Your favourite Big Brother Australia house?

[marquisite]

In light of last month's announcement of Big Brother AU returning home to Channel 10 in 2025 for a live season, It seems fitting to reminisce a little about BBAU of past, don't you think? This time the question is all about the Big Brother house.

Which season’s BB house is your favourite and why? Cast your vote, then reply below with your reasons. Was it a particular room or overall layout? Colour scheme or theming? A talking fish ? And are there any other houses that deserve an honourable mention?

I will include some house photos in the next few posts to help jog your memory.

 

[marquisite]

Channel Ten (2001-2008) era houses​

2001 and 2002


2003 and 2004


2005 and 2006


2007 and 2008

 

[marquisite]

Channel Nine (2012-2014) era houses​

2012, 2013 and 2014

 

[marquisite]

Channel Seven (2020-2023) era houses​

2020 and 2021


2022 and 2023

 

[Brekkie]

No Big Brother house worldwide has come close to the ambition of the 2003 Round House / Square House twist. A few have done the split house idea but never executed as dramatically - usually it's just build an extra house then move everyone into the main house.

I'm not sure they ever bettered the original BB1/2 houses really - big open plan spaces with gardens that were actually designed spaces in their own right rather than just a big open yard with a pool slapped in it. I was never particularly a fan of the kitchen and dining room being split off the other end of the garden.

Beyond that things tend to merge into one but I did like the rewards area in the Nine era, more so than the actual house, and the Halfway House twist was executed well. And to be fair I thought the Seven houses were quite decent too as long as you didn't look too closely (or up), but wasn't a fan of the never ending corridors.

 

[marquisite]

Agree about 2003, the split round/square houses merging into one makes it my favourite BBAU house of all. Even the camera run mirrors inside the house were round/square themed, it was all-in.

2003 aside, houses from other years also had some good features, such as:

• 2004 for introducing the diary room airlock - something that was retained for several more seasons
• 2005 for the white eviction staircase
• 2013 for the halfway house
• 2014 for having an upstairs room (diary room) for something different

Then there are the seasons where the house evolved mid-series with new sections unveiled. Aside from 2003 and 2013 mentioned above, 2005 revealed a bowling alley, then 2008 it was the kitchen (prior to that food was delivered on a conveyor). Am I forgetting anything?

 

[timmy]

I quite liked Nine's Mediterranean style exterior, but yes, S3 was always going to be hard to beat.

 

[Ryan_]

Agree with everything already said but I also really like the whole design for the S5 house.

I liked the chill out room in S7 - the room where only three housemates could go into at a time.

 

[marquisite]

You're right, 2007's chill out room was pretty good.

I quite liked Nine's Mediterranean style exterior

Ahh the "cheap Greek mansion", as the first pair of 2014 housemates called it (but never made the launch episode cut)

FYI I have changed out some of the house photos for higher quality ones, thanks to production designer Rodney Brunsdon (via Wayback Machine - more photos available: 2004-2008, 2012-2014). Just missing a decent one of 2002.

 

[Brekkie]

Are a few pics on the BB wiki.

Big Brother Australia 2

Big Brother Australia 2 is the second season of Big Brother Australia. After 86 days, Peter Corbett was crowned the winner over runner-up Marty Martin. Unfinished House: As part of the house concept, the housemates entered in a literally empty unfinished house. The concept of the house this...

bigbrother.fandom.com

 

[Isee]

My top three would be 2003, 2005 and 2013 for reasons mentioned in comments above really.

 

[Gayspie]

I loved the 2014 one, complete with the upstairs diary room, and Florida flamingo vibes!

 

[freddy]

The original BB house for me (2001 Dreamworld). BB was new, it was never seen before here in Aus, and it captivated us. I loved it and I was glued to the TV every night. And then, even better, they allowed tours of the BB house, the auditorium, and the control room for Dreamworld visitors after the season had ended. For me, being from Melbourne, it was a big deal to enter that house and touch and see what I had been so engrossed in, so involved in, on my TV screen. Of all my friends that watched and had gotten in to the BB phenomenon, back in the day, I am the only one who can say "I was once in the Big Brother house". Sadly, my friends all no longer watch BB, so it's not the conversation starter it once used to be. At least I have these forums. But, I digress. The 2001 Dreamworld house was the favourite BB house for me.

 

[up_all_night]

Looking back at the photos, it really points out how the much more substantial houses of the Dreamworld eras are so much better than what we got on Seven.

 

[Gayspie]

The original BB house for me (2001 Dreamworld). BB was new, it was never seen before here in Aus, and it captivated us. I loved it and I was glued to the TV every night. And then, even better, they allowed tours of the BB house, the auditorium, and the control room for Dreamworld visitors after the season had ended. For me, being from Melbourne, it was a big deal to enter that house and touch and see what I had been so engrossed in, so involved in, on my TV screen. Of all my friends that watched and had gotten in to the BB phenomenon, back in the day, I am the only one who can say "I was once in the Big Brother house". Sadly, my friends all no longer watch BB, so it's not the conversation starter it once used to be. At least I have these forums. But, I digress. The 2001 Dreamworld house was the favourite BB house for me.

BB, and to an extent the other major reality franchises like Idol and MasterChef, really were event TV back in the day!

 

[timmy]

BB, and to an extent the other major reality franchises like Idol and MasterChef, really were event TV back in the day!

BB was literal water cooler conversation at my workplace in 2001.

 

[Gayspie]

BB was literal water cooler conversation at my workplace in 2001.

It is sad to see BB decline in the way it has.

 

[marquisite]

The original BB house for me (2001 Dreamworld). [...] For me, being from Melbourne, it was a big deal to enter that house and touch and see what I had been so engrossed in, so involved in, on my TV screen. Of all my friends that watched and had gotten in to the BB phenomenon, back in the day, I am the only one who can say "I was once in the Big Brother house".

2002 was when I first visited the BB house and, thinking about it, this was probably a large factor in what led me to follow Big Brother more closely (since 2003). It wouldn't be until 2008 that I'd again walk through the house (timed with a Gold Coast trip to attend the BB08 finale).

 

[Gayspie]

2002 was when I first visited the BB house and, thinking about it, this was probably a large factor in what led me to follow Big Brother more closely (since 2003). It wouldn't be until 2008 that I'd again walk through the house (timed with a Gold Coast trip to attend the BB08 finale).

What was it like at the 2008 BBAU finale? the mood among crew and cast and crowd must have been somber?

 

[BB12]

What was it like at the 2008 BBAU finale? the mood among crew and cast and crowd must have been somber?

I went to it and it was a mix of sadness and nostalgia for me. IIRC they had the majority of the crew along the side where the BB shop was, when they played the farewell package. Hearing the original theme music, and seeing all the old housemates over the years was definitely nostalgic, plus the crowd was cheering like crazy, so it was bitter-sweet.