An inspiring and practical handbook for everyone who has ever dreamed of renovating or building their own home. An inspirational and practical guide to building exciting, beautiful and extraordinary homes, GRAND DESIGNS AUSTRALIA HANDBOOK is a must-have book for all homeowners, builders, renovators and dreamers. Showcasing the striking homes - from streamlined, sleek modernist homes to rustic country getaways - that appeared in Grand Designs Australia television series 1-3, this book is packed with practical guidance, advice and ideas for people who are considering building or renovating their home. From the initial vision through to the planning, construction and finishing stages, Peter Maddison steps you through the principles and practicalities involved in creating your own dream house. An essential book for anyone and everyone who has ever dreamed of building, renovating or just living in a beautiful, custom-built home.

This is the first academic book to examine the long running hit series Grand Designs, which occupies a significant place in the popular imagination internationally. The authors apply an empirically grounded, critical perspective to the study of television to reveal how people use the program in their everyday lives. The emphasis on everyday uses and meanings combines creatively with understanding the program theoretically, textually and in terms of its production structures. This position challenges framings of the popular lifestyle and factual television genre that has been dominated by a neoliberal or governmentality perspective for many years. Presented by British designer and writer, Kevin McCloud, Grand Designs follows the progress of home owners as they embark on design, renovation and building projects at almost always dizzying scales of endeavour. Understanding the program as both a text to analyse and a site of material impact, the book draws on interviews with production members, home renovators, building practitioners and audiences, as well as references to associated media formats to provide contextual depth to the analysis. The authors argue that, as a cultural object, the program is both shaped by and enacts social discourses of home-making, design value and taste. Navigating public, commercial and promotional logics, Grand Designs sparks new forms of cultural production and consumer markets.

From a home created within an old electrical substation to another like a sprawling tent under canvas, from a home inspired by Japanese origami to another designed around a shipping container - these are the intriguing and resourceful design solutions featured in The Best of Grand Designs Volume 2, the much awaited sequel to the best-selling The Best of Grand Designs. It features 24 inspiring homes that have featured in series six to eight of the iconic home design TV program, with projects straddling the continent, from Tasmania to Queensland, South Australia to northern NSW, in coastal, country and city locations. As with its forerunner, the book is a tribute to Australian home owners and their architects and designers, who, undeterred by constraints such as a tight budget, a short timeline, a tricky site and heritage regulations, dared to dream and saw their grand visions become reality.

A complete celebration of Britain’s favourite architectural show.

Exploration of whether modern science can provide the key that will unlock all the secrets of existence.

The New Australian Garden is an insider's account of the journey to design, construct and plant 18 landmark gardens that represent a new movement in Australian landscape design - one where the relationship between architecture and garden is paramount. Landscaper Michael Bates, working alone and in collaboration with some of the greatest design talents in the field, creates spaces that connect indoor to outdoor through masterful use of levels, innovative materials and experimental planting. Traditional lawns are reimagined as contoured sculptural forms, and water and fire pits inject life and energy into open spaces. The resulting gardens are destination spaces, sanctuaries and breathtaking backdrops for everyday life.

An exquisitely photographed exploration of what it is to find purpose, joy and connection in the simple things. 'In a time of infinite choice and possibility, Jodi has provided a grounded road map to becoming a grateful, settled soul.' Alexx Stuart, author of Low Tox Life 'I'm not here to nag you and tell you that you need to live with less stuff. Nor will I tell you that owning less is a sure and certain path to happiness. But let me tell you what it's like to carry all you own with you ... to reduce your consumption and increase your free time and to realise that everything you need in life can fit in a caravan along with those you love most ...' It is natural to fear uncertainty. But what if you embraced it, listened to your intuition and made the tiny or big decisions to slow life right down? What if you had more space in your life for connection to nature and those around you? What if you stepped off the treadmill and forged a new path? In Practising Simplicity, author and photographer Jodi Wilson shines a light on all the best things in life that don't cost money and how you can incorporate them into your lifestyle, whatever your circumstances. For her, the simplicity of living in a tiny home on wheels was at first terrifying but ultimately the essential answer to anxiety and overwhelm. A beautiful, unflinching encouragement to let go of the unnecessary, Practising Simplicity inspires us to celebrate the simple yet extraordinary joys that make life meaningful.