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No, it’s not the invasion of the leprechauns, although I’m sure they’d be very happy in any one of the tiny ‘green’ or eco-friendly homes being built in places all over the world, including Australia. Whether it’s a ‘stop the world I wanna get off’ response to a more challenging and complicated society, a passing fad, or an attempt at downsizing their lives, many people are saying ‘nope’ to the McMansions and the walled communities and opting for tiny dwellings.

This ...

It’s hard to imagine why anybody would say no to a healthy, eco-friendly home if they had the chance to build one or live in one, whether they have any regard for climate change or not.  Of course, ‘eco’, for those who have just arrived on the planet, means ecologically sustainable or friendly, something that doesn’t harm the environment and leaves only a slight, or no environmental footprint when it comes to the release of carbon into the atmosphere. The ...

Whether yours is a transportable granny home, a permanent secondary home in the backyard, a ‘fonzie’ built over your garage or an extra living apartment added to your existing home, the one thing they probably have in common is a small kitchen.

For some home cooks this is annoying, especially for anyone who loves to make a big culinary splash in the kitchen, spreading ingredients and utensils across the entire length of bench spaces. But there’s no reason ...

These days people are going crazy over granny cabins or extra accommodation on their properties, partly due to the price. Not only is a granny retreat out the back a trendy ‘must-have’, there are now many specialist builders and designers cashing in on the high demand. The attraction is that most backyard homes  only take 10 weeks to build, (some prefabricated designs take as little as a couple of weeks to assemble) depending on the weather and ...

Local councils in Australian states have different, and some rather strict, building regulations and planning codes when it comes to approval for the construction and use of separate lodgings or granny homes. Some can be used for accommodation for granny, for extra income from a tenant, a separate home for the teenagers or other relatives or friends or for B&Bs etc. But the introduction of new planning policies in Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, the Northern ...

If you’re playing with the idea of having a secondary home in the form of a small granny cottage on your block, you’re not alone. These small, extra homes that everybody and his dog seems to be adding to their backyards have so many pros they outweigh the cons by a country mile. For a start, they’re a great selling point if your home is on the market, especially if they’re built and finished to a very high standard. ...

There are ten eco-friendly steps to saving the home or kitchen from excessive energy consumption, and they all come with a prime mover. Of course, eating green is the preamble of energy saving. However, just taking this step to energy saving doesn’t take away all the problems.

It’s merely the start of having a grip on your home, particularly your kitchen’s energy saving. The next step to save unnecessary energy consumption is to utilise energy-efficient ways ...

Are you on the lookout for purchasing a granny flat? You are not the only person who is doing so. This has become very popular Australia wide. There is no doubt about the advantages granny flats are associated with and below are some examples to demonstrate this.

However, you need to realise that merely looking around is not sufficient. There are a wide range of granny flats to consider before you buy one of them. It ...

Sustainable development using eco-friendly building methods means lessening the pressure on the Earth’s nonrenewable resources. The planet is now experiencing huge pressures on its resources due to the rate of population growth, economic development and an increasing demand for its natural assets. During and since the Industrial Revolution the advances in scientific understanding and industrial processes have benefited humans, but there has been a downside. They have also led to an increase in all kinds of pollution and ...

With the high cost of rentals in the capital cities and even in country areas of Australia, many homeowners are opting to let the grown-up student or even the working kids live in a secondary dwelling or the backyard flat that was built for when Granny retires. Kids are increasingly using these flats or mini homes to live in while they save for their own homes. And many homeowners are building outside flats not only to accommodate the ...