Aerial view of the sustainable home Booken House.
 

Booken House Design Packs

Want to build the affordable eco-home of your dreams, but feel overwhelmed by the tedious and costly sustainable house design process?

 

Our Design Packs pull back the curtain on sustainable architecture, giving you access to the exact documentation and floor plan we used to build our own planet-friendly Booken House.

 
 

Release No2 – Limited

 

Making smart, science-based eco-housing design accessible to all

Our Design Packs share the simple and inexpensive design principles and floor plan that we used to build Booken House, our  four-bedroom, off-grid home on beautiful Yorta Yorta Country (Northern Victoria, Australia).

 

Designed around the sun, we owner-built Booken House using local builders and trades in less than six months for a smidge under $400K in 2016. It’s a real life example of how an average Aussie family applied low-cost sustainable design principles to create a light-filled home that’s comfortable year-round, has low ongoing bills and is a joy to live in.

 

 

Whether you’re reno’ing a two-bedroom in the city or building a homestead in the bush, the simple passive design principles you’ll discover in our Design Packs can be applied to your unique build and floor plan — anywhere in the world. 

 

Seeing how someone else has done it helps you feel empowered with enough knowledge to confidently advocate for how you want your future home and life to look — no matter how hard the building designers or architects push back. All helping you achieve a beautiful, sustainable home that improves your lifestyle and contributes to a healthier planet, without breaking the bank. 

 

Your shortcut to a simple sustainable home, adaptable to any country or climate.

The Booken House floor plan is designed for Zone 4 Australia but can be easily adjusted to wherever you live in the world. Simply take the principles and apply them to your own unique design (or ask your designer to).

 
 
 

Imagine…

Year-round comfort with minimal bills (we haven't paid an electricity bill in six years!).

A beautiful and darn practical home design, which connects you to nature and harnesses the power of the sun.

Less stress and lower build costs, allowing you to unshackle from the bank.

A lower-impact life that’s good for you AND the planet.

Access to 100% independent information — no sponsorships, affiliates or brand ‘bonuses’. Just good old-fashioned simple science and knowledge sharing from us to you.

Becoming part of a growing global community championing beautiful, simple, sustainable homes and lifestyles. Exactly what our planet needs!

 

  • Booken House sustainable build Design Pack buyer Marika

    Who knew you could find your dream home on the internet?

    Who knew you could find your dream home on the internet, buy their BUILD IT Design Pack, and make it yours? It’s everything we wanted and consciously designed to work with nature. Thank you, Booken Blend, for sharing your home with us.

    — Marika, Yarra Ranges, Victoria

  • Best money I have spent! This has answered so many of my questions.

    I have just purchased the Design Pack and can I say a huge thank you. Best money I have spent! This will be a huge help — there were places we went wrong with our last house, with the builder misleading us. This has answered so many of my questions, I am so grateful you have produced this.

    — Amber, Perth, Western Australia

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Featured in

Realestate.com.au

Inside Out Mag

Herald Sun

Sustainable House Day

Homes to Love

Our Home Magazine

Schoner Wohnen Magazine

Realestate.com.au Inside Out Mag Herald Sun Sustainable House Day Homes to Love Our Home Magazine Schoner Wohnen Magazine

Booken House is being built all over the world

Folks all around the world are already using these Design Packs to build their own low-cost, energy-efficient and totally unique homes — in Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK, South Africa and beyond.

 
 

 Choose your pack

 
 
 

DREAM IT

Best used as a conversation starter — especially when trying to get on the same page as your partner in crime. You’ll get a sticky beak at how we optimised Booken House for both sustainable design and low cost. See how rooms fit together, read our most frequently asked design and build questions, and use the annotated sustainable design map to learn how we took universal passive design recommendations and applied them to a unique climate and local requirements.

Copyright protected (cannot be reproduced or edited).

 
A laptop, Mac and tablet display pages from inside the Booken House PLAN IT sustainable design pack
 

PLAN IT

A comprehensive look at Booken House, including a detailed and dimensioned floor plan. This pack allows you to understand our sustainable design features and explore nitty-gritty details such as construction materials, colours, and sizing specifications. If you are wondering things like, "what cladding is that?", "how deep are the eaves?" or "what are the kitchen cabinets and benchtops?" then this pack is for you. You’ll walk away with the confidence to have informed and robust conversations with builders and designers about your hopes and dreams.

Copyright protected (cannot be reproduced or edited).

 
A laptop, Mac and tablet display pages from inside the Booken House BUILD IT sustainable design pack
 

BUILD IT

The ultimate time and money saver, containing full concept plans PLUS copyright permission to reproduce Booken House in part or full on your own site. Tweak the design for your location and climate and get building right away, or make it your own with more extensive amendments — the choice is yours. Don’t start from scratch. Skip months, if not years, of a costly, stressful design process and move straight to peace of mind that your design will look great, perform well and have minimal impact on the planet.

Copyright permission + editable CAD file (you can build your home using these documents!)

 

A real-life example of how sustainable design features can be applied to any build or location.


Our home certainly isn’t a model of sustainably designed perfection but rather a relatable example of how you don't have to get it all 'perfect’ or spend a motza to reap the rewards of purposeful design. These simple design principles are relevant (critical, in fact!) to every location. So we’re thrilled to share this straight-talking knowledge with you to help fasttrack your way to beautiful, efficient, light-filled home. 

Tbh, we never dreamed our passion project that started here at our kitchen bench would turn into a DIY sustainable housing movement reaching a global audience. But here we are, on a mission to move purposeful homes into the mainstream, and help everyday people like you build affordable planet-positive houses that are a joy to live in. Let’s change the way homes are designed and built forever!

  • "I suddenly knew what I wanted to chase down, seeing what you did with a realistic budget."

    When we were thinking of sustainable homes, it was either high-end or rustic hippy with far too much sacrifice of comfort and ease. (I just can’t do a composting toilet, I really can’t!) So I can’t overstate what seeing your house design has done for me. It’s like it flicked a switch and these loose pieces fell into place. Thank you for sharing the journey and lighting the spark!

    — Caroline, Tamworth Region, NSW

  • Booken House sustainable build Design Pack buyer Amber

    We credit your Design Pack for giving us the inspiration and information to create our very own piece of paradise.

    I purchased the PLAN IT Design Pack back in 2021 with the grand dream of creating our own home. Now, our dream home is coming to life (lock up stage)! Who knew you could fall in love with a house, but I have! Thank you. We are incredibly grateful and credit your Design Pack for giving us the inspiration and information to create our very own piece of paradise.

    — Alli, Riverina, New South Wales

 

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Choose your design pack

Choose your design pack

 
 

DREAM IT

Investment: $149

  • Floor plan: sketch only

  • Sustainable design features map

  • Build and design FAQs

  • All sent to you in PDF format for instant download

Copyright protected (cannot be reproduced or edited).

 
A laptop, Mac and tablet display pages from inside the Booken House PLAN IT sustainable design pack
 

PLAN IT

Investment: $299

  • Floor plan: detailed and dimensioned

  • Sustainable design features map

  • Build and design FAQs

  • Specifications — materials and colours

  • External elevations

  • Basic construction info

  • All sent to you in PDF format for instant download

Copyright protected (cannot be reproduced or edited).

 
A laptop, Mac and tablet display pages from inside the Booken House BUILD IT sustainable design pack
 

BUILD IT

Investment: $4,999

  • Floor plan: editable full concept construction drawings (strictly limited release)

  • Sustainable design features map

  • Build and design FAQs

  • Specifications — materials and colours

  • External elevations

  • Detailed construction info

  • Door and window schedule

  • 3D perspectives

  • Section plan

  • Roof plan

  • Lighting plan

  • All sent to you in PDF format for instant download

Copyright permission + editable CAD file (you can build your home using these documents!)

 Frequently asked questions

  • Yes! Simply send us an email with your name and which pack you would like to upgrade to, and we will send a discount code to reduce the larger pack by the cost of the smaller pack.

  • The PLAN IT pack represents exceptional value; however, if you just want to start conversations with a partner in crime you can’t go past the DREAM IT pack. Just remember both these entry packs are copyright protected, if you wish to copy any part of our design you will need to purchase the BUILD IT pack.

  • We hold in-person workshops here at Booken House (click here for more info) where we guide you through the process of planning an affordable sustainable home on your unique site.

  • Start by purchasing the DREAM IT or PLAN IT pack to see a real-life example of how sustainable design features can be applied to any build or location.

    If you decide you would like to develop these skills further, consider attending one of our workshops.

    If you decide that Booken House is right up your alley and want to copy any part of our design, you can purchase the BUILD IT pack containing copyright permission (and receive a discount for the price of the smaller pack).

  • The Australian Government Copyright Council states house plans are protected under copyright law contained in the Copyright Act 1968.

    This means someone who is not the copyright owner of a house plan must seek permission to use the copyrighted material in any way.

    If copyright infringement occurs then the copyright owner may take legal action to stop further infringement and seek compensation.

  • The BUILD IT design pack is the only pack that contains permission to copy any part of the Booken House design.

    When you purchase the BUILD IT pack you receive a copyright agreement letter that permits you to use our design on your specified site as is, or you may amend it as much as you wish according to your unique requirements, site and climate.

    We encourage you to make the design your own, whilst still benefiting from the tried and tested principles that are embedded into the Booken House design.

  • They sure are!

    The DREAM IT or PLAN IT packs are a valuable resource to help up-skill yourself on applying simple inexpensive sustainable design principles to any build, including a volume build. This will improve your future home’s long-term efficiency and reduce environmental impact.

    But don’t take our word for it; here’s what a tribe member has to say;

    “We have just signed a contract with a volume builder. We took one of their designs, and then used Booken Blend resources and the Your Home government web page to make some tweaks, and have come out with a great result. I’m so excited and I just wanted to say thanks so much, I never thought a sustainable home was possible unless it was a tiny house or an architectural design.”

  • They sure are.

    When I was designing Booken House I was desperate to find someone else who had taken simple, sustainable design principles and embedded them into a plan that made use of simple, inexpensive build methods.

    That’s why we decided to create our design packs, so you can see how we did it and benefit from our long and frustrating years of fact-finding and mistake-making.

    You can then take the principles you learn about in Booken House and apply them to your own unique design (or ask your designer to), and fast track your way to a functional, beautiful, efficient home that’s perfect for you!

  • You will need to purchase the BUILD IT design pack containing copyright permission.

    According to the Australian Government Copyright Council, ‘There is no general amount or percentage that you can use before you have a copyright issue. If you reproduce any important or distinctive elements of another person’s plan, you will not avoid infringement by making additions or changes.

    These elements may include features such as the internal arrangement of rooms, windows, and doors; the indication of spaces; the design of the roof; and the dimensions of the building. In some circumstances, copying the perspective or the balancing features may even infringe copyright.’

  • Nope, these packs are instant digital downloads so they land on your device immediately.

    We encourage printing off the BUILD IT pack in A3 or A2 size for best viewing.

  • No.

    The BUILD IT pack is the only pack that contains copyright approval which is attached to your individual build site.

    Without written consent, plans cannot be on-sold or transferred to any person or entity.

    If for some reason your build site changes the copyright approval documentation can be amended.

  • No.

    Booken House is purposely designed to be simple (it’s two rectangular boxes!). It makes use of traditional building materials and methods that you would find on the average Aussie building site.

  • You can view a simple sketch floor plan of Booken House by purchasing the DREAM IT pack or head to Instagram for hundreds of images of Booken House @bookenblend.

  • Absolutely.

    Sustainable and passive design principles are relevant (critical!) in every location. However, the combination of principles you apply differs slightly in every region.

    The smaller design packs are a wonderful opportunity to learn how to apply these principles in a real-life setting (we also teach how to apply these principles in our Booken Workshops).

    If you would like to build Booken House but live in a different Zone, simply ask your designer to make revisions to the concept plan in accordance with the Australian Government yourhome.gov.au website recommendations (go check them out - they’re awesome!).

  • Absolutely.

    Sustainable and passive design principles are relevant (critical!) in every location. However, the combination of principles you apply differs slightly in every region.

    The smaller design packs are a wonderful opportunity to learn how to apply these principles in a real-life setting (we also teach how to apply these principles in our Booken Workshops).

    If you would like to build Booken House but live in a different part of the world, simply ask your designer to make revisions to the concept plan in accordance with your local government’s sustainable and passive design recommendations.

    For example, to maximise solar gain in winter in the southern hemisphere, we orientate our homes to the North. If you are in the Northern hemisphere, then the design will need to be flipped.

  • If you purchase the BUILD IT design pack with copyright approval, you can change our plan however you wish to suit your needs. You can reduce it in size, change the layout, adjust it to fit on a smaller or flatter block etc, and still retain all the sustainable design elements baked into the Booken House design.

  • The Booken House concept plan can be easily adjusted to suit any style; it is simply a matter of changing the facade, elevations, or specifications.

    For example, add a hip roof, some country styling, and a big wide verandah on the east, west and southern orientations, and voila, you have a traditional farmhouse style home that performs like an energy-efficient beast!

  • The BUILD IT design pack comes with copyright permission to change our concept plan for your nominated site in any way you wish, therefore you can add or remove bedrooms (or any room!) at your will.

A tablet on a marble table displays the cover page of the free Sustainable Build Checklist created by Booken Blend

Works best with our *free* Sustainable Build Checklist

By the way, Design Packs are limited and are most valuable when used in conjunction with our Sustainable Build Checklist.

This helpful downloadable outlines 12 key steps to building or renovating an affordable, sustainable home, helping you avoid (or at least minimise…) the tears, tantrums and budget blow-outs. Go get it now — it’s free.