The Builds
THE RELOCATION $1 HOUSE
Eden & Holly (30s) purchased a heritage property at auction for $40k in Lismore under the Resilient Homes Program.
The house has survived more than 40 floods and will be relocated to a non-flood zone for under $50k.
Despite its history, the timber bones are in excellent condition. The couple plans to honour the heritage bones of the house in the renovation. Relocation is expected within months, with renovation staged through 2026.
We will follow the relocation, restumping and renovation largely DIY and incremental.
Ameka Jane
Ameka Jane is a singer-song writer, mama of two, human mannequin and fiancé-oni to Jamie Durie, Garden Extrordinaire. You could call her Mother Earth, (that’s a joke).
A Jill of all trades Ameka is not afraid of trying something new. Passionate about sharing real-life stories with the world, whether this be with a guitar in her hand, on a build site, finger painting or walking a red carpet - Ameka is on a mission to create a life that is authentic, gentle and beautiful, leaving you to linger a while and keep everyone connected. “We all want to be a part of something bigger, to know that we aren’t alone in our experience.”
Meet The Hosts
Jamie Durie, OAM
Design.
International award-winning landscape designer and horticulturalist Jamie Durie founded his design practice in 1998. Since then, Durie and his team have received more than 38 international design awards in landscape architecture and design, including gold medals in Tokyo, New Zealand, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne and a Gold Medal at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in London.
Today the practice works across Green Architecture, Landscape, Interiors and one of Durie’s secret passions of 17 years, product and furniture design. Durie and his team have received more than eight awards for his furniture designs internationally.
And have designed more than 50 pieces for brands in Italy and the USA where Durie and his team have designed collections for McGuire, Pottery Barn, Kohls and bespoke items for celebrities such as, Charlize Theron, Chelsea Handler and Oprah Winfrey to name a few.
Media.
Durie’s media career to date is equally prolific as the author of 12 best-selling design books, a contributor to multiple design and lifestyle publications like Woman’s Weekly, Sunday Life, Home Beautiful and most recently Mansion Magazine with The Australian Newspaper. Durie has hosted over 56 television design shows across three continents. After being contracted to Oprah Winfrey for five years he then went on to host another 18 lifestyle and design shows in the USA with six seasons of his smash hit garden makeover show titled The Outdoor Room. In Australia, Durie started his career in TV receiving a Logie Award in the year 2000 for Australia’s most Popular New Male Talent, he then continued to receive an additional six more Logie Awards for all six seasons of his record breaking ratings success Backyard Blitz for the 9 Network.
Environment.
A committed environmentalist and pioneer of ‘The Outdoor Room’ concept Jamie has worked in the environmental sector for over 28 years. Durie was selected as one of only 200 to train with Al Gore and to be a part of the Climate Change Group. An Ambassador for Planet Ark’s National Tree day for over 21 years Durie has worked on multiple environmental campaigns with the United Nations in New York, Greening Australia, the Australian Conservation Foundation and multiple other organisations.
In honour of his work over the last two decades, Jamie was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2013 for services to the environment & Australian design, and in 2004, he received the Centenary Medal from the Australian Prime Minister for his services to the environment, television, and the community.
THE RESILIENT REBUILD CHALLENGE
Lynne and her husband Garry run a family plumbing business and finally purchased their forever home.
But before they could move in, a record-breaking storm destroyed their dream in eastern QLD.
Refusing to give up on their dream, Lynne and Garry are determined to build again - stronger and more resilient than ever.
Lynne and Garry plan to rebuild a simple, functional and future-focused forever modular home that supports ageing in place, while carefully addressing coastal conditions, tidal impacts and Moreton Bay Council permitting requirements.
The couple have engaged Saltair. Much of the modular home will be constructed in their Sunshine Coast factory before the modules are shipped to site where the build will be completed.
JAMIE’S INFINITY GARDEN
Jamie believes that every Australian should look after their mind and their body.
That is why he is creating the infinity garden. A garden and wellness retreat that provides 12 months of food supply to fuel the body and a wellness retreat to nourish the mind.
Created out of precast concrete and rammed earth hemp walls, Jamie really is changing the game.
Jamie will bring this vision to life on his Nashua property.
LIVING IN A BOX AIN’T SO BAD
Young couple Sean and Jess have a 20 month old boy and are expecting their second! Refusing to conform to the massive mortgage and tiny slice of urban land, they’re living in a caravan on a beautiful plot of land in Cashmere QLD.
But that’s just the start. The true dream - a beautiful, unique and impressive 3 container home! they are in the final stages of council approval. The project is currently scheduled for construction to start in the factory in late March.
The container home itself is a stunning and unique design – 3 containers connected on ground level with one more added to the top for a 2-story design. We will follow the build.
THE LITTLE GREEN HOUSE PROJECT
For the last ten years, not for profit Global Sisters have helped over 10,000 vulnerable women achieve financial security and literacy. But now, they’re embarking on their biggest mission yet.
By combining modern modular design and an out-of-the-box mortgage structure, they’re creating a micro-community in Armidale, NSW. This isn’t just charity, it’s empowerment by getting the most vulnerable women in the country onto the property ladder.
With decades of design experience, Jamie will mentor this groundbreaking project and we will follow the build on camera.
And the best bit? These are houses that will be bought by the women. Women who never thought home ownership would ever be possible.
