Big Ideas for Small Houses

Description

Striking New Zealand houses under 100 square metres, and the clever ways people have gone about breaking into the housing market. A look at a range of small houses around New Zealand, and the strategies the owners used to get a toehold in the tight housing market. From building a secondary dwelling on an existing family section, to tiny houses on pocket handkerchief pieces of land, these approaches to housing will give ideas and inspiration to all wondering how it can be possible to own a first home in the twenty-first century. Each entry begins with a statement about the strategy the owner used to achieve a home of their own. The houses range in size from 100 square metres right down to a very cosy 34 square metres! Beautifully photographed, and including plans and costs, the houses presented are in Puhoi, west and north Auckland, Raglan, Tamahere, Taupiri, Whanganui, New Plymouth, Wellington and Christchurch.

Catherine Foster is a freelance writer with a specific interest in home design. She has been a regular contributor of articles to leading New Zealand home magazines, including Your Home & Garden, HOME New Zealand and NZ House and Garden. Catherine is concerned about the growing unaffordability of housing in New Zealand. With her belief in consuming the finite resources of Planet Earth responsibly, she sees the harnessing of architectural design principles to build smaller and smarter homes as an obvious step in the right direction.