Joanne Hawkins

When Eve Gunson and husband Matt Benetti first saw the charmless bookshop at the front of an Albert Park house that was to become their latest home-renovation project, they didn’t even bother getting out of the car. “The shopfront really put us off, initially. But then we did another couple of drive-bys and started to see the potential of what it could become,” Ms Gunson, an interior designer from Dot + Pop 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.

Technology is moving at rapid pace in 2019, and our homes are at the forefront of these advancements. For the bathroom, new features and smart devices are being designed to make our lives easier, cleaner and more efficient.

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.

Pauline Cordwell freely admits it was the location of her two bedroom apartment in Sydney’s Manly that prompted her and husband Chris to pay a record price in the eight-storey building. “We purchased it because of the sensational view of the harbour we overlook,” she says.

Photographer Armelle Habib was ready and willing to do something "a little different" with the design of the bathroom in her studio...

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.

With plans to start a family, Kate and Andrew Cramer knew that their tiny, two-bedroom cottage in Melbourne’s inner-city Windsor wasn’t going to cut it, long-term. So they started house-hunting, initially looking further afield in the hunt for more space. They even put an, ultimately unsuccessful, offer on a house in bayside Albert Park...

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.”

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.

LEGENDARY French fashion designer Coco Chanel once declared black and white were “the perfect harmony”. While she was referring to fashion, she could also have been talking about interiors. According to interior designer Gillianne Griffiths, from Studio Griffiths, monochromatic colour schemes transcend interiors trends. “They are restful and calming but, most importantly, are timeless, elegant and extremely practical,” she said.

MAYBE you think of it as the heart of the home. Or maybe as the room that’s most likely to sell it (which is what real estate agents might tell you). But there’s no doubt we love our kitchens. However, just like other interiors trends, kitchen fashions change. Earlier this year, Andrew Mumford, Australian managing director of luxury kitchen appliance brand Sub-Zero and Wolf, exhibited at EuroCucina, a trade fair held in Milan.

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.

Thanks to Allianz’s ‘Be Inspired To Win’ competition, Josephine and Franky have $200,000 to spend on their new house. As well as the cash to get them started, we sent interior designer Darren Palmer, Inside Out editor Claire Bradley and landscape architect Nathan Burkett to their home to provide inspiration and advice to help transform this house into a welcoming family home.