One of the most essential but unappealing chores would have to be cleaning the bathroom. Daniela Santilli, of bathroom-products retailer Reece, said that unlike a bedroom or lounge room, wet rooms required more effort to get a perfect clean, especially if they were old or poorly designed. “People definitely want to minimise the time in cleaning their bathroom,” she said.

As the place where you snuggle or sprawl, celebrate, catch up and cosy up, the living room is one of the most welcoming spaces in your home. But to preserve the calming and comforting effect, a sense of store and order is essential...

TALK to any real estate agent and they’ll tell you that kitchens sell homes. Perhaps that’s why, alongside the bathroom, the kitchen is the most popular room to renovate. But with new kitchens proving costly, many people are looking for budget-friendly options. With a flatpack kitchen costing as little as $4000, depending on material, appliance choice and installation method, it’s easy to see why they are an increasingly savvy choice.

When Daniel Watts bought his Abbotsford worker’s cottage in 2007, it was mostly for the location, with the city, shops and restaurants on his doorstep. The two-bedroom Victorian property, however, was less appealing...

They say good things come to those who wait and that’s certainly true for Felicity Debenham and husband Michael (Mick) Rehfisch. After buying their four-bedroom double-fronted Victorian weatherboard home in Williamstown in 2009, the couple knew they would have to renovate at some point...

When architect Sarah Cooper married her husband William, she also gained an extended family. "As well as his parents, Chris and Liz, he has three sisters," Sarah says. "So I married not only William, but his large and loving family, too. They're all amazing."

When Josh Crosbie and wife Anna initially saw their 1960s beach house on the Great Ocean Rd, it was love at first sight. “It’s was a beautiful house in original condition with a big slate fireplace and really nice views over the water. It was the first and only house we looked at after we decided to move here,” Mr Crosbie said.

Houseplants, you might say, are having their moment in the sun. Check out Instagram or interiors magazines and you’ll see Monsteras, aloe veras and fiddle-leaf figs everywhere. Plant expert Maria Colletti, a New York plant workshop teacher, said houseplants were a beautiful addition to your decor but also had an important function. “Plants make us happy. When we look at greenery and something that is alive, it gives us a good feeling,” said the author of Living Decor, a book about using indoor plants in creative ways.

When Rose decided she wanted to build a family-sized swimming pool in her Albert Park backyard, there was just one problem: space. “We wanted to make sure the pool was large enough to have a decent swim and play, given the limited space we had to work with,” Rose said.

Mention Hamptons style and you’ll probably think of chic and sophisticated beach houses, full of natural textures, light-filled spaces and an abundance of ocean-inspired blues and whites. Australians are also fans of the Hamptons aesthetic, which originated in the exclusive coastline of Long Island, north of New York, with its distinctive houses made from brick, shingles and stone.

Sometimes life throws a curve ball which forces even the best-laid plans to change. Such was the case with Jenny and John Geeves who, in the mid 1990s, built a stunning hillside home in Newport, on Sydney's northern beaches...

Go to any open-for-inspection or display home and chances are you’ll see white subway tiles in the kitchen or bathroom. And what’s not to love about them? They’re a timeless classic that look good in different styles and eras of homes and, perhaps, best of all, can be budget friendly.

It’s a special time when you decide to move in with a partner. But while you both might bring a sense of excitement to the new digs, be prepared for the fact you might also both bring disparate furniture! You might even relate to the scene in ‘80s movie When Harry Met Sally when Carrie Fisher moves in with new boyfriend Bruno Kirby, whose furniture includes a wagon-wheel coffee table not to Fisher’s liking.

Our homes should be the place where we feel calm and at peace, inducing feelings of serenity and reassurance...

WHETHER you’re splashing out on a custom-made design or going down the flatpack route, a new kitchen can be expensive. And with most of us keeping our kitchens for at least 10 years, if not longer, it’s all the more important to get the design right. While aesthetics are an important consideration, smart storage solutions are also crucial to the success of the space.

There was a moment in the summer of 2016 when Ewan McEoin looked at the neon pink structure that had taken up temporary residence in the NGV’s backyard, aka the Grollo Equiset Garden, and realised it had struck a chord with all ages. “It was absolutely slammed with so many kids, which was fantastic to see,” remembers McEoin, the NGV’s senior curator, Contemporary Design and Architecture. “People made an effort to come to the gallery just to see that project.”

WATCH an episode of The Block and there’s one thing the competitors are guaranteed to moan about (apart from each other) and that’s painting. But paint is actually one of the most effective and economical ways of transforming your home. “It is the maximum amount of impact you can get for the minimum amount of expense or effort,” said Haymes Paint colour and concept manager Wendy Rennie.

WITH seven bedrooms, four bathrooms and a pool, this two-storey double-brick house in Kew was certainly a dream home for the professional couple who bought it in 2011. But as much as they loved the space, they weren’t blind to the shortcomings of their solidly built 1970s “mansion”. On a steep block, the house had a pool that was isolated and an elevated backyard only accessed via a long corridor on the first floor that ran past the bedrooms.

WHEN a couple bought their heritage home in Caulfield, their first thought was: we’ll need to demolish it to get the house we want. The Federation home had been empty for 10 years and had fallen into serious disrepair. And with only two bedrooms, it wasn’t functional for the couple and their three children.

While carpet remains popular in bedrooms, the demand for wall-to-wall carpet throughout living areas has fallen dramatically over the past 20 years. And it’s little wonder, as hard flooring is easy to maintain, beneficial for those suffering from allergies and looks fantastic. But hard flooring doesn’t just mean wood, as laminate and vinyl options have improved to the point where many consumers are choosing to install them instead, and not just because of price.