Inflation and a lack of affordable housing have driven Australians to do it themselves. With their connection to DIY building spanning decades, Aussies today are tapping into their roots and creating personal multifunctional spaces for themselves. What does this mean for the property landscape?
Feeling regretful about his purchase of a badly designed shoe box studio, the size of 3 and a half car park spaces, filmmaker Colin Chee decided to leverage his situation by documenting well-designed small spaces into a YouTube series in hopes of gaining free advice from professional designers, which eventually evolved into Never Too Small, a dynamic media company showcasing innovative small-scale architectural and interior design projects, offering insights and inspiration for compact living spaces and sustainable design
Never Too Small’s content has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Guardian, and ELLE Decor, while Colin, Never Too Small’s creator and creative director, has been invited to speak at events around the world. He and his core team are based in Melbourne, Australia, but are supported by a talented and highly valued team of international collaborators. Together, they share a vision for a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future for our cities where small-footprint design and thinking play a central role.
Based on the coast of Western Australia, Howard Marsland is an award-winning building designer and registered builder with 40 years of experience in the Australian industry. He holds a diploma in building design and drafting. In his career, he has designed everything from high schools and apartment blocks to office buildings and more. However, he specialises in residential custom-designed homes and renovations. Howard is passionate about sustainability in design and creating homes that are environmentally efficient and make the most of the natural surroundings. He loves nothing more than coming up with affordable, practical, yet innovative home design solutions for whatever stage of home ownership you're at – first home-owners, additions and expansions to make way for growing families, later-in-life downsizers, and tree and sea changers.
Sarah Wei is a journalist and producer based in Melbourne and Hong Kong, with a focus on the travel, lifestyle, and arts and culture sectors. She has produced over 35 talks and workshops with 120 speakers, three large-scale 5-day events, over 20 community events, one VR/AR exhibition, and more than 150 published features and stories across the region.
