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Following our explainers on working with landscape designers, interior designers, and architects, today we’re shining a light on how to work with builders!

Whether you’re renovating or creating a new home from scratch, knowing how to find and work cooperatively with a builder is essential to your project’s success (and mental state along the way!)

In partnership with Reece, we asked builders  Never Stop Group, Basis Builders, Visioneer Builders, and BuildHer Collective, the answers to their most frequently asked questions, as well as advice from a home owner who’s been there.

Wallpaper is guaranteed to bring a bit of a pizazz to any space, and it’s had a bit of a renaissance in the last few years. Remember when all of a sudden THAT Kelly Wearstler was everywhere? There’s a perfect wallpaper for the mid-century gem, the ornate Victorian grand dame, the architectural masterpiece or the humble cottage – and so many incredible textile designers lending their hand to create special, unique patterns.

Here, our interiors columnist Lauren Li of Sisällä Interior Design shares her expert knowledge on all things wallpaper, with a few easy tips and tricks to keep in mind!

Charis James knows potential when she sees it, having designed seven personal home renovations, in addition to her work as the founder of AKI Design Studio.

When the interior designer purchased this Victorian home in South Yarra, the property was in near original condition and in serious need of love. Looking to Parisian apartments for inspiration, the house has been returned to its original grandeur, with textured, luxurious finishes.

Tara Rowe and her partner Luke have lived with their young family on their 300 acre farm on the west coast of South Australia for the last seven years.

The property is half a working farm (yielding wheat and canola crops) and half a regeneration project, but the couple have always wanted to create a boutique accommodation offering on their slice of remote wilderness. So, when they found an antique train carriage at a junk sale in a neighbouring town, a unique opportunity presented itself!

Restored with local timber and filled with a mix of vintage furniture by local dealers and new pieces by Australian makers – The Greenly Carriage has panoramic views over the Southern Ocean, Mount Greenly, Lake Greenly and the rolling countryside. This is a very special place to stay!

This home in Hendra, Brisbane is equally nostalgic and contemporary, fusing influences of the original 1950s design, the Arts and Crafts movement, and surrounding suburban character.

Navigating site restrictions and the desires of the young family owners, designers Wrightson Stewart and architect Barbara Bailey reinvented the existing post-war house alongside an elevated extension.

The result is a contemporary home that’s perfectly tailored to the occupants, while remainley entirely respectful of the existing streetscape. 

When it comes to renovating an existing home, sometimes the best and most elegant design solutions are found in restraint. This is especially true when it comes to midcentury homes.

Interior design firm Pipkorn Kilpatrick went to great pains to respect the vernacular and principles of modernist design when it came to updating their client’s Portsea home, which was originally designed by Robin Boyd for Consolidated Home Industries (CHI) in 1956.

The result is a fresh new space with better flow to suit the needs of modern life, ensuring its legacy is maintained and celebrated for many years to come.

The bones of this Edwardian home in Melbourne’s south east were undoubtedly beautiful, but the floor plan needed simplifying to suit its young family occupants. 

Without expanding the original footprint, designers CJH Studio completely reworked the entire home for better flow and function. 

Updated interiors punctuated by kit kat tiles, curved edges, and matte black Phoenix Tapware fixtures demonstrate CJH’s signature minimalist aesthetic, brought to life by the vibrant family who live here!

Maybe it’s because we’re all craving the sea, or maybe it’s because we’re stuck in a lockdown timewarp – but wavy homewares are having a moment. And we’re on board!

From undulating limestone vases, to wiggly steel coat-stands, here are 16 pieces of wavy furniture and homewares we adore.

Of all the fantasies in all the world, being an artist by the sea is surely one of the most popular. To do so on 19th-century farm on the cliff of a breezy peninsula is simply the stuff of fairytales!

The owners of historic Spray Farm on the Bellarine Peninsula engaged Watts Studio and Amiconi Architect to design a new studio on the ocean side of the property where the pair of artists could spend days painting and looking out over the sea. Taking the heritage-listed homestead and the history of the farmhouse locale as inspiration, the designers created a space greatly informed by surrounds but with its own contemporary characteristics.

With sweeping views out over Corio Bay and the You Yangs mountain range, the main point became to design a building where both artist and architecture could settle into the landscape.