Grand Designs Australia

Chris Ure incredible!!!:D This home is so light, peaceful... amazing.. WOW:D Regs. from Poland

Made even more impressive by the cost of this build. Compare this to the Byron Bay Beach house on a square metre basis. I'd have a guess at (very roughly) around $2000 a square mtr for Calignee as opposed to around $10,000 a square mtr for the Byron Bay Beach house. Very, very impressive.

Hi Chris. Congratulations, you have built a house with soul! Inspirational. Johannes

This is still the best Grand Design of all the episodes. We are up to the second last episode of Series 3 and Callignee 2 is still the most fascinating and bravely built (rebuilt) house of all the series. Tis my dream home, and its surroundings only add to the Utopia. The rustic earthy way in which it was built is just magic. It is a brave person that can rebuild after a bush fire with such passion as to reuse burnt materials where possible. This story and Chris are both inspirational..

Hi Chris, WELL DONE! You are truly inspirational. I have just settled on a Yurt / Ger in the Southern Highlands, NSW. Down the track would you be interested in designing an addition to the existing studio for me? Jill

Hey Chris, Just finished watching series 2 of GDA and your pad, in my mind, shoots aces on the rest! Just saying :P... I love that you have had the vision to capture nature's ferocity and see the inner beauty the lies within. Your house is like a Phoenix, encompassing the essence of all that is, was and will be. The raw/recycled materials used and the overall design concept reflect a undeniable connection to the natural world. I am in total awe of you place. Not one criticism to your house/lifestyle/ideologies. I hope that one day I can build my own tranquil oasis. For now I'm content with attempting to build a tree house studio in my backyard. Hopefully more will follow in your footsteps. All the best, cheers and kudos, Sas :)

Hi Chris, what can I say -wow, wonderful, strong, a dream come true, amazing, peaceful, loved - I just watched you on uk TV and truely admire your determination and vision. You home is amazing, the shower, rocks, wood and turtle pond. WOW

Hello Chris I have just seen your program on English TV and just felt compelled to send you an email to say what an inspirational person you are. Your family must be very proud of you and I am sure your farther is, even though he is not with you in person I have no doubt, he is in spirit. Good luck with your future adventures and I wish you all the best. Regards Ronnie Hertfordshire UK

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i have seen this eposode 19 times and i still like it

Wow Chris I'm in love with your raw rustic style and your amazing journey to build an organic lifestyle. You really missed your calling as an architect, although your background in carpentry and project management would have truly helped you work and execute the materials so beautifully. I'm a third year architecture student and can"t wait to show your house to my class mates, as I feel it's essential to keep promoting the word on eco friendly house design. I have seen architects at the end of there career who would struggle to create what you have.I have had health problems over these last two years and I'm in the process of transforming my life to natural and organic, similar to your journey as i believe its so important. My dream is to create a natural way of living like you have done for your self. I can't help thinking you would have non stop phone calls of people wanting houses designed!!! If you continue designing I would love to see any more of your work. Well done and I wish you all the best with health and happiness. Ruth from darwin:)

Chris, what is the product called that you wet to rust? Stupid question - I know it's a form of metal but where do you find it? Cost per metre?

Amazing design, amazing house, amazing episode. I have seen this one twice now and it has suprised and amazed me both times. Love your work Chris keep it up.

Hi Chris,
Absolutely loved your episode on Grand Designs Australia, from saving the family home (true grit!) and wanting to give you a big hug, through to the journey of you and your team going through the process of tearing your not so old pad down to rebuilding it. I was totally inspired of your use of materials too, loved the wood, the use of burnt materials being recycled into your table etc and even the walls, Brilliant!! The paint ball game added real entertainment - must of hurt?!! Laughed loads with that and your digger direction controls, hilarously funny and very comical. Your uncles paintings look great too, might have to look him up. I am planning to build my own dream pad, a New England style house with a bit of Laura Ashley decor - don't cringe, hopefully in Victoria but watching yours with the big windows and more eco friendly I'm looking at other ways before I start.

Anyway, have loads of fun and relax in your lovely new home, you deserve it!!!!!
Paula, Suffolk, UK

Hi
I know this a long shot, but I was wondering if you could help. Having watched the first episode of grand designs Australia recently, I have set myself on a quest to find out some details!

Chris Clarke the builder in this episode has recovered from ME / Chronic Fatigue. One of my closest friends has been diagnosed with this and similar to Chris, his condition was caused through working long hours as a site manger on a building site.

My friend has been off work now for nearly 9 months and is seriously considering a complete career change away from construction. He is 26 years old and was one of the companies’ best employees and he spent 4 years at university doing civil engineering gaining a first honours degree.

For him to give up his dream job seems such a shame, and I thought it would be beneficial for him to speak to Chris Clarke about this experience as there circumstances are identical.

There is no medical cure for ME, its all in the mind, so speaking to someone so similar who has managed to overcome it would be unbelievable!

Would you have an email address for Chris or be able to point me in the right direction to get in touch with him as this would be greatly appreciated and could change someone’s life!

Hope to hear from you soon

Best regards

Gary Chew

Hi Chris, I just watched the Australian version of Grand Designs for the first time last night, on Channel 4 here in the UK. What an amazing story you had to tell, and what a fabulous house you now have. I missed the very start of the programme, so didn't see Callignee 1, but what a beautiful house you now have. Also I loved the cermic lizard Jorge, and would like something like that in my own humble abode. Best wishes to you Chris, and may you have many happy years in Callignee 2.

Nicky B, Middlesbrough UK

Hi Chris, I have seen all the episodes of your amazing house. What makes it more amazing is your true life stories to achieve this build. It is an extremely wonderful piece of work and more so because I believe it is an absolute ripper of a design for the Aussie bush lifestyle and indeed other places in Australia. I am of Indigenous descent and respect your use of the land and bush in the way you have focused yourself on making it sustainable and 'at peace with the surroundings'. I am also inspired by your strength to overcome your battles - I am currently fighting then same thing and just cannot find the energy to finish my suburban home. My questions:
1.Do you have any information on the resort hospital you spent time at in Mexico????
2.Is there a possibility for me to view (even from a distance) your home?
3.I have heard about plans for a bed and breakfast..... is this happening anytime soon? Please let me know because if so, I can't wait to come stay!!!!!!!!!!

my email is lynnie nielsen@hotmail.com.....cheers take care Lyn

fANTASTIC EFFORT
mAY YOU BE HAPPY IN YOUR NEW HOME
LOVE THE IDEA OF THE TURTLE POND

Hej Chris, I've seen the documentary in Sweden some week ago and I just want to say: Thank you very very much. I got so happy that there is your house out there (and the other before), so beautifull it touches my heart, thank you of reminding me that this is possible, - to build this way. Thank you for your work with yourself, going through. (I've studied architecture some time when I was younger and then gave it upp, didn't like the normal ways then.) Just seeing your process and the work on the house gives me a lot of hope. So whenever you make it a bed-and-breakfast I do my best to come over from Sweden. Now I try to see if I can buy the documentary somewhere to send them to my parents in Germany, making them happy, too. Obilot (I am on facebook)

Hi Chris,Wow,what an amazing home and journey,I just wanted to say you are an inspiration and extremely talented.Def the best home i have seen, love the recycled water tank , recycled wood and the rocks...awesome

hey Chris, i have just watch the grand designs australia and watched your amazing transformation from your devastation to your absolute high in rebuilding your dream. you are an immense inspiration of strength, determination and passion to your trade and life changes. i am currently going through a massive life change myself at the moment and your spirit of strength will hurdle me forward in leaps and bounds. thank you for sharing your story with australia. cheers trey

Hi Chris, watched the first episode of Grand Designs Australia last night and wow what a home to start the season with. I was blown away by your design philosophy, your passion for what you were creating, the strength of the design. Your vision was incredible for what you wanted to create. Truely inspirational, Carol

Hey Chris, I was compelled to leave you a message as a fellow CFS sufferer. I was inspired by your honesty about your health, your enormous loss, and your seemingly endless determination to rebuild your haven. I have had CFS since I was 14 as a result of over training in sports, and have since found life in slow motion extremely hard but only now at 28 coming to terms with things!!! Having a focus has helped and its been a struggle but I'm almost through my masters degree.... I feel that CFS makes you far more determined and strong and I could see this in you, thanks for sharing your story! And best wishes for your future, Fliss

Hey Chris what an amazing house and journey! It shows again to me that " Out of destruction rises victory!" and in your case not just physically but also mentally and spiritually! LIfe is such an adventure - enjoy yiur victory my friend! Love and light to you from Claudia in New Zealand

Chris,
Stumbled across your Callignee II episode on tGrand Designs Aus - love the house.
I'm looking to incorporate a similar rustic aesthetic into a current project.
Can you tell me who manufactured the kitchen bench & Kitchen tilt window? Looking at the supplier list from the episode Churchiill Maintenance & Fabrication looks to be a likely candidate.

Hi Chris,

I recently read an article about you in H&G. I felt so inspired by the atmospheric inducing visual of your home - that I wanted to rearrange my own home space to emulate it. If only it were not so firmly fixed in bricks and mortar already, and in a design that resonated wtih me 15 years ago! Your story of resiliance and perservance was quite beautiful in it's own tragic way. I don't have any experience with bush fires to draw on but I could relate to your symbolic journey of rebirth, it seemed to me that in having to start all over again, you were able to build a new and stronger self, and you took with you all that was good and salvagable, in the form of life lessons from the past. Within the span of one lifetime, you have already moved into your next incarnation - Chris II perhaps? Best wishes for your ongoing journey. If you should happen to read this, I wanted to ask your advice on something, I am thinking of revamping the design of a yoga studio that I have on my property in NSW - it is less fixed in bricks and mortar! so there is still a chance for me to manifest something physical out of the inpiration of your design! How would I go about sourcing someone locally to design and build something with the kind of feel for the elements that your design has? Can I email you? Mantra

hmmm .... Callignee ll ....will be more beautiful this winter....kimmy.

Chris, Callignee II is stunning. I am so impressed with the passion and playfulness as well as hard and stunning design work you have put into your home. You have a beautiful and sensitive understanding of design and your environment. Your relationship with your home is to be commended. Thank you for inspiring me. cheers, Mary-Clare

What an amazing talent and artist you are. Everyone should be living in this way. It is amazing to think you built this home for little more than what people are paying for the mass produced "project homes". There is absolutely no comparison. I truly hope you get to live in, enjoy and appreciate the space as deserved I have ambitions of building my dream home one day and you have inspired me beyond words - thank you

Hi I am an architectural designer in NZ and have just seen your show. I also pride myself on innovative design but I was amazed at your house. All things aside (traumas) the end result was a beautifull piece of art work and I see you as a unique artist with an amazing energy Cheers Graham

I forgot to say..... Please open Callignee II as a B&B..... I won't leave!!!

Chris..
I need to see this that you have built... the home that holds your breath and mine!! I hope you are living well here and that it brings you as much joy and satisfaction as seeing the Grand Design EP brought me. You are truly inspirational.... I dream of living in such a home one day too.....
Much respect Chris!
Annette

Hi Chris. Just watched what must have been a repeat of the original airing of the show. Your house is amazing. Love how it fits in to the landscape without taking over it. It has a very masculine look and feel without the starkness and cold steel and glass can sometimes give. Your design of bringing earth, air and water directly under, upto, onto and into the house is an architect marvel. I could never imagine what you have been through with the black Saturday fires, but now you can be safe, relaxed and enjoy life watching how nature rebounds itself in a cycle of fire and regrowth that is all part of living in Australia. Well done. Jim

Hey Chris, congrats on everything you have done, b & b is great idea!! Your house just blows me away! Still getting over glass toilet!! Lou

Hi Chris. Your house is the most beautiful I have ever seen - like poetry in space. I was genuinely moved watching the show and just wanted to congratulate you on your vision, commitment and spirit.

Hi Chris, I saw your ep of Grand Designs yesterday afternoon, and it's stayed with me strongly since then. It's such a joy to see that Callignee II is literally the physical manifestation of healing for you! You should feel incredibly proud for creating and building such a powerful symbol of your recovery and health ; a remarkable recovery from both the CFS and the devastating loss of Callignee I. The house is the most beautiful i''ve ever seen, and genuinely brought tears to my eyes... even via a tv screen, iit was plain to see that your very soul is in it! I had CFS for 10 years, but have fully recovered by transforming my lifestyle, esp my approach to health and alternative healing, including energy healing....so every time you spoke about the energy of the house, it made me grin. (for me, it's now 9 years of not even having to think about it at all.) I send blessings and happiness and joy to you & also wish total transformation of your health as you live every second in that wonder-full healing place.

Hi Chris, Just watched your episode of Grand Designs. Your house is AMAZING! I'd love to talk to you about your ideas and how I can implement them into my own house.

Well GD first Extremely Succesful season is over :( ... In my opinion Chris you built a true Australian home one in wich we should all try and aspire to in the future!!!Environmentally freindly Sustainable living we should all strive for!!!! Think australia agrees.... you are number ONE in the grand designs voting poll atm......rightly deserved Chris!!! Thanks for teaching us all a better way to build the Great Australian Dream! :) kim.

I love this. I seen the premier on TV a while back. You NEED to post pictures of the bathroom with the wooden basic top. I LOVE that bathroom.

Nice to hear from you Chris! Im sure the pictures are just wonderful.,and i hope they do her justice!! ...But i imagine callignee ll must only be seen in all it's glory to be believed:) Bamboo is my most favourite of all plants... next to trees that is.....something very calming about bamboo, the way the move in the breeze.. doesn;t take long for them to lush up either !! Japanese maple ...how beautiful they must look :) Seems coming home ,swimming ,being one with your home is proving very therapeutic for you!! Helps your beautiful home is surrounded by natural beauty as well...... Great to see you enjoying your very own private oasis!! :) kim.

Feel free to drop in. You'll have to email me as I'm in Sydney. swaledevelopments@bigpond.com 19 and a firey we all should stand up. Thanks for your passion chris

Chris you have bult my dream home! I am a 19 yearold landscape design student and really into natural australian designs, the use of recyled materials and very much into bushfire protection (Im also a volenteer CFA firey and helped with black sat) I would LOVE to see your home in the flesh it is amazing. You created the pond flowing under the bedroom like i dreamed and all the old rustic materials you used are amazing (including the found 'watertank'). I love the no privcy and the shower feeling like you are outside. Thank-you soo much for sharing your GRAND DESIGN with us! Holly J, Vic

Chris you have bult my dream home! I am a 19 yearold landscape design student and really into natural australian designs, the use of recyled materials and very much into bushfire protection (Im also a volenteer CFA firey and helped with black sat) I would LOVE to see your home in the flesh it is amazing. You created the pond flowing under the bedroom like i dreamed and all the old rustic materials you used are amazing (including the found 'watertank'). I love the no privcy and the shower feeling like you are outside.
Thank-you soo much for sharing your GRAND DESIGN with us!
Holly J, Vic

HI Chris......Just 3 more episodes to go..... i think??.... I Bet callignee ll just looks better and better every time you return!!........Amazing how the bush recovers so quickly .... Can't wait to see ..... how callignee ll has blended in to the natural bush setting that surrounds it!! .....gives you much joy im sure.............Kim.

Chris,
Your 'new ' house is just beasutiful ...your grand design is just that a grand design ( wait till you see mine ) my interest is in where you desensitised ( got over the chemical sensitity ) that was so briefly mentioned in the begining of the program.

Im very pleased you have returned to enjoy your lovely home!!!... Think i be dissapointed if you wern't living in it and taking from it what it has to offer!! ... Any body with a heart would feel as i do... we have all seen your journey...hope it gives you pleasure for many years to come.....i am a little bit envious...just a little bit haha....kim.

Episode 1..... Grand Designs.........One Man's dream was taken away in a heartbeat .......Chris inspired many and dug deeper than any of us will ever know..... and rebuilt his dream home!! Think we were spoilt by viewing his journey "FIRST" and the knowledge he happily shared with us all! !! Some episodes are just lacking that "WOW "factor....... i feel... Keep doing what you do best Chris.

If you venture this way would love to show you what we are up to. ' We are calling it the modernist shed....old chinese doors, old bridge timbers and so forth. You can contact me via www.artbytiffany.com kind regards Tiffany

Hello Chris,I am still of the opinion that your very genuine journey and beautiful home In the Grand Designs Series is the most compelling thus far!!! .......Think many would agree. :)

Hi Chris, I was in awe of what you did when I watched the first Grand Design show. Love the house and it's intergration with the natrual surroundings. I wish you all the best.

I know there has been a lot of beautiful gushing OMG comments,,, and here is another one Chris. I am in Byron Bay and contemplating going on Grand designs for our build. What amazed me about your journey was that it also birthed the most incredible rawness of yourself and your creativity. You have amazing vision and honor. Thank you for your strength, determination and artistic boldness. You are truly creating from your heart. It took chronic fatigue type symptoms for me to leave my old work and move up here. Finally I am doing the art I love from my soul.... strange how becoming sick found my true passion. Tiffany

Oh Chris, I just finished watching your wonderful cathartic journey on Foxtel On Demand. It reduced me to tears of joy, sadness, relief and pride many times. It's a beautiful home you've created and so, clearly was Calignee 1. I admire your determination and fortitude. I marvelled at the physical realisation of your emotional journey in Calignee 2 It's good to know there are men in the world who are aware of their surroundings and who are mindful of the quality of the environment they create for themselves. The wabi sabi perfection of imperfection. Bravo to you. You are certainly a soul I would some day enjoy meeting. I hope your new home brings you health and happiness. Melanie J.

I have to say...WOW! This is the most amazing design I have seen in years and to be honest you story and your house have just blown me away. The house is just so blend in to the atmosphere around it and during and after the show I just could not stop saying of how amazing of your house is. You have just given me a huge inspiration for my future house. I love every detail of every part of it. It's like there's a story behind of every part, of every detail of your house. I'm just so amazed! You're bathroom, I love how it's so blend in to the nature, so opened and so relaxed. The whole house is a real "piece of art", I have to say. Keep it up!

Only got a chance to watch this about 2 am this morning (recorded). Was trying to get back to sleep and started watching and WOW.
I have seen every episode of the UK Grand Designs & I have to say without question Callignee 2 is the most imaginative and beautiful house I have ever seen. So ruggedly beautiful and serene.........

Chris, you missed your calling - I am an Architecture graduate and I know people who have spent 5 years at uni who couldnt come up with something even half as beautiful as your place. You are an artist!
Well done!

Well .... bit of an effort but looks like we nailed that one togerther okay buddy :-) ...... wait till they see our next one !!

Hi Chris - loved your Grand Designs story. What a house and what an amazing opening episode... inspirational to say the least. Loved your Uncle's paintings too - does he have a website? Wish you all the best. Di, Brisbane

Hi Chris, I've just watched your episode with David Hackford whose family home was also lost in those fires. Your home reminds me of Uluru. Like Uluru, Calignee II is a "natural beauty". Congratulations again on your vision, determination and perseverance. Am intriguied to know more about how you beat CFS. I am at the five year mark with CFS and progress is frustratingly slow.

Congratulations Chris on your magnificent house. The show was inspirational, and your house very beautiful. I have another question. I'm a photographer, and like you I absolutely loved the underside of the wharf/pier, which inspired your bedroom ceiling. I would love to shoot there. Would you be able to tell me where that was? Thanks so much!

Hi Chris - where did you get that beautiful Blessed Monk sitting on your dining table at the end of the show & what is it made from? Loved the episode on your house - you have an incredible imagination!

Congratulations Chris - it looks stunning - can't wait to visit. You're an inspiration.

Chris, thanks for sharing your story with us it blow me away. Your Dad will be so proud of you. Callignee 2 is so beautiful hope it helps you with all your pain over the years with the lose of Callignee 1. Enjoy it you deserve it , you are such an inspiration.......

Is it possible to watch this episode again, anywhere online? Really want to have another watch was a great episode. Thought it would be already uploaded.

Sheila I am totally blown away by the house. Is it possible to see it in Callignee? Can someone tells me where it is situated ? What an inspiration, congratulations Chris.

Chris your story and your home just takes my breath away!!Thankyou for your inspiration.

Chris we're full of admiration for what you've achieved. Your home is magnificent and a real testament to your creative vision and commitment. The finished home has blown us away - it's beautiful! Enjoy it and may it continue to bring you happiness. And congratulations to the whole team for a fantastic, inspirational first show.

wow,i am totally blown away by your vision,spirit,determination and use of adversity! im also totally inspired by your design concepts and to share your story thru to completion of this awesome work of art was an absolute privlige......so thank u........i hope u can relax and enjoy the fruits of labour because u certainly deserve too! so bessings to u for your inspiration that has touched so many lives...u truly are a man of greatness.....

Hi Chris

We recorded the show and just watched it now. Wow what an amazing house and story. We had a vague idea of what you had envisioned during the build but when we saw the finished product we were literally stunned by your talent. What a beautiful house, we have not seen anything as impressive from any of the grand design shows. Well done you have exceptional eye for design. We hope the home gives you the peace and solitude you need to rebuild, you deserve it.

Wow, that is an absolutely incredible story and a magnificent house. As a great fan of the British version of the series, I can only say that Callignee 2 knocks the spots off any of the houses featured in that series. Thank you, awesome!

The take a tour for the Victoria Bush Fire house does not play to the end on your website. What an amazing house!! So earthy. Amazing!!

Hi Chris, i don't even know you but i am so proud of you. Who out there watching wouldn't be! To cope with the elation, devastation, personal health issues and loss of the physical dream/vision you shared with your dad going up in smoke. I missed the first episode so i stayed up to watch the rerun. The natural resourses re/used and the textures took me on a journey. Your house made me feel like i was there experiencing every tactile moment. Thank you for sharing your journey and vision. At the beginning i felt like i could cry for you it was so sad. Your family must be so proud, and your dad, well he never really left because he lives on in you. I wish you all the best for your undoubtable incredible future. Totally blown away, teared up it is so beautiful! Congratulations on a sucessful outcome to all involved.

I am just blown away Chris. An extraordinary house and an extraordinary story. The house has such strong character, it shouts out its history proudly. I love the design, the building materials and the final look is magnificent. What a wonderful home to live in. As a long time huge fan of Grand Designs I am delighted that this first episode of GD Australia was superb - a brilliant demonstration of the fantastic Aussie talent, determination and persistence.

Agree with Andrews51, I too have seen every UK version and I think this was just remarkable, an epic achievement.

Hi Chris
My brother in law Ross worked with you on both houses. We watched the fire going up the Jeeralangs towards his house and I was with him and my sister when Ross got the message "she's gone Mate". He was devistated for you, at the same time worrying about his house. Our family had heard so much about Calignee 1 and then Calignee 2.. Well done on your achievements. You should be so proud. What a brave man. I would love to be able to see the house in life now I have seen the program and feel like I have a more personal aspect with Ross helping you to build/rebuild. I hope you have found some happiness after the heartbreak.

Wow! In no sense is this a patronising comment, I am genuinely and deeply proud of you and your achievements. My wife and I have seen every episode of Grand designs with Kevin, but Calignee gripped us from beginning to end, in way that even the best of the European grand Designs have failed to do. They too were breathtaking, but your house is imaginative, bold and serene, and neatly and firmly settled into its setting. Thank you for stirring our hearts.

Do you know how proud you should be of your determination to rise above an experience as devestating as yours was, and then, in the process, to create a home that is in fact a statement about who you really seem to be - STRONG ON THE OUTSIDE AND SOFT ON THE INSIDE WITHOUT THE NEED OF FRILLS FOR DISPLAY.
You are the calibre of person that some of todays' youth could take a lesson from. I believe your Dad would be immensely proud of the man you are. Congratulations.
Wendy

Hey, Am just watching tonight's premier! As a bushfire communications officer for Baw Baw Shire Council I'm very interested in your story! It has been fascinating watching you build your house. Plus I absolutley get how trauamatic it has been doing it! I have friend's in Jumbuck who went through it too. Not nice day, I was a bit concerened being a morwell girl!! Great job you've done!!

Can't wait til tomorrow night's premiere!