WHATS HOT
A Designer’s Japanese-Inspired Melbourne Family Home
When designer Kim Kneipp’s partner Lou Weis asked what she would love in a house, she imagined somewhere with a north-facing garden, within walking distance of her son’s school, and already renovated.
This Victorian home in Brunswick East ticked all the boxes, except for the renovation! After some quick cosmetic updates when they first moved in (while Kim was seven months pregnant!), the family embarked on a major renovation, including a prefab extension.
The completed home combines Lou’s luxurious design aesthetic with Kim’s salvaged style, and fondness for Japanese design, resulting in what she calls ‘humble luxury!’
Paul Bangay's Guide To Selecting The Right Plant For Your Site
Whether it’s touring through his legendary home garden at Stonefields, or joining him for a guided tour of the beautiful Daylesford region, everybody loves Paul Bangay! So much so, in fact, that his classic book Paul Bangay’s Guide to Plants has recently been updated and re-released in a new expanded edition.
With tips for gardens in a changing climate, anecdotes and insights into successful landscape design, this fresh edition features two new chapters!
Read on below for an extract on how to choose the perfect plant for your garden: big or small!
An 1870s Church Turned Stylist’s Family Home In South Australia
There’s SO much history in this 1870 South Australia property, having been a church, Masonic lodge, and a yoga studio over its many lives!
Today, the heritage building is the converted family home of Sarah and Adam Fairhead Hall. What was essentially one large space has been divided into liveable rooms including a new mezzanine designed by Adam, who is a drafter, and styled by Sarah, who is a stylist and vintage seller at Read&Hall, and accomodation owner of My Sister & The Sea and Love & Mutiny.
It’s not easy to make a large space feel cosy, but Sarah and Adam have achieved the near impossible with their creativity, patience, and incredible eye for eclectic vintage wares!
A Remarkably Transformed Fitzroy North Family Home!
The history of Maddie and Mike Witter’s Fitzroy North home is a bit of a mystery. Thought to be a classic 1960s house, renovations revealed decorative high ceilings likely from the Victorian era, hidden beneath layers of plaster.
Regardless, when Maddie, Mike and their four children bought the property in 2019, the house was in bad shape. To get the home up to scratch, the whole family moved outside into the property’s self-contained backyard studio while they proceeded to gut the main house.
In just a few months, Maddie and her builder Calibre Built Developments essentially created a new home within the existing house’s footprint. The results are remarkable!
A WOW-Factor Secret Garden In Blairgowrie
Unlike many coastal properties, the brief for this garden on the Mornington Peninsula was to create seclusion and sanctuary, rather than to maximise beach views.
In response to the sprawling site, Ian Barker Gardens designed a varied, six-part layout encompassing outdoor entertaining, a sunset terrace, a pool, fire-pit and luscious flowery plantings. It’s a ‘secret garden’ filled with unexpected delights!