Family reveal their stunning three-bedroom island home – and they built it using recycled materials and a strict 100k budget
- An Australian family of four have revealed how they built their dream home for just $100,000
- Model Rhys Uhlich, his wife and two daughters, live in a ‘shed-house’ made from recycled building materials
- The home is on Phillip Island, in Victoria, and offers a much quieter life to their old place in Los Angeles
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A model and filmmaker who refused to be ‘a slave to the mortgage system’ has revealed how he and his wife built their dream home for less than $100,000.
Rhys Uhlich and his family wanted to switch the chaos of Los Angeles for the simple life – so they bought up a block of land near where the model grew up and worked on their new home.
Rhys was the winner of the 2008 season of Jennifer Hawkins-hosted reality show ‘Make Me A Supermodel’.
This blue shed is a family-of-four’s ‘dream home’. Built using as many recycled materials as possible and for a small budget
The stunning interior appears to define logic, and does not look like it was made from recycled pallets and construction materials
the family wanted to be able to create their island home for less than $100,000 – it has taken them two years
This wall is a feature in the room and set the couple back less than $10 in total
The new build is a stylish ‘shed-home’ with three bedrooms in the lofts and a huge open plan living area below.
The home, which is made from as many recycled materials as possible, was also built to a strict $100,000 budget.
The family were very hands on in the building of the home and lived there two months before it was completes – watching the rooms began to take shape around them.
The ‘shed-house’ is light and airy and is built in a sustainable way – with any leftover pieces of wood or steel re-purposed somewhere in the home.
He told Domain: ‘Every window and door in the place I got off Facebook marketplace.’
He collected unused materials from other job sites and ‘planned the whole build’ around what he found.
The windows and doors are also recycled – the family documented their build on social media
The home is sustainable and reflective of the family’s new coastal life on Phillip Island
The process has been well documented on the family’s ‘shedhouseaustralia’ Instagram page
‘For example, using recycled pallets to make our kitchen. It all sounds very rustic but I am going for a finish that is quite aesthetically pleasing, but it’s all about how you do it,’ he said.
The process has been well documented on the family’s ‘shedhouseaustralia’ Instagram page.
The build hasn’t been without its ‘hiccups’ and has taken about two years from start to finish.
The fact the family started with a ‘regular shed’ left them with some engineering issues when they were doing the interior fitout.
‘We have had to be super adaptable and open to change,’ he told his social media followers.
The build hasn’t been without its ‘hiccups’ and has taken about two years from start to finish
‘For example, using recycled pallets to make our kitchen. It all sounds very rustic but I am going for a finish that is quite aesthetically pleasing, but it’s all about how you do it,’ the family said
The family wanted the home to be budget without looking budget – and the feature wall in their living room shows how well they managed to tick both boxes
More than 10,000 people have watched the family’s journey. From the pouring of the slab and erection of the frame to the final video showing off the spacious home
The family wanted the home to be budget without looking budget – and the feature wall in their living room shows how well they managed to tick both boxes.
‘What better way to get the motivation going than a feature salvage timber wall,’ he said.
The finished wall cost ‘less than $20’ and looks stunning.
More than 10,000 people have watched the family’s journey. From the pouring of the slab and erection of the frame to the final video showing off the spacious home.
