Off the grid and on the way

[padding] [If you are unable to view this message correctly, click here]( [padding] [stuff header] [spacer] [padding] Hi {NAME}, Don’t you love it when following your property dreams pays off? Glenorchy-based amateur builders Chanelle and Dave O’Sullivan’s home project started out as a “weekender”. The couple had been working on farms and investing in property while they made their future plans. Keen to have a go building an off-grid cabin by hand with only You Tube (and a dream) to guide them, they initially planned to build a small cabin to rent out. But when circumstances changed, they ended up [building a small cabin for the family of four to live in](. It hasn’t been an easy path, they have suffered some setbacks, but thanks to their careful investing in property, they were finally able to buy their lifestyle block in Central Otago, with a stream and trees. They designed and set about building their 28m2, two-bed cabin, and the result is an idyllic lifestyle they have always imagined. “(Living sustainably) just makes good sense,” Chanelle told us. “When I drew the plans up in September last year, I didn’t actually expect to be moving into it. But I know we are on the right path.” Have a great weekend, folks! [padding] [user profile pic] [padding] Kylie Klein Nixon [padding] Homed Senior Reporter [padding] [spacer] [padding] Enjoying this email? [Check out Stuff's other daily and weekly newsletters.]( [spacer] # [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][separator] [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] Cabin dreams come true [spacer] Many people dream of building an off-grid cabin in the woods, leaving the rat race behind, but Chanelle and Dave O’Sullivan, and their children Izzy, 11, and Hunter, 8, are actually doing it. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] The Nirvana of nowhere [spacer] The minute Kimberley Smith stepped inside her country house, she knew it was right for her family. “It had an amazing feel,” she says. “It could have been in France or Italy.” [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [Privacy Info]( [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] Mid-century on a budget [spacer] This is a first-time buyer’s dream come true: a period home, with bags of style, space and opportunity, for a fire sale price. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][hot take]( [spacer] 'Worst house, best street' [spacer] “The first time I walked through the home, it was like walking back into a time capsule,” says listing agent Leighton Hurring of the 100-year-old bungalow in Point Chev that’s been in the same family since 1922. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [Privacy Info]( [spacer] [Privacy Info]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][hot take]( [spacer] Grand Designs: A nod to the 70s [spacer] Meet Ed and Vicky, who gave up their London city life for a sustainable, off-grid lifestyle in Somerset, in a rustic cowshed with shades of The Good Life. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] Is that toaster on fire? [spacer] It’s not a toaster, it’s an electric essential oil diffuser. It just looks exactly like a toaster that’s had a blow-out and is about to burn your house down. It’s a look. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [Privacy Info]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [padding] [spacer][Support Stuff]( [Discover more at Homed]( [padding] [spacer] You are receiving this email because you are a opted in to receive the Stuff Homed newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( [Manage your profile]( [Privacy Policy]( Did a friend forward you this email? [Sign up to get the Stuff Homed newsletter in your inbox]( Stuff, 4 Williamson Ave, Ponsonby, Auckland, 1021, New Zealand [spacer] [padding]