When we began dreaming about building a sustainably designed off-grid home we were frustrated to discover these types of homes seemed reserved for two categories, big-budget architecturally designed masterpieces or extreme green homes with owners who didn’t mind sacrificing comfort or lifestyle. We didn’t fit either category.

So we set off on a mission to smash the stereotypes of the building industry, surely it was possible to build a passively designed, off-grid, beautiful home on a modest budget?

What we quickly discovered was an ENORMOUS information gap.

So we hope by sharing our home and journey we will continue to disrupt the status quo, to help any of you who are building, renovating, extending (or just dreaming of) to access simple, independent information and become believers that homes CAN be built better, use less and be good for the planet.

A house can have it all - beauty & brains - without selling your first born.

If you want to build a beautiful, intelligent home but don’t want to sell your left kidney in the process, then here are five ways we kept the build costs down of Booken House.

No 1: We used off-the-rack, low-cost, and recycled materials and fittings, such as Bunnings garden taps in the bathrooms and old apple crates to clad feature walls.

No 2: We used simple design and minimised the footprint; this is because every square meter, corner and feature costs you more. Our home is two rectangular boxes!

No 3: We incorporated multi-use spaces, such as turning dead hallway into a study nook and combining the laundry with a butler’s pantry (we call it our mess room).

No 4: We incorporated free and low-cost passive design principles such as good orientation and cross ventilation to minimise future running costs.

No 5: We managed the build as owner builders, which is not for everybody, but it can be worth investigating.

Find heaps more of this design goodness in our free Sustainable Build Checklist.