Across Australia, houses have been getting bigger even as families have been getting smaller. By the time Honeyworks House was built, the average new house had grown to around 233m2, roughly 30% larger than three decades earlier (Commonwealth Bank of Australia 2017). Completed in 2017 in Geebung on Brisbane’s northside, Paul Butterworth Architect’s design for empty nesters Peter and Jacquelyn takes the opposite approach. At approximately 115 m² GFA, with an additional 25 m² covered outdoor terrace, the house is smaller than the average new Australian home and is organised around how the couple actually live, rather than around a tally of rooms.
Mindful of a modest budget, PB Architects made a deliberate choice. Rather than build additional rooms that would sit empty for most of the year, they created one large, flexible, multi-purpose space and invested the savings in higher-quality finishes. The plan comprises two metal boxes in an L-shape, doing far more than their size suggests (Paul Butterworth Architect n.d.).
This sense of restraint extends to the material palette. Salvaged brick from the original house and recovered white breeze blocks are reused to improve passive environmental performance by drawing cooling air through the interior. Outside, productive gardens grow watermelon, corn, grapes and passionfruit, while the front garden is planted to attract bees, reflecting the owners’ involvement in a honey manufacturing business (Paul Butterworth Architect n.d.).
The result quietly challenges the assumption that a good home must be a large one. Designed around the needs of its owners rather than a predetermined bedroom count, Honeyworks House shows a more measured approach to domestic architecture. Its central lesson is straightforward: a house performs best when it responds to how a family actually lives, rather than to the expectations of the property market regarding size or scale.
Architect: Paul Butterworth Architect
Project: Honeyworks House
Location: Geebung, Brisbane, Queensland (Yuggera and Turrbal Country)
Date: 2017
Awards:
Australian 2018 Australian Institute of Architects, Brisbane Regional Commendation; shortlisted for a Queensland (State) Architecture Award
Links to further reading:
Paul Butterworth Architect: Honeyworks House
Archello: The Honeyworks House
ArchDaily: The Honeyworks House / Paul Butterworth Architect
Architecture & Design: Honeyworks House, Paul Butterworth Architect
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Bibliography
Paul Butterworth Architect. n.d. Honeyworks House. Accessed 06 30, 2026