Grand Designs Australia

Winter’s been and gone (especially if you were a Game of Thrones fan) and housing is back on the agenda once more. So, what makes a meaningful house? Here’s my special recipe for finding the Holy Grail. If this sentiment is primal, the effort to find

01 The Search film One of Australia’s most successful architects, Rob Mills, has unveiled his latest project — a short film called The Search — which discusses the theme of luxury and land. Rob Mills Architecture and Interiors is renowned for its cen

Spring has well and truly sprung and in the spirit of the season, a brand new editor has hatched! While April takes a well-deserved break to nurture her very own grand design (her bouncing baby boy), I’ll be introducing the latest in architectural ex

If you lived on an island, you’d want to enjoy it. Set in the sunny, natural surrounds of Hamilton Island, it’s hard to know where this residence begins and ends. The Solis House is sculpted from concrete, stone, block work and glass to create a gorg

With an architectural career spanning more than 50 years, Jim Olson, of Olson Kundig, has made his name designing a broad range of buildings that sensitively respond to their environment. His internationally recognised designs are inspired by the nat

ARCHITECTS/DESIGNERS: Craig Rosevear + JAWS INTERIOR DESIGNER: Bury Kirkland Ferry PHOTOGRAPHY: Adam Gibson STYLING: Lucy Given, LUC Design Perched on the side of a hill in the seaside town of Lewisham, a 40-minute drive from Hobart, a new tiny h

making furniture started as a hobby for Rory Morgan, but it turned into a passion and then a business. While initially on the road to architecture and working as a draftsman, Rory took his careful eye for design into furniture-making. Designer, manuf

Spring is in full bloom and it’s time to venture out of the home and take a deep breath of fresh air. Now, look around. Is your backyard summer ready? Can you see an outdoor space full of untapped potential? We’ve all been there and the good news is

Fun, happy and driven are three words that power duo Daniel To and Emma Aiston use to describe themselves. These three words are also at the heart of their furniture and lighting designs, with simple lines meeting at times playful colours for a piece

You can definitely sleep easy after an evening spent lounging in a spa. And that’s just one of the benefits that spas are known for. Add a bit of fruit, a glass of bubbly (beer if you prefer) and voila — that spa-cation you’ve been dreaming of become

Fancy unwinding and cleansing in the comfort of your own backyard? From Japanese onsens to hot mud baths in Rotorua, New Zealand, detoxifying the body through heat, steam or natural land features has been practised for millennia. With a long list of

01 Live on the edge with outdoor furniture placed along the side of your pool. Seating close to the pool makes it easy to keep track of the kids in the water or to simply sit back and enjoy the sunlight glistening on the pool. The Manutti Kobo sofas

truly great architecture sparks debate and evokes strong emotional reactions. Love it or hate it, Elsternwick House by Austin Maynard Architects is a bold and brilliant residence that makes a statement inside and out. The existing single-storey Edwar

Inspired by the traditional tile-making methods of Morocco and the Mediterranean, the Zellige collection embraces a handcrafted look, achieving a rustic yet ultra-contemporary aesthetic Grand Designs has partnered exclusively with National Tiles to

When it comes to talented genes, some families just get lucky. In this case, brothers Chris and Ben Gilbert hit the jackpot when it came to creating a home that refused to quit, as we saw in the first episode of Series 6. Sculptor sibling Ben secured

arches, stucco render and timber shutters spring to mind when you think of Spanish Mission architecture. It’s unlikely you’d imagine modern, sophisticated interiors where art takes centre stage, but that is the scenario we’re faced with when viewing

On the steep flanks of Mount Eagle sits Eaglemont House. It’s on a subdivided lot where established trees on the surrounding site provide canopy screening. Cleverly, this screening enables the interior to be quite exposed without compromising the pri

believe it or not, this light-filled home in Port Melbourne was once dark and cold. A collection of ad hoc lean-tos cluttered the rear and severed any useful connection to the back garden. Today, the old worker’s cottage is a simple, calm, three-bedr

boasting thermal brilliance and flexibility as its top traits, this inner-city family home and its sweeping curved addition is a love letter to the owner’s past and a celebration of the original 1930s Californian bungalow. Prior to its revival, the b

Peeking inside the home of a professional architect is always pretty fascinating. John Ellway, from John Ellway Architects, has opened his doors and invited us in to look around his Brisbane pad. We weren’t disappointed. After John spent 18 months se

he may be a multi-platinum-selling award-winning musical artist, TV talent show judge and famously nice guy, but Guy Sebastian is, at heart, a family man, for whom the kitchen really is the heart of the home. Guy and Jules enlisted the architecture f

have you heard? The word on the street is that kerbside appeal matters. Luckily, with just a few small changes, you can completely revamp your home’s facade. While we prefer not to judge a house by its cover, it is true that first impressions can set

before architect Ken Weinstein of KAW Associates Inc and MARK IV Builders created this outdoor kitchen and entertaining area, the space was a poorly designed mess. A rotting prefabricated gazebo welcomed visitors to a scene straight out of a landscap

did I mention I’m doing a new podcast series? It’s called Better Ideas and it’s everything to do with improving your home and garden, with some cooking and lifestyle thrown in. Recently, for an episode, I interviewed a couple of contestants on a desi

easing out of your winter hibernation is the perfect time to refresh the home with new furniture and furnishings that reflect the sunshine outside. We’ve combed through the latest styles and products to bring you the very best in furniture design tre

Q My partner and I are about to build a new home and are trying to work out an appropriate size. We’re finding it very difficult as there is so much in the market, all offering different solutions. We’re a family of four, the kids being six and eight

Outdoor dining never looked so good. The elegant Tao dining tables by Tribù have bold sculptural concrete pedestals and slim table tops to create a perfectly balanced contrast that is pleasing to the eye. Italian designer Monica Armani has used refin

heading into the outdoorsy months, now is the perfect time to spruce up your outside entertaining area. The best place to start is from the ground up and for that, such elements as pavers, turf and pebbles are important. Pavers are a key element for