New homes provide the opportunity for a completely custom design. Even on a modest budget, architects can design an affordable new home that’s perfectly suited to your needs.
This is our selection of stunning architecturally designed new homes:
Blinco Street House by Philip Stejskal Architects
Featured Project
What Role Do Our Homes Play in Helping Us Recover and Reset?
Settling into regular life takes some adjustment for a fly-in-fly-out worker who spends a month away from home. This new home helps.
Aireys Ramp House by Irons McDuff Architecture
Featured Project
This Beach House Wraps Around Itself to Protect from the Elements
Living near the beach has its pros and cons. A great beach house needs to embrace the sunshine while protecting from cold ocean winds.
Aireys Ramp House by Irons McDuff Architecture
House A by Walter&Walter
Featured Project
This Suburban Home Finds a Unique Way to Connect with the Landscape
From the street, this looks like a house with no windows, but once inside you realise it's the exact opposite...
Ballarat East House by Porter Architects
Featured Project
Timber Inside and Out Helps This Home Fit Into Its Bushy Site
When the inhabitants of your suburban fringe block include a number of old native trees, mimic their style and go timber all over.
The Peak by Grimshaw Architects
Featured Project
An Affordable and Sustainable Tiny House (With a Heart)
Just because this tiny house is affordable, sustainable and socially responsible doesn't mean it's not stylish to boot...
Oikos Breakneck Gorge by Robert Nichol & Sons
Featured Project
A Short-term Home Away From Home Where Quality Trumps Quantity
Oikos, ancient Greek for 'home', is a short-term rental demonstrating luxury is achievable if we down-size our ambitions.
House with a Guest Room by Andrew Power
Featured Project
A House with a Guest Room is Created with Three Simple Pavilions
At this minimal home, the space in between the living area and bedrooms is just as crucial as the spaces themselves.
12 October 2018
Article
Building Budgets: How Much Does it Cost to Build a House?
So how much does it cost to build a house? Unfortunately, there's no easy answer, but here are a few tricks to get a good estimate...
Garden Studio by MODO Architecture
Featured Project
Don't Build Over Your Garden, Grow Your Garden Up Instead!
Instead of sacrificing their productive garden, plants are encouraged to grow up the walls of this clever backyard studio.
Nulla Vale House and Shed by MRTN Architects
Featured Project
An Off-Grid, Back-to-Basics Retreat Connects This Couple to the Land
This warm, textural home creates a connection to place, captures views and creates a humble retreat from the elements (and the city).
Buxton House by Anchor Homes
Featured Project
Can You Guess What Sets This Home Apart from the Rest?
Opening onto a huge deck, with incredible views from every room, you'll never guess what makes this country home so unique.
CABN by
Featured Project
CABN Lets You Try Out Tiny House Living for Yourself
Could you live in a tiny house? CABN, an Australian tiny house tucked away in the Adelaide Hills, gives you a test drive (stay).
Blueys Beach House 5 by Bourne Blue Architecture
Featured Project
A Modern Take on the Traditional Fibro Beach Shack
Beachside towns were once dotted with simple fibro beach shacks. This modern home reinterprets that classic style.
Recyclable House by
Featured Project
Unlike Pesky Coffee Cups, This House is Designed to be Recyclable
It's surprising how many everyday items can't be recycled. Being fully recyclable, this home is surprising for the opposite reason!
Mitchell Street Project by
Featured Project
A Dual-occupancy Project to Stand Out From the Rest
It's rare that we feature a dual-occupancy project on Lunchbox Architect, but the attention to quality makes this one stand out...
Laneway Studio by McGregor Westlake Architecture
Featured Project
A Laneway Studio Designed as a Prototype for Developing Our Suburbs
Architecture as a political statement. What should our suburbs look like as we attempt to squeeze millions more into our cities?
The Honeyworks House by Paul Butterworth Architect
Featured Project
An Affordable Home With Room for the Grandchildren and Honey Making
Rather than dedicate space to rooms that will rarely be used, create versatile spaces and spend your remaining budget on luxuries...
Boundary Street House by Chan Architecture
Featured Project
A New Home Makes the Most of an Unusual Site in the Inner City
It's not often you get to build a new house in the inner city. What would you do if you had a clean slate?
7 June 2018
Article
Double-height Spaces Double the Drama (and Make Your Home Feel Larger)
'Does my lounge look big in this [double-height space]' you ask your partner, but for once you hope they reply, 'kinda, yeah'...
Tess + JJ's House by po-co Architecture
Featured Project
A New Two-storey House That Won't Upset the Neighbours?
A new house, in an old area, on a tight site, with space for a family of four that won't upset the neighbours? Are they dreaming?
25 May 2018
Article
Small House Plans: 18 Home Designs Under 100m2
Living large in a small house is what we're all about. Here are 18 house plans under 100 square metres to give you some ideas.
Golf Course House by Bespoke Architects
Featured Project
A New Home to Appeal to Lovers of Mid-Century Design
With views over the golf course, the architect achieved a mid-century-inspired design, while adhering to local design guidelines.
JR’s Hut at Kimo Estate by Anthony Hunt Design & Luke Stanley Architects
Featured Project
A Unique Place to Retreat When You Can't People Anymore
Perched on a hill in rural New South Wales, JR's Hut has all you need for the relaxing opportunity to switch off and reset.
North Avoca Studio by Matt Thitchener Architect
Featured Project
A Multi-purpose Space to Work, Relax, Entertain and Enjoy the Views
Perched dramatically on a steep slope overlooking the ocean, this separate studio is the perfect retreat for work, rest or play.
McGunnigle Shack by mishack
Featured Project
When Fans of Mid-century Design Saw Mishack, They Saw a Kindred Spirit
This modern home captures the spirit of mid-century design, with a taste of American diner-style breakfast booths for good measure.
4 May 2018
Article
Houses Awards Shortlist 2018. Will You Pick a Winner?
Houses Awards 2018 shortlist was announced recently, will you pick a winner? Also a story about what a sad child I was...
Two Halves House by Moloney Architects
Featured Project
Two Pavilions Encourage a Sociable Lifestyle and Embrace the Bush
Two Halves House steps down the landscape, separated into a sociable living space and a private sleeping zone.
Little Big House by Room 11
Featured Project
A Small Home With Big Volumes Designed to Embrace its Cool Climate
Built in an area that sometimes encounters snow, this home in the hills has a small footprint, but large volumes make it feel spacious.
Glen Forrest House + Church by Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects
Featured Project
This is the Trick to Adapting a Church for Modern Living
Old churches can be a challenge to transform into a home. There's the need to balance history and practicality. This is how you do it.
House 28 by Studio Edwards
Featured Project
Shipping Container House Floats Among the Trees with Ocean Views
We're all a little bit obsessed with shipping container houses. You'll understand why once you take a look at this home...
Peka Peka House by Herriot Melhuish O’Neill Architects
Featured Project
A Sheltered Courtyard Protects From This Exposed Location
At the top of the hill overlooking Peka Peka Beach, this location could be hostile, but this home has a few tricks up its sleeve...
Tent House by Chris Tate Architecture
Featured Project
Tent House Challenges the Expectations of What a Weekend House Can Be
A retreat built by the architect and a group of architecture students is a hands-on, experimental process from design to construction.
The Wairarapa Haybarn by First Light Studio
Featured Project
A Home for Retired Musicians Has a Concert Hall-inspired Living Space
A shared love of music inspired this accessible, environmental and acoustically-conscious home for a retired couple.
Back Country House by LTD Architectural Design Studio
Featured Project
A Home Built Around Connection With Each Other and the Landscape
With open-plan living and shared sleeping areas all opening onto the outdoors, this is a home to connect with nature and each other.
House Frances by Those Architects
Featured Project
This Sydney Home Turns the Traditional Aussie House on its Side
A typical Australian home uses the full width of the block and puts a garden in front and out the back; this home is far from typical.
Durimbul by MGAO
Featured Project
A New Breed of Bushfire Resistant Homes are Sprouting in Wye River
After the bushfire of 2015, Wye River slowly rebuilds. Let's hope all the new homes are as beautiful and sympathetic as this one...
Lighthouse by Room 11
Featured Project
A Courtyard for Outdoor Living Helps a Hobart Family to Downsize
Blessed with a large block in a good area, this family decided to downsize in the backyard, in spite of the constraints.
Garage House by Foomann Architects
Featured Project
A Home That Explores Communal Living for Adults
This flexible new home built behind the existing is accessible by rear laneway; it could be used as a garage, studio or living space.
Studio House by Zen Architects
Featured Project
A Flexible, Multi-purpose Studio That Requires Very Little Land
By designing a separate, self-contained studio, this family have gained the extra space they need now and flexibility into the future.
Riverwalk by Irons McDuff Architecture
Featured Project
Modern Timber Beach House Still Achieves Bushfire and Energy Ratings
Clever thinking achieves a simple timber beach house the client desired while still meeting bushfire and energy efficiency regulations.
Thornbury House by Bent Architecture
Featured Project
A Distorted Roofline Conceals a Surreptitious Second Storey
In a street of single-storey timber houses, this playful new home reinterprets its neighbours so it feels at home in the street.
Project Franklinford by Modscape
Featured Project
An Off-Grid, Sustainable House in the Victorian Central Highlands
Sitting sympathetically in an open paddock, this off-grid house captures views without compromising on environmental performance.
Garden Wall House by Sarah Kahn Architect
Featured Project
A Recycled Brick Garden Wall Creates an Inner-City Sanctuary
By dividing a complicated inner-city block into a patchwork, a new home sits comfortably between heritage buildings and gritty laneway.
North Street House by
Featured Project
Creative Entrepreneur Builds Home to Balance Design and Affordability
Experimenting with ideas of affordability without sacrificing liveability, North Street House is the perfect home for a young couple.
Sussex Street House by Mountford Architects
Featured Project
A Compact Home Makes the Most of Light and Space on a Tight Block
Bucking the trend of bigger houses on smaller blocks, this compact home borrows outdoor light and views to feel more spacious.
Brickface by Austin Maynard Architects
Featured Project
The Newest House on the Street Looks Like It Could Be the Oldest
Thanks to recycled brick, this new studio looks like it could be the oldest building in this Richmond laneway.
Hemp House by Steffen Welsch Architects
Featured Project
Turns Out Hemp Is Useful for More Than Rope and Yoga Pants
Built from rammed earth, timber and hempcrete, this home is a healthy and environmentally sensitive space for three generations.
Empire House by Lachlan Shepherd Architects
Featured Project
A Home Designed to Get Better With Age, Just Like Its Retiree Owners
Precast concrete and timber combine to create a low-maintenance home that will get better with age.
Toodyay Shack by A Workshop
Featured Project
This Country Shack Feels More Like a Tent or a Boat in the Landscape
Metaphors of sailing a yacht or camping out in a tent are conjured in this home on the banks of the Avon River.