Good design, made accessible: introducing Homie

I've spent the last few years doing bespoke residential work, and I love it. There's nothing quite like shaping a home around the particular needs of a particular client and site. But over that time I've also watched something that bothers me: a lot of people opt out of good design before they've even started, put off by cost, complexity, or a quiet sense that architecture was never really meant for them.

That last one is the hardest to shake. There's a persistent idea that well-designed buildings are the exclusive domain of those with deep pockets. For a lot of New Zealanders, working with an architect feels like a door that's closed before they've knocked.

Homie is our response to that.

What is Homie?

Homie is a series of architecturally designed, fully documented plan sets that anyone can purchase and take straight to a builder. The small home designs are simple, affordable, and highly resolved. The hard thinking is already done, and all of the documentation you need to build your home is already prepared.

In other words, you get the benefit of considered, professional design without the open-ended fees or the months of back-and-forth that usually come with a one-off commission. You choose a design, purchase the plan set, and engage your own builder to price and construct it. We don't build the homes ourselves, which keeps the process lean and means you're free to work with someone local you already know and trust.

Designed around the new granny flat rules

The timing for this is no accident. As of 15 January 2026, New Zealand's new granny flat legislation allows a single, detached, self-contained dwelling of up to 70m² to be built on most residential and rural properties without a building consent or a resource consent, provided the design meets a specific set of conditions.

We've specifically tailored every Homie design to align with this legislation, so that in most cases your build can proceed under the exemption. That means a faster path from idea to finished home, and a much clearer picture of what's involved from the outset.

Why a small home?

Small dwellings do a lot of quiet work. They can house a parent or family members while keeping everyone close but independent. They can provide rental income, a home office, or space for guests. They can be a smarter, gentler way to make use of land you already own, without the upheaval of a major build.

The challenge has always been that good small-home design is hard. Making a compact space feel genuinely generous (in light, in proportion, in the way you move through it) takes real care. That's exactly the thinking we've poured into the Homie designs, so you don't have to start from scratch.

What's next

We're launching with one design as our pilot, but this is just the beginning. Behind the scenes, we're collaborating with some of New Zealand's award-winning architects to develop a wider range, so the collection will keep growing with designs that bring real variety and real quality.

If this sounds like something you, or someone you know, has been waiting for, take a look at homie.nz.

And as always, I'd love to hear what you think - feel free to send us an email or give us a call to discuss your project.