Christmas and are looking for an alternative to the traditional Christmas tree how about a little DIY project inspired by these eco-friendly tree options.
Just gather a few pieces of driftwood and create your tree. Instructions to create this lovely tree above can be found at All about you.

Alternatively you can purchase these from Folksy and Karen Miller of Devon Driftwood Designs.
What a great idea for a coastal Christmas holiday or beachside holiday home. 

I now have to find some driftwood for our tree. Have fun.