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Projects  /  Residential  /  Stanley, Tasmania

Grand Designs Tiny House, Stanley

Three outbuildings, one tiny home and a budget that barely existed, in Stanley on Tasmania’s north-west coast.

Our client ran a guesthouse at the front of the site and lived out the back, between three unconnected buildings: a windmill folly with the kitchen in it, a shed with a bathroom, and an old duck house. In the cold, wind and rain of north-west Tasmania, that meant going outside in the middle of the night to reach the toilet or the kitchen. The brief was to join the three into one warm home for one, with good living spaces, in a very compact footprint.

The duck house, which really did house ducks, is now the guest bathroom. Recycled timbers, windows and doors bring colour and character throughout. The skill is in putting together disparate materials so the result feels like a home, not a collection of bits.

The project was still at the planning stage – not even a sketch – when we saw an ad for Grand Designs Australia looking for projects. We sent in the application on a Saturday, and on the Monday they called to say it would be the smallest house with the smallest budget they’d ever done.

Then, with the design ready to go, Tasmania adopted the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating system developed in Victoria. Until then the state had no bushfire ratings at all, and the new rules brought a whole lot more hoops to jump through before approval. A project meant to take a year took around five, and Grand Designs stayed with it the whole way, through to Series 7, Episode 13 on Foxtel’s Lifestyle Channel.

Our client often told us he loved his new home, and insisted we only pulled it off because we were operating without enough adult supervision. We took that as a compliment.

LocationStanley, Tasmania
TypeResidential
Photos8
SheetPRJ-04
The finished project, set against the beautiful backdrop of The Nut in Stanley, north-west Tasmania, a place of great natural beauty, with views out over the Green Hills and towards Gordon’s Bay.
Fig. 01 The finished project, set against the beautiful backdrop of The Nut in Stanley, north-west Tasmania, a place of great natural beauty, with views out over the Green Hills and towards Gordon’s Bay.
Moon rising over The Nut, with the antique chandelier in the window
Fig. 02 Moon rising over The Nut, with the antique chandelier in the window
Interviewing Philip
Fig. 03 Interviewing Philip
01
Photos
The living room projects straight out, with a bay window and window seat set for enjoying the view. It’s cantilevered off the main facade, which is itself cantilevered off the rest of the structure to minimise its impact on the site. The tiny pop-out to the right is the inglenook: just big enough for a queen-size bed, with a ceiling as low as was legally permissible, and purely a place of rest, with views to The Nut on one side and Gordon’s Bay on the other.
Fig. 04 The living room projects straight out, with a bay window and window seat set for enjoying the view. It’s cantilevered off the main facade, which is itself cantilevered off the rest of the structure to minimise its impact on the site. The tiny pop-out to the right is the inglenook: just big enough for a queen-size bed, with a ceiling as low as was legally permissible, and purely a place of rest, with views to The Nut on one side and Gordon’s Bay on the other.
The bay window seat, the favourite spot, with the dining table set right at the tall floor-to-ceiling window. The green weatherboards were reclaimed from the Tasmanian Fishermen’s Association hut near the fishing wharf in Stanley, with their graphics still in place. The arrangement is almost an art piece in itself, in the spirit of Rosalie Gascoigne: recycled materials reused in an interesting way, instead of the sea of plasterboard in so many buildings.
Fig. 05 The bay window seat, the favourite spot, with the dining table set right at the tall floor-to-ceiling window. The green weatherboards were reclaimed from the Tasmanian Fishermen’s Association hut near the fishing wharf in Stanley, with their graphics still in place. The arrangement is almost an art piece in itself, in the spirit of Rosalie Gascoigne: recycled materials reused in an interesting way, instead of the sea of plasterboard in so many buildings.
The same reclaimed weatherboards became the floor. The budget had run out and we needed flooring, so we gave it a go to see what it felt like. It was controversial on the show, because it isn’t flat and level – it’s completely corrugated – but it’s actually a nice surface to walk on. Just past the chair, the angled wall of the windmill comes into the building, and its weatherboards, like those of the original bedroom shed, are reflected in the floor.
Fig. 06 The same reclaimed weatherboards became the floor. The budget had run out and we needed flooring, so we gave it a go to see what it felt like. It was controversial on the show, because it isn’t flat and level – it’s completely corrugated – but it’s actually a nice surface to walk on. Just past the chair, the angled wall of the windmill comes into the building, and its weatherboards, like those of the original bedroom shed, are reflected in the floor.
Midway through framing
Fig. 07 Midway through framing
Final works were carried out recently for parking compliance, which doubled as much needed retaining for the original cottage below the windmill
Fig. 08 Final works were carried out recently for parking compliance, which doubled as much needed retaining for the original cottage below the windmill
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