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

For more building & project info

Have fun

Xavier Rudd's Home :: Natural Finishes, Recycled Materials and Sustainable Design

It's been such a busy time for me over the last month and I apologise for my lack of updates and posts. 

I have been working on varied selection of projects from an organic coffee cafe (on site as we speak), a sustainable new country kitchen refurbishment to an new build circular organic home. I am so excited about all these projects and will be posting more details over the coming weeks. 

Until then, a project that I have been using as a point of reference for the use of natural finishes and recycled timber is Xavier Rudd's home designed by Zen Architects in Melbourne.

What interests me with this house is the mix of soft natural finishes, sustainable and eco friendly architecture and capability to store excess electricity.

This home features straw bale walls with a hand rendered plaster finish, timber construction, reclaimed timber for stairs, rails and seating and polished concrete floor giving that natural and earthy feel. 

Love the reclaimed taps, Moroccan style wall tiles and stone wash hand basin.

What a creative outdoor shower concept!

all images by Phillip Stubbs

Also, unlike grid-connected power systems this home has an off-the-grid (stand alone) power system to store excess electricity produced during the day into batteries which supply the house at night or when its is overcast. 

It would be great to be off grid in the future but while we still work in close proximity to cities we will have to do with a grid connected system instead.

Have fun.

Eco Home :: Rachel Bending, Byron Bay

I have just spent the last week preparing my house ready to rent out.

To cheer myself up from the hours of sorting, de-cluttering and cleaning - which I am well over now! I am going to indulge in some window shopping for my dream home. 

What a better place to start than with Rachel Bending's (founder of Bird Textile) eco home in my favorite location, Byron Bay. 

This is a straw bale house with a difference... it's where sustainable and style come together in harmony. The house is solar-passive, solar-powered, re-uses grey water, has a compost toilet and is built from natural, sustainable and reclaimed materials including straw! Not that you can see a piece of straw from these photos... Just great style!

You can just see the dry stone wall behind the kitchen.

The claw-foot bathtub was a gift from a friends and the travertine floor was left over from another job.

Just amazing views!

This building ticks all the boxes on my shopping list; a sustainable building, made from natural materials, has an amazing outdoor bathroom, plenty of indoor outdoor living and fantastic views.

If you are inspired here is some building info:

1 Building: Natural Building Works

2 Joinery: Piers Martin Cabinets (02) 6685 9014

3 Composting Toilet: Clivus Multrum 

4 Solar Panels: Nickel Renewable Energy 

Have fun.