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9 Standout Sustainable Homes From 2025

It’s always inspiring to see well-designed homes envisioned and built with sustainability in mind. And the more of these homes we see, the more it’s apparent just how do-able it is.

These nine sustainable homes are a great example of that. See them all below!

Written

Lucy Feagins

The three-bedroom house takes up just 127 square metres of the 406-square-metre block. Photo – Jack Lovel.

The calming kitchen features timber joinery. Odd counter bar stools from Innerspace. Photo – Jack Lovel.

Windows open to maximise natural breeze. Coffee table from Innerspace. Saline rug from Innerspace. Photo – Jack Lovel.

How A Designer Built This Sustainable Perth Home For $410k

It’s no secret that building or renovating a well-designed home can be an expensive undertaking.

That’s why Perth-based building designer Kyle Stacey from Stack approached the design of his own family home as an experiment, attempting to balance custom elements with sustainability, all while working to their limited budget.

It cost about $410,000 to construct in 2023, but Kyle says the resulting 127-square-metre house is a sustainable alternative to the typical off-the-plan style developments — prioritising quality over size.

Read the full story here.

Altereco Design director James Goodlet and studio manager Claire Thomas stand on the balcony. Photo – Jade Cantwell.

A spiral staircase leads from the main living areas to the garden. Photo – Jade Cantwell.

Wormy chestnut flooring from Oslek. Photo – Jade Cantwell.

Sliding doors open to the backyard. Photo – Jade Cantwell.

This Beachcomber-Inspired Home Has A Sustainable Twist

As an accredited Passive House designer, Altereco Design director James Goodlet took the chance to practice what he preaches in the creation of his own home in Victoria’s Surf Coast.

After purchasing an untouched corner block in Anglesea, James and his wife Claire Thomas built their own take on the nostalgic ‘beachcomber’ designed by famous architect Nino Sydney in the late ’60s — with a sustainable twist.

The resulting Harry High Performance House is designed to Passive House principles to minimise energy consumption, with all-electric appliances, solar panels, and a home battery.

Read the full story here.

The minimalistic facade. Photo – Tess Kelly.

Timber floorboards add warmth and light to the moodier colour palette. Photo – Tess Kelly.

‘The house doesn’t have any electrical heating or cooling. We installed a very efficient, low particle emission combustion fireplace that can rotate to face the kitchen or living room and is used on the occasional very cold day,’ owner Tamsin says. Photo – Tess Kelly.

K3.6 kitchen system in Dark green SoftTouch by Cantilever Interiors. Photo – Tess Kelly.

A Sustainable Shipping Container Home, Surrounded By Bushland

On a bushland block in Aireys Inlet — a beach town along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road — you’ll find this surprising shipping container home.

The new, prefabricated build is home to Green Magazine editor Tamsin O’Neill and Green Press publisher Tom Bodycomb, who put together an expert team to create their dream sustainable residence, complete with a calming kitchen and seamless joinery by Cantilever Interiors.

Read the full story here.

The enchanting facade is shaded by an established tree canopy. Photo – Clinton Weaver.

Natural sunlight and vistas of the surrounding treetops anchor the home in its serene location. Photo – Clinton Weaver.

The upper floor features the main living spaces. Photo – Clinton Weaver.

Photo – Clinton Weaver.

How A ‘Radical Renovation’ Revived This Special Mid-Century Home

Perched on a steep bushy block in Sydney’s Lower North Shore, Cloaked House by Trias is a masterful revival of a mid-century house.

What was once an extremely run-down 1960s home has been given new life thanks to the determination of the new owners and architects, who undertook a ‘radical renovation’ to salvage as much of the original structure as possible.

See how this approach created an inspiring, liveable, and sustainable sanctuary.

Read the full story here.

Cooroy House is a modest, off-grid home, immersed within its landscape. Photo – Yaseera Moosa.

Gardens are woven throughout the L-shaped floor plan. Photo – Yaseera Moosa.

Sliding doors open to the study. Photo – Yaseera Moosa.

A look into the undercover living room with no doors, dubbed the ‘outdoor room’. Photo – Yaseera Moosa.

An Off-Grid House Immersed In Enchanting Gardens

This off-grid house in Noosa’s hinterland is designed to be completely hidden by its enchanting landscape one day.

The owners had spent almost a decade living on (and regenerating) the farmland property before engaging Henry Bennett and Dan Wilson to build a new sustainable home around their beloved gardens.

The resulting ‘Cooroy House’ reveals a unique series of pavilions and courtyard gardens, all stitched together by a veranda.

Read the full story here.

Love Shack by Second Edition is almost entirely made from recycled materials. Photo – Hamish McIntosh.

The external render is made from crushed marble waste. Photo – Hamish McIntosh.

Highlight windows provide ventilation and allow natural light to filter in during the day. Photo – Hamish McIntosh.

A Murphy bed, made from leftover sheets of oak and Oregon veneer can be pulled down to transform the living space into a bedroom. Photo – Hamish McIntosh.

A Japanese-Inspired Backyard Pavilion Made From Recycled Materials

Love Shack by Second Edition stands as an example of what can be achieved with salvaged materials.

The only virgin materials in the project are the tiles, plasterboard and outdoor spa — even the custom-made lights have been made using recycled timber.

See how Second Edition brought this multi-use pavilion to life below.

Read the fully story here.

Photo – Natasha Mulhall.

Shou sugi ban (charred timber) clads the facade, referencing both Japanese architecture and local Indigenous techniques. Photo – Natasha Mulhall.

Photo – Natasha Mulhall.

A Hobart Home Designed Around A Regenerated Pond

Every room in The Pond Retreat has been designed by Biotope Architecture and Interiors to capture views of the regenerated landscape outside, which was previously host to an eroded and leaking dam.

In collaboration with Harrison Brothers Contracting, the architects transformed the dam into a pond promoting biodiversity, water quality, and ecological function — while creating a more beautiful outlook for the home.

The layout and style of the new house draws on Japanese architecture principles, incorporating shou sugi ban cladding (created using a traditional Japanese method of charring timber with fire) to recede into the natural environment.

Read the full story here.

Photo – Ben Guthrie.

A north-facing courtyard adjacent to the street is equipped with operable pivoting privacy screens to shield the interiors from the street as desired. Photo – Ben Guthrie.

The operable allow the occupants to pick and choose the level of visual engagement they have with the park. Photo – Ben Guthrie.

The building utilises a heavily insulated concrete burnished slab, which acts as a passive heat sink by capturing winter sun and re-radiating stored heat during the night. Photo – Ben Guthrie.

An 8-Star Sustainable Home Designed For The Canberra Climate

Hackett Gardens House is a family home designed for the Canberra climate, and its specific site in Turner, adjacent to a public park.

Ben Walker Architects’ design for the home ensures passive solar gain from several carefully inserted outdoor spaces, balanced with appropriate glazing, and pivoting timber battened screens for privacy.

Avoiding the ‘insulated esky’ approach (common to some passive house designs), the project demonstrates how thermally efficient buildings can maintain visual connections to landscape, without sacrificing energy efficiency.

Read the full story here.

Photo – Marnie Hawson. Styling – Hannah Nowlan.

Views out into the gardens. Photo – Marnie Hawson. Styling – Hannah Nowlan.

A 4,000L rainwater tank is connected to the washing machines, toilets and garden taps. Photo – Marnie Hawson. Styling – Hannah Nowlan.

Why This Clever Brick Home In Footscray Is ‘Built To Last’

Using passive solar principles, The Sociable Weaver designed this new home in Melbourne’s west around a central courtyard to achieve an impressive 8.3-star energy rating.

It’s simple, sustainable, and full of character, while punching well above the NatHERS minimum 7-star standard now required for all new homes in Victoria.

Read the full story here.