Grand Designs Australia

if there’s one thing that Grand Designs provides in spades — both the TV show and this m magazine — it’s that wonderful opportunity to have a good old snoop around other people’s houses. Who doesn’t love to see how everyone else designs, styles and l

White walls, white space and now white houses. A white home stands out in a crowd, a stark contrast to rolling green hills or brick suburbia. Timeless in style, they showcase a modernist idealism and mesmerising interplay of light and shadows. White

01/ The Lilypad, Palm Beach One of Sydney’s most exclusive villas is now open to the public for overnight stays and intimate events. The Lilypad is a luxurious floating villa at Palm Beach built for relaxation and taking in the surrounding natural be

one hundred thousand. Used to be a big number. But it seems it’s a starting point for everything today. If you want to visualise the number, think MCG Grand Final day, packed to the rafters. It’s also the number who attended the Climate Action march,

we called it and it’s gone and happened. Cork isn’t just back. It’s the new black. And it’s taking over the joint. If you thought cork was just for flooring and the odd bottle of wine, you were underestimating its potential massively. Queensland-base

Nestled among the trees on a 20-acre property in Byron Bay, the Hidden Studio was imagined as a refuge with privacy and immersive views. The renowned “Sydney School” architect Ian McKay had designed the two existing structures on the land, which were

01 Lighting the way to sustainable practices is plant-based light manufacturing company High Society. Located in Italy, the brand is using compression-moulding techniques to give life to the leftover products of wine, hemp and tobacco production. The

elliot Gorham creates furniture with the idea that “form follows function”. Keeping his unique furniture simple enough not to clutter a space, yet complex enough to engage himself and the client, Elliot’s designs play with typical styles and add a tw

a career born not out of ambition, but the desire to experiment with a visual language that reflected his perception of the world, Matthew Johnson creates unique artworks inspired by the natural environment. Whether it’s the mesmerising kinetics of t

bVN Sydney principal architect Phillip Rossington believes a shift in how people enjoy their homes could in part be due to increased travel, which has exposed us to more lifestyle-focused hotels and resorts. “I think we want our homes to contain the

location, location, location. Like many things in life, choosing the style of your home starts with where it’s based. No one said you can’t mix things up with a Hamptons home in the mountains, but generally certain looks suit certain areas. This styl

Ahhh, Byron… home to the Hemsworths, protector of Australia’s most easterly point and the stomping ground for this Grand Designs TV house. Modern, modest and all together marvellous, Suffolk Park House is the passion project and family home of creati

spanish architecture is legendary and Valencia doesn’t disappoint. The south-eastern Spanish city is the setting for the famous City of Arts and Sciences Complex (with its planetarium and oceanarium), the Central Market and the Rococo Palace of the M

if the Jetsons shacked up with the Flintstones and moved their house to Bedrock, this is what it would look like. Well, sort of. Tweed Terrace House isn’t in Bedrock, but the Coolangatta residence does rest on a bed of rocks. “The Rockcote render and

from a home without street access to the best house on an already impressive block, TDDP Architects and Lawson & Lovell Building Services have outdone themselves with this Sydney project. Scant access to natural light, a restrictive floor plan and a

Portsea is the home of Millionaire’s Walk, a clifftop stroll glimpsing lifestyles of the rich and architecturally inclined. Not surprisingly, then, the affluent area is speckled with man-made gems. The latest jewel in Portsea’s crown is Wild Coast, a

occupying 200 acres of rolling green pastures and with beautiful valley vistas, Gundowring House is flanked by ranges and overlooks Lake Hume. The location offers an ever-changing backdrop reflecting the seasonal variations of the north-east Victoria

bricks are in the midst of a purple patch. The modest, rectangular-shaped beauties fell out of favour some years back. It was a time when cladding was king and cement render reigned, but bricks are now back with a vengeance (and a range of fresh colo

Upsizers and experienced property buyers are prioritising luxury upgrades and finishes when searching for a home they can live and grow in. It’s a trend that one of Australia’s largest residential builders, Privium Homes, is capitalising on with more

coco Republic’s latest interior project in Sydney has more shades of grey than that hugely problematic but wildly popular X-rated novel. Unlike said book, this interior fit-out is classy and timeless. The Victorian terrace in the eastern suburbs rece

An impressive scale and immense presence accompany this Glen Waverley powerhouse. From ironbark screening, spotted gum bookcases and cedar eave linings to Peninsula stone and limestone brickwork, the use of natural materials such as stone and timber

a small, steep, irregular site with “extremely constrained street and site access” — the Architecture Saville Isaacs team had their work cut out for them on this project, with clever planning, extensive excavation and complex construction required. “

as humans, we’re drowning in an abundance of material goods, much of it disposable. None of this excess seems to have made us happier, however. If anything, our long hours of optimised working and living have made us socially isolated, leading to lon

styling your space is one of the final (and, for some, most enjoyable) steps of moving into a home project. Exterior architectural beauty is important, true, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Furniture, colours on walls, and decor can make o

You wouldn’t guess the panel system by Made by House of Finn Juhl is more than 60 years old. Relaunched by Onecollection, the wall-mounted panel and shelving system speaks of Danish designer Finn Juhl’s incredible style and sophistication. Timeless a

how do architects come up with their ideas? In any design process, forcing yourself to write down what you’re actually trying to achieve helps keep your creative juices focused. In architecture this initial note is always based on the client’s brief,

as our population continues to grow in major Australian cities, the impact that both existing and new infrastructures will bear on our environment is of great concern. With the marked growth in our population comes an increased demand for new housing

Q I live in a new flat in Sydney and have the uncomfortable experience of hearing what’s going on with my neighbours. I can hear their TV, I can hear them walking around. I can even hear them coughing. Is there anything we can do? Are there regulatio