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The Best Episodes of Grand Designs New Zealand

Every episode of Grand Designs New Zealand ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Grand Designs New Zealand!

Binge this in 12h 40m•Peaking at 8.6/10

The stories of creative and enterprising Kiwis who are taking on the challenge of building their own unique and inspirational homes. No design is too ambitious, and no obstacle too large in their quest for

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Grand Designs New Zealand Season 5 Episode 2 - Suspended Glass House
    8.6/10(5 votes)

    #1 - Suspended Glass House

    S5:E2

    A site with a river running through it would put most people off. But not Harlem and Nicola who attempt to build a glass-house on a bridge over the water.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 5 Episode 1 - Burnt Timber Pavilion
    8.2/10(5 votes)

    #2 - Burnt Timber Pavilion

    S5:E1

    Shane and Tina Nicholls design a unique family home using Japanese burnt timber and Scandinavian brick, a special memorial garden, views over the gulf, a wine cellar, a pool, and much more – it’s a truly international affair.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 1 Episode 1 - Concrete Farmhouse
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - Concrete Farmhouse

    S1:E1

    Architect Chris Moller meets Southland farmer Lachlan McDonald, who's building a modernist concrete home with a controversial roof in one of the most remote parts of NZ.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 1 Episode 3 - Steel House
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #4 - Steel House

    S1:E3

    Chris meets Scottish migrant and urbanite, Scott Lawrie, who has a dream for a new life and a radical new stainless steel home in the remote hills behind Pakiri. Sydney-based writer Scott Lawrie's plans for his new life in New Zealand are encapsulated in a sculptural steel house he is building on a remote rural hillside behind Pakiri beach. Scott has an unrelenting refusal to compromise on his "legacy", but a budget can only be stretched so far. Will Scott realize his extraordinary dream?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 5 Episode 5 - Taylor's Mistake
    8.0/10(5 votes)

    #5 - Taylor's Mistake

    S5:E5

    Six years in the making, Craig Jarvis' tiny 65 square metre home overlooking Taylor's Mistake is Grand Designs' longest running house build. Hand built, but is it finally finished?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 5 Episode 4 - Beach Escape
    7.3/10(6 votes)

    #6 - Beach Escape

    S5:E4

    David and Tracey share a passion for architecture, but with diverging taste. Their joint home in Waipu Cove results in a clash of wills and an epic battle over the budget and infinity pool.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Grand Designs New Zealand

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  7. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 1 Episode 4 - American Gothic
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #7 - American Gothic

    S1:E4

    Chris meets builder Steve Sygrove, who's planning to build and ornate and colourful American Gothic home in the Titirangi bush. Fifth generation builder Steve Sygrove and his wife, Chrissy, have a passion for things pretty, floral and pink. Their unique build in the Titirangi bush near Auckland is a handcrafted American Gothic style house complete with ornate detailing like a Juliette balcony, spandrels, a horseshow window, lacework valences, and interior walls made of fabric. Steve rallies against the bureaucracy that is stifling the creativity in his craft and expects this grand dame of a building will be his swansong.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 1 Episode 2 - Earthship
    6.6/10(5 votes)

    #8 - Earthship

    S1:E2

    Chris meets Gus and Sarah whose solution to spiraling house prices is to make their first home an Earthship - an off-the-grid house made of recycled rubbish, earthen bricks and clay. An Earthship is a non-traditional home built using recycled materials such as bottles and tyres, and even mussel shells for insulation. Young Coromandel couple Gus and Sarah Anning decided to step outside the norm with their Grand Design when they realized they couldn't afford a traditional home. Enlisting the help of community volunteers, both here and overseas and using unique building techniques originally designed for the desert in California, it's not certain how this Grand Design will fare in Coromandel's temperamental climate.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 3 Episode 1 - Helensville: Imitation Villa
    6.0/10(6 votes)

    #9 - Helensville: Imitation Villa

    S3:E1

    Kelly wants to recreate an ornate historic homestead in Helensville - just like one she fell in love with as a child. And she's not letting her six kids hold her back.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 7 Episode 1 - Chatham Islands
    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #10 - Chatham Islands

    S7:E1

    After renting the local schoolhouse for 20 years, Chatham Islanders John and Bridget Preece are finally embarking on their own dream build. But will the challenges of building on a remote island prove to be their undoing?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 5 Episode 6 - Medieval Castle
    4.6/10(5 votes)

    #11 - Medieval Castle

    S5:E6

    Creating a 50-metre long castle wall is just the first of many uphill battles a brave family faces as they tackle the gargantuan task of creating a Medieval Castle in north Canterbury.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 1 Episode 5 - 45° House
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - 45° House

    S1:E5

    Chris meets architect Nic Ballara, who's planning to build a house on a steep 45-degree slope overlooking Wellington. Nic Ballara clearly has a head for heights as he starts to build a family home for him and his wife Callie and their 12-year-old daughter. Nic's site in the earthquake prone city of Wellington is so steep that it looks virtually impossible to build on, however Nic is convinced he has a solution and is determined to build his first home there. A logistical nightmare lies ahead as this Grand Design looks to be an uphill battle throughout.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 1 Episode 6 - Clifftop House
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Clifftop House

    S1:E6

    Chris meets Hamish and Diane Divett, who are rebuilding their house on the most unlikely spot - on the edge of a crumbling cliff top that plummets 40 metres to the sea below. Surfing Pastor Hamish Divett and his psychologist wife Diane have lived by the ocean for years, but in a dark, south-facing house that failed to take full advantage of the beautiful vista. To get the view they desperately desire, the couple have decided to push structural and logical planning to the limits. By building on a crumbling cliff with a sheer drop to the sea below, the Divetts will push their team to the edge to see this Grand Design though to completion.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 1 Episode 7 - Straw Bale House
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Straw Bale House

    S1:E7

    After years of living apart with their separate children, Mike and Catherine are finally building an extraordinary straw bale together on top of a rocky outcrop in central Otego. Between them, Mike and Cathy have seven children from their previous marriages. With the last child finally moved out of home, the couple are going to build a Grand Design in which they will live alone together for the first time. They will be calling on Catherine's skills as one of the few female joiners in the country and Mike's talents as an inventor to build a unique straw bale and hemp house on an exposed rocky outcrop near Wanaka.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 1 Episode 8 - American Barns
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - American Barns

    S1:E8

    The series finale sees Marty import two old American barns from New York valley, which are raised by heritage builders and merged with a design for a modern home. Timber merchant Marty Verry and his Venezuelan wife Morella have imported two historic New York barn frames that could be considered the oldest buildings in New Zealand. With plans to assemble the barn on the couples' rural site on the outskirts of Auckland, they intend them to become part of a modernist mansion acting as a tribute to the different timber Marty loves. But will the new homes honour the history they are built on or is this Grand Design set to take on a life of its own?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 2 Episode 1 - Point Chevalier: The Concreteologist
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Point Chevalier: The Concreteologist

    S2:E1

    Ross plans to create a towering home for his family on the cliffs of Point Chevalier. But after living on site for nearly 10 years, his family is now wondering if he'll ever get their home finished.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 2 Episode 2 - New Plymouth: Hemp Home
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - New Plymouth: Hemp Home

    S2:E2

    New Plymouth couple Greg and Gayle build one of the first hemp homes in NZ, and spend thousands shielding themselves against what they believe are the ill effects of electromagnetic radiation.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 2 Episode 3 - Northland: Rusty House
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Northland: Rusty House

    S2:E3

    Steve Wilson and Wendy Grell move from Auckland to the Northland beachside where they plan to build an architectural marvel of corten steel in an unassuming seaside community.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 2 Episode 4 - Kapiti Coast: Stilt House
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Kapiti Coast: Stilt House

    S2:E4

    Predicted sea level rises are not stopping architect Guy Marriage and his extended family from building a DIY Bach, only metres from the high tide mark on Wellington's Kapiti Coast.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 2 Episode 5 - Ponsonby: French House
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Ponsonby: French House

    S2:E5

    Philippe and Sarah Lods hope to create a modernist home based on Parisian apartments on a rare empty site in the heart of Auckland's historic Ponsonby.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 2 Episode 6 - Queenstown: Modern Day Castle
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Queenstown: Modern Day Castle

    S2:E6

    Christchurch earthquake refugees Andy Macbeth and Jo Denton build a modern-day fortress against the elements in alpine Queenstown.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 2 Episode 7 - Christchurch: Shipping Container Home
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Christchurch: Shipping Container Home

    S2:E7

    Building with shipping containers seems like a creative way to create a home, but construction falling a year behind is only the start of this Christchurch family's build problems.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 2 Episode 8 - South Brighton: Earthquake Rebuild
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - South Brighton: Earthquake Rebuild

    S2:E8

    A terminally ill Christchurch man and his family are determined to stay in South Brighton despite on-going earthquakes, and the fact their house is being built on a sand dune.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 3 Episode 2 - Mount Ruapehu: Log Home
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Mount Ruapehu: Log Home

    S3:E2

    Ski enthusiast Ash dreams of building a traditional European Log Cabin at the base of Mount Ruapehu. But will his daughter's input compromise his dream?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Grand Designs New Zealand Season 3 Episode 3 - Slipper Island: Island Hideaway
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Slipper Island: Island Hideaway

    S3:E3

    Sky wants to build a remote, off-grid island sanctuary, where he and his family can escape the demands of mainland life.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Suspended Glass House" is the best rated episode of "Grand Designs New Zealand". It scored 8.6/10 based on 5 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 9/18/2019. This episode scored 0.4 points higher than the second highest rated, "Burnt Timber Pavilion".