Fan favourite Aussie architecture show Grand Designs Australia has kicked off the new year with two new hosts and a fresh focus on home renovation.
After spending 11 seasons with Foxtel, both the original show and its new sister series, Grand Designs Transformations, has found a new home on ABC’s iView streaming service.
Both programs are sadly saying goodbye to longtime architect and host Peter Maddison. Instead, the inaugural season of the spin-off will be helmed by University of Technology Sydney professor of architecture Anthony Burke and interior designer Yasmine Ghoniem.
With his accomplishments as editor of the Grand Designs Australia magazine and host of Restoration Australia behind him, the future of the franchise appears to be safe in Burkes’s experienced hands.
“Things are moving so fast in design and architecture at the moment,” Burke told the ABC after his announcement as the show’s co-host late last year.
“It is fantastic to see the way issues like sustainability, multi-generational living, tiny homes, recycled homes and more are being explored by Australian homeowners, stepping outside the expected and into the provocative at all scales of building.”
“People are rolling up their sleeves and transforming our ideas of living in Australia, one project at a time.”
An instant Aussie hit
The entertaining and inspiring new lifestyle series is already shaping up to become a firm audience favourite, with over a million viewers embracing the first episode since its launch on January 4th.
Each episode features two home makeovers as the two hosts follow the trials and tribulations of transforming a house into a domestic dream.
Ranging from smaller projects like bathroom makeovers and room redesigns to larger undertakings like apartment reno’s and cottage revivals, the show is set to capture Aussies from all walks of life.
With the first four episodes seeing the pair travelling around the country to meet Australia’s boldest and most inspired home renovators, interior designer and co-host Yasmine Ghoniem said she was “blown away” by the extraordinary achievements by ordinary people.
“There’s nothing better than seeing others understand the benefits of good design, listen to their gut and go for it,” she told the ABC.
“Watching this series, young homeowners especially are going to be inspired to take risks and give it a red hot go when it comes to realising their own renovation dreams.”
Grand Designs Transformations’ first four episodes can be streamed on ABC iView, with four more on their way over the coming weeks. Viewers can also expect to see Burke helm the latest season of the original Grand Designs Australia series toward the end of 2024.
