A builder and his wife create a hand-crafted American Gothic-style house, complete with ornate detailing such as a Juliet balcony, spandrels, a horseshoe window and lacework valances, near Auckland.

A family plan a gravity-defying, four-storey home on a site that's so steep it looks virtually impossible to build on in the earthquake-prone city of Wellington. Will the process be an uphill battle?

In Auckland, a pastor and his counsellor wife take structural planning to its limits by building a three-storey home on a crumbling cliff with a sheer drop to the sea below to get the view they desire

A couple whose children have now left home build a straw bale house, featuring curved walls and a spiral staircase, on an exposed rocky outcrop near Wanaka in the Otago region of the South Island.

A timber merchant and his doctor wife have imported two historic New York barn frames from the USA and plan to re-assemble them on a rural site outside Auckland as part of a modernist mansion.

Ross plans to create a towering home for his family on the cliffs of Point Chevalier. But after living on site for nearly 10 years, his family is now wondering if he'll ever get their home finished.

New Plymouth couple Greg and Gayle build one of the first hemp homes in NZ, and spend thousands shielding themselves against what they believe are the ill effects of electromagnetic radiation.

Steve Wilson and Wendy Grell move from Auckland to the Northland beachside where they plan to build an architectural marvel of corten steel in an unassuming seaside community.

Predicted sea level rises are not stopping architect Guy Marriage and his extended family from building a DIY Bach, only metres from the high tide mark on Wellington's Kapiti Coast.

Philippe and Sarah Lods hope to create a modernist home based on Parisian apartments on a rare empty site in the heart of Auckland's historic Ponsonby.

Christchurch earthquake refugees Andy Macbeth and Jo Denton build a modern-day fortress against the elements in alpine Queenstown.