Building an energy efficient home doesn’t mean spending more money on absolutely everything. One of the biggest things I learnt building our home was where spending more would actually make a difference, and where it wouldn’t. Our home achieved an 8.3 star NatHERS rating, but we certainly didn’t choose the most expensive option at every …
Exciting news... Our home here in Wagga Wagga, built by the brilliant Jamie Carroll Constructions, has won FOUR awards at the 2026 HIA Riverina Housing Awards. Four. I still can't quite believe it. We are absolutely thrilled. Genuinely, properly thrilled. Why this one means so much If you have followed along with this build at …
In partnership with Curtain & Blind Co. Every time I mention curtains in a build or reno, someone in the comments asks the same thing: do curtains actually make a difference to your energy bill, or is 'thermal curtains' just a label a curtain company wants you to believe? Fair question. I wanted an actual …
Everyone has an opinion on all-electric homes. Most of them are wrong. I've heard it all. It'll cost you a fortune. You'll freeze in winter. Gas is cheaper in the long run. You'll be stuck with cold showers the second the sun goes down. I used to half-believe some of it too, until I actually …
People ask me about the star rating like it's a technical specification. What's the NatHERS number, what's the insulation, what's the glazing. And I can talk about all of that. I do, for a living. But it's not what I notice. It's not what living in this home feels like. What I notice is much …
I've built four homes. I work in the industry every single day. And if there's one thing I wish someone had sat me down and explained before my first build, it's this. The price on your building contract is not the price of your home. It's a starting point. A big, important, slightly misleading starting …
There's a conversation that doesn't happen nearly enough on building sites and in design meetings across Australia, and it's the one about energy efficiency. Not because people don't care, but because most of us don't realise that the decisions made early in a project, often before a single wall goes up or a tile gets …
After going through a full house build, you end up with a long list of lessons. Some things you would change, and some things you are so glad you did. Building is a huge process and there are hundreds of decisions along the way. But looking back, there are definitely a few things that made …
Building a new home is exciting, but it is also where a lot of small decisions add up to big consequences later. Over the years I have noticed that many of the same design mistakes keep appearing in new builds. Often they happen because people are focused on finishes and styling, while the underlying design …
You might have heard builders talk about a 6 star, 7 star, or even 8 star home, but a lot of people are not really sure what that actually means. It sounds impressive, but what does the number really represent, and does it actually make a difference to how your home feels to live in? …
When people talk about building an energy efficient home, the conversation usually jumps straight to solar panels, fancy glass, or expensive upgrades. But the truth is, the biggest gains in comfort and efficiency usually come from simple design decisions made right at the start. Things like how the house sits on the block, where the …
Getting to the end of my 8 star energy efficient build has been such a good feeling. All the big decisions matter, insulation, windows, orientation, but once those are locked in, it’s the smaller details that really make the house feel like home. I put a lot of thought into the areas around our doors, …
