Inside two Sustainable House Day homes

Sustainable House Day is back in 2026, and on Sunday 17 May, neighbours across Australia are once again opening their doors. Here are two examples of homes where real people are sharing practical lessons about efficiency, affordability and climate-ready living.

Mylor Bush Retreat, SA

Renew: Where is the home, and what’s the backstory?
James Biven, owner: Our home is located in Mylor in the Adelaide Hills. The mudbrick house was built in 1986 after the original stone house was destroyed in the Ash Wednesday bushfires, and a two room Hebel clad extension was added in 2010. We purchased the property in 2016 and have recently completed a passive extension using a significant number of recycled materials. Our extension won a Master Builders award in 2025 in the renovation category.

What first sparked the shift toward a more sustainable home?
We have always cared about treading lightly on the earth and wanted our house to demonstrate this. We are trying to show our children how even small positive changes can make a difference, and it sort of grew from there. We moved to the area so that we could have access to some land, and were also drawn to the original mudbrick house.

What are the key sustainability features of the home?
Our house is mudbrick with a passive reverse brick veneer extension. The majority of the structural framing in the house is reclaimed hardwood. We are on rainwater only, have no AC units, and use a combustion fire with a heatpump-powered underfloor hydronic system in winter. We have a 5kW solar system, but this is about to get an upgrade to a 15kW system along with a couple of batteries. Our carpets are made from seaweed, we have locally made terracotta tiles, we used reclaimed bricks and timber, and our painting is a breathable natural paint. We have chickens, bees, and many fruit trees along with wicking beds for veggie gardens.

How does the home feel now compared to before?
The extension is fantastic and performs extremely well in all seasons. We also changed our high-level windows in the original house to double-glazed during the works, which has made a huge difference in the heat retained in winter. The extension allowed all of our children to finally have their own bedrooms, which has changed the family dynamic in a positive way. We love our home and enjoyed sharing it in Sustainable House Day in 2025.

What did you learn along the way?
Working with people who are passionate about sustainability helps drive innovation and brings an energy that rubs off in everything we did. We learnt about breathable facades and their benefits from our builder (Sustainabuilding), who has a huge amount of knowledge in this area. Using lots of recycled and reclaimed material in the build is more time-consuming than many off the shelf products, but the environmental benefits are massive.

What’s next for this home?
Hopefully, many years of sustainable living and happy memories.

Find out more at sustainablehouseday.com

The apartment bathroom. Credit: Matto Lucas.

380 Albert, Brunswick West, VIC

Renew: Where is the home, and what’s the backstory?
Shaun Tompkins, owner: The apartment is located within an old 60s 6-pack in Brunswick West in Melbourne. Old aerial photographs show the building and surrounding apartments on the edge of the former landfill before it was converted into Gilpin Park.

What first sparked the shift toward a more sustainable home?
At the time I purchased the apartment, I had worked as a sustainability consultant and ESD advisor for four to five years, so I had to put my money where my mouth was. I had numerous conversations with colleagues at the time around the lunch table about materials and ways I could insulate the apartment, which is how I came to find out about the K17 insulation panels for the internal walls.

What are the key sustainability features of the home?
Because the apartment is on the top level and north-west facing it was a (deadly) hotbox! So the main intervention was removing the plaster ceiling and installing R3.5 Pink Batts in the ceiling and then using the K17 rigid insulation panels for the internal north and west-facing walls.

Unable to afford double glazing, I’ve installed white block-out blinds and timber venetian blinds to each window—this helps take the edge off the sun during summer. I am looking at installing Renshade as well this summer to compare against the thermal data I’ve got from last summer.

Luckily for me, the apartment already had a little electric HWS, so I didn’t have to replace that. As I only had limited electrical capacity and live alone (although I love to cook), I opted for a two-burner induction cooktop, which has been perfectly fine for my needs and heats water quicker than my kettle!

Almost all of the furniture (except the couch) was second-hand, including the wardrobe units and the kitchen benchtop, which was purchased from Urban Salvage in Spotswood. I also installed cork flooring throughout due to its thermal and acoustic benefits, and the fact that it’s a renewable product.

I also rented almost all of the tools I used from the Brunswick Tool Library (highly recommend!).

How does the home feel now compared to before?
When I moved in, it had the landlord special—grey carpet and bright white paint, and felt a little cold. By introducing the warmer tones and splash of colour with the kitchen cabinets, it feels like a home. It’s super cosy, and gets a unique little view of Brunswick West from the third level—including sunsets over Flemington and Moonee Ponds.

What did you learn along the way?
I learnt almost everything on the fly! Between YouTube, having a good friend cheering me on and a beer or two, it was all super manageable! My biggest learning curve was probably the waterproofing and tiling in the bathroom (which I reeled my dad in for). My respect for interior designers increased considerably throughout the project­—the process of internal finishes and material selection, to ensure a balance throughout, was challenging at first, but I guess years of watching Grand Designs, reading the Design Files and having a hefty Pinterest board paid off!

What’s next for this home?
I’m considering installing air conditioning (as it currently has no heating or cooling) and continuing to improve the garden around the building. External shading, a rooftop solar system and EV charging would be nice one day!

Find out more at sustainablehouseday.com