When Jan and Ed Gillman bought a tumble-down weatherboard in Southport, their first intention was to demolish and start again. But on learning its unique history as the 1880's summer house of Sir Augustus Gregory (one of the oldest houses in Southport), they decide to restore instead and plan to lift the original house and move it forward two metres on the block.

What follows is a painstaking restoration process - and with no official heritage guidelines in place Jan and Ed are faced with a difficult choice: take the laborious path of restoring the house to its former glory or opt for the easier path and lose the history of the house.

Grand Designs Australia Season 1 Episodes...

• s01e01 - Bushfire House
• s01e02 - Very Small House
• s01e03 - Southport Heritage House
• s01e04 - Clovelly House
• s01e05 - Lake Bennett House
• s01e06 - Hamptons House
• s01e07 - Fish Creek Church House
• s01e08 - Cottage Point House
• s01e09 - Indented Head House

Grand Designs Australia Show Summary

A truly unique brand and a massive undertaking with a shooting period of over 12 months, Grand Designs Australia tells the stories of new homes and perhaps more importantly the Aussies who are building them. Based on the award-winning UK series, Grand Designs Australia is the first international format of the critically acclaimed show. The series charts the in-depth process of elaborate design projects undertaken by self-builders - from the initial details of blueprints, to the long and often arduous task of turning the designs into a practical living space. No design is too ambitious when it comes to creating your dream home. But discovering the hard realities that complicate your plans can often be too much to bear. From rebuilding a labour of love in the Victorian bush after it was burnt to the ground in the Black Saturday bush fires; to transforming a tiny corner car park into five l