Airdate: Grand Designs Transformations

Grand Designs Transformations, presented by Anthony Burke and Yasmine Ghoniem, is the first of three new local Grand Designs formats this year for ABC.

Episode 1 is in Henley Beach, SA and in Queensland.

While building a dream house from scratch is the dream for some people, many others are transforming their existing homes – smashing down walls, ripping out kitchens and digging up gardens – as they reimagine their homes as places to live, work and thrive.

In this brand-new series of Grand Designs Transformations, Australia’s boldest and most inspired home renovators put their skills, finances, and relationships to the test in the quest to create their perfect homes.

Each episode follows the journeys of two sets of homeowners, transforming two very different projects in different parts of the country.

From a Moroccan oasis in the Blue Mountains, to a pink palace on Queensland’s Gold Coast; a French-inspired convict cottage in Tasmania, to a low cost eco retreat in the trees in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the projects are as inspired as the challenges are rife!

Hosts Anthony Burke – a professor in architecture – and award-winning interior designer Yasmine Ghoniem are along for the ride, providing insight, expert advice, and the odd shoulder to cry on!

Featuring remarkable stories, gripping drama, tips and takeaways and beautiful reveals, Grand Designs Transformations is an inspiring series that reflects the best of contemporary Australian design and adds a twist to the world’s most loved property brand for a whole new generation of fans!

Episode One:

In Henley Beach, South Australia, newlyweds, property valuer Paul and intensive care nurse Marie, take on the industrial-sized challenge of transforming a 1940s electricity converter station for trams into a welcoming high-end entertainer’s home. But it won’t be easy, or cheap. Marie’s dad Chris calls their heritage-listed purchase “the money pit” and he worries that when the pair have children, there will be nowhere for them to sleep. And as host and Professor of Architecture, Anthony Burke points out on his first visit, while the double height ceilings offer and abundance of volume and light, all the renovations and will need to be bespoke, oversize, and costly. Throw in Marie’s $60,000 order of Cote d’Azure marble for her gourmet kitchen and Paul’s desire to give a nod to the building’s industrial past, with industrial sized, custom-made steel arbour and steel-spined staircase and it’s not long before Marie’s dad’s fears start to turn into reality.

In Queensland, passionate ballroom dancers, electrician Chris and make-up artist Antoinette push their finances to the limit to buy a rundown, three-storey house on the Gold Coast. To realise their dream of transforming it into an Amalfi-themed, family friendly pink paradise, they need to live on the site with three small children and do most of the work themselves, while holding down their day jobs. And as for working with the colour pink, host and interior designer Yasmine Ghoniem, fears Antoinette is not bold enough with her scale and choices, and that even with ballroom dancing competition to help take their minds off the 24/7 workload, the stress may all prove to be just too much.

Production credits:
A Fremantle Australia production for the ABC financed with support from the ABC. Head of Unscripted: Josie Mason Campbell. Supervising Executive Producer: Brooke Bayvel. Executive Producer: Michael Collett. Series Producer: Chris Perry. ABC Commissioning Editor: Jo Chichester. Executive Producer: Madeleine Hawcroft. Head of Factual: Susie Jones. ABC Head of Screen Content: Jennifer Collins. International Distribution: Fremantle Distribution.

8pm Thursday January 4 on ABC.