Australian House & Garden

I love the image on the cover of this issue, our kitchens and bathrooms special. It is classic yet contemporary, serene and beautiful, which all makes sense when you discover that the sublime scheme was executed by the owner, architect Emili Fox. But

Being your own client can be incredibly difficult for an architect or interior designer: having a multitude of ideas and choices can lead to indecision and thus inertia. Not so for architect Emili Fox, director of Fox Johnston, who has just completed

Stylist’s assistants Nicholas Bryan-Brown, Paloma Maine, Kate Lincoln, Roberta Gallo. ■

Soften the decor, dampen acoustics, boost privacy, reduce energy costs – there’s no end to what you can achieve with the right window treatment. “They can completely elevate the feel of a space, adding warmth, texture and light control. They also pro

Chef, restaurateur and entrepreneur Nahji Chu is a pint-sized powerhouse who has led a big, extraordinary life. Born in Laos, Nahji and her family were forced to flee their homeland in 1975, when Nahji was just five. The family arrived in Australia i

Made entirely from brick with subtle earthy striations, this home on Sydney’s Northern Beaches sits easily within its coastal landscape. The owners, a pair of empty-nesters, had lived in the existing 1980s house for some years. Their brief for the ne

Architect Sarah Bryant is a firm believer that bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. It’s the ethos of her practice, Bryant Alsop, and this Melbourne home is proof positive that the approach works. The Edwardian house had been extended in the 1990s

It’s a dilemma common to many couples: buy a house you love in your favoured area, only to realise it’s too small once children come along. The owners of this 1960s brick bungalow in Sydney found themselves in that very predicament, and engaged the t

Looking at this ultra-contemporary family home in Sydney’s sought-after eastern suburbs, it is almost inconceivable to think that it was built in the 1960s. Previous owners modernised the house in the 1990s with the help of architects PopovBass and,

Serene, uncomplicated and welcoming: this Sydney property has been extensively renovated to both capture the beauty of its harbour views and to better serve the family that owns it. “When the owners first engaged us to expand and update the home, we

Theresa Albioli has spent 10 years shaping this garden in Daylesford, central Victoria. When she wanders through it – inspecting a leaf here, observing a patch that needs pruning there – she feels like she is visiting a good friend. “The garden has a

Melbourne homeowners Lindy and Danny have always loved the generous size of their garden. It was the reason they bought this property, in the city’s south-east, back in 2014. The original home, a 1980s red-brick dwelling, was liveable enough, but wha

The name jasmine comes from the Arabic word yasmine, meaning fragrance, and that’s why we grow and love jasmine – it’s considered second only to the rose in the perfume industry. Jasmine is found in more than 80 per cent of women’s perfumes and about

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When they became empty-nesters, Mario and Rose – residents of Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula – decided it was time for a little splurge on their 40-year-old home. Their existing kitchen had served their family well over the years, but it was brown,

When Sydney couple Angel and Richard bought their 1940s home, they loved its glamorous Art Deco charm. They didn’t love its kitchen, however. Located at the rear of the house, it was tiny, outdated and didn’t function well. Limited storage and minim

Old homes possess oodles of built-in charm but are often spatially challenged. That was the dilemma facing the owners of this kitchen when they renovated their 1876 terrace located near Sydney’s Harbour Bridge. Measuring 7x2.5 metres, the kitchen wa

Blessed with sweeping ocean views, this Sydney apartment is the perfect city bolthole for the owner, who lives here during the working week. But when he first purchased the 1980s apartment, it was unrenovated and showing its age. A tiny U-shaped kit

When Victorian couple Sandy and Martin bought their home on the Mornington Peninsula, it was a handsome, newly built ‘shell’ needing the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry and wardrobes installed. The couple loved the industrial-style aesthetic of the home

“Never in a million years” did the owners of this Melbourne kitchen think they’d have a green kitchen. But now that they do, they love it! The evolution of the colour palette began when they enlisted interior designer Peter Schaad to help them remod

With a baby on the way, Launceston homeowners Kara and Jasper DeSeymore decided it was time to update the kitchen of their home, which was built in 1987. The cabinetry was old-fashioned and the key appliances were freestanding, which made the room f

After living with a 20-year-old kitchen, Melbourne homeowners Alan and Jo had a clear list of ‘must-haves’ for their much-anticipated renovation, and called on the expertise of Freedom Kitchens to realise their vision. The original kitchen and laund

Melbourne couple Cathy and Fraser wanted to move their kitchen – literally and figuratively – out of the 1980s. Tucked into a small space at the rear of their heritage residence, the kitchen was both cramped and outdated. Cathy and Fraser’s brief to

Before they revamped their kitchen, the owners of this Sydney residence were torn: they loved their leafy suburb but their home wasn’t meeting all their needs. As parents of two young children, they decided to stay in the family-friendly neighbourho

Australian furniture maker Zuster has added a new Blossom collection (left) to its Issy range of bathroom vanities, mirrors and shaving cabinets. Made from American oak, Blossom is available exclusively at Reece and comes in six timber finishes and w

In the process of extending this Melbourne home, the design team at Robson Rak included a serene ensuite. “We wanted to create a pared back, low maintenance and restorative sanctuary,” says architect Kathryn Robson. “It was important that it have a

Ideal for hard-working benchtops, Fiandre Fragmenta is a new collection of tiles that deliver the look of stone, concrete and terrazzo with the scratch-and chip-resistance of porcelain. POA. www.artedomus.com.au DESIGNER CUTLERY Acclaimed Australia

A coastal aesthetic was what the owner of this Sydney apartment requested for his ensuite – fitting since the property looks onto one of the city’s loveliest beaches. “It had to feel cool and light,” says interior designer Andrea D’Cruz, who worked

“Bright, spacious and light was what the owners requested,” says interior architect Georgie Shepherd of this main bathroom in a 1918 Adelaide bungalow. “It’s mainly used by the family’s three children, so we focused on ensuring it would be durable,

“The homeowners wanted bathrooms that were showstoppers,” says architect Brooke Aitken of this Sydney ensuite, which she worked on in conjunction with project architect Vivian Ma and builder Dreamscape Constructions. “We were brought in to renovate

The owners of this Melbourne home love the luxuriousness of a beautifully appointed hotel bathroom and requested that interior designer Peter Schaad create that feel for their ensuite. “The work was carried out at the end of a whole-house renovation

“The owners wanted an unexpected surprise for guests,” says architect Shaun Lockyer of this powder room in a renovated Brisbane home. “It’s the antithesis of the rest of the house because it’s dark, black and formal; the rest of the house is light,

When Chris and Christal Fysentzou, owners of construction firm Zou Build, bought this fixer upper in Brisbane they had a clear vision for its main bathroom: “I wanted it to have a calm, sumptuous feel but it needed some reconfiguring to make the lay

Situated in a newly built inner Brisbane home, this ensuite had to balance the owners’ dual requests for luxury and restraint. “They loved the idea of working to a black and white palette and setting fixtures against striking surfaces,” says archite

Sonia: When I was a child, a family day out often involved visiting display-home villages. I remember lots of burgundy cabinetry teamed with ice-grey laminate benchtops, terracotta pots filled with pampas grass... This ‘cutting-edge’ design inspired