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Articles by Anson Smart
Common Office, Tom Ross, Anson Smart · Bondi Beach Villa
WHY ATLAS? May be because we wanted to distinguish divisare from the web that is condemned to a sort of vertical communication, always with the newest architecture at the top of the page, as the "cover story," "the focus." Content that was destined, just like the oh-so-new architecture that had just preceded it a few hours earlier, to rapidly slide down, day after day, lower and lower, in a vertical plunge towards the scrapheap of page 2.
Beyond This Lakefront Australian Home’s Tranquil Exterior: Room After Room of Sunny Hues
We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. In her new monograph, Tamsin Johnson: Contrast, Space, Harmony (Rizzoli, March 17), the Australian designer showcases some of her latest projects from all over the world. Johnson is known for ability to source truly unique and storied antiques, and deftly layers them into these homes in a way that adds both sophistication and relatability. You’re welcome here, they say.
A Victorian Row House in Sydney Goes from Dilapidated to Decidedly Mediterranean
Sometimes the next chapter is just across the street: After living in a Tasmin Johnson–renovated home in Potts Point, a family bought a larger Victorian row house opposite—rough around the edges but ripe for reinvention. It had remained untouched since the 1970s, when Potts Point was still a neighborhood of strip clubs, prostitution, and other illicit activities.
A Brilliantly Bonkers Holiday Home in Australia That Feels Like Stepping Into a Fairytale
The idea of having a holiday home is to shut out all the noise and bother of everyday life. What better way to do that than by throwing caution (and design rules) to the wind, creating a space that gently forces you to step away, mind, body and soul?
This Sydney Home Got a Bold Makeover: With Green Marble, an Elliptical Staircase and Leopard-Print Dining Chairs
Set at the top of the cliffs in the affluent Dover Heights suburb of Sydney, Australia, this contemporary home offers spectacular views of the ocean and the city. But when interior designer Alexandra Donohoe Church of Decus was brought on board to renovate it, its interiors were not a suitable fit for both its inspirational setting and the vivacious spirit of its inhabitants.
Designer Greg Natale Transforms a Derelict Victorian Cottage Into a Jewel-Toned Australian Retreat
You can tell there’s something a bit different about Barwon Cottage before you step inside, and designer Greg Natale has everything to do with it: the front doorstep in rich green Verde Guatemala marble hints at an opulence you don’t find in the average country cottage. Bijou in scale but dramatic in style, the home is a masterclass in pulling off jewel-toned, layered décor.
Sydney Home From the 1980s Balances a Calming Aesthetic With an Energetic Spirit
When interior designer Alexandra Donohue Church, of Australian design firm Decus Interiors, first encountered this Sydney home, it looked very different from the cool and contemporary figure it cuts today.
À Melbourne, une maison en blocs de verre baignée de lumière
À Melbourne, une maison d'architecte pensée comme un puits de lumière Comme beaucoup de constructions des années 1930 à Melbourne, en Australie, cette maison, située dans la banlieue de South Yarra, était empreinte de caractère, mais manquait cruellement de lumière. La propriétaire et ses enfants vivaient dans cette maison historique de quatre chambres depuis quinze ans.
Un interiorista transforma una villa oscura de los años 30 en una casa de cristal asombrosa inspirada en la obra de Pierre Chareau (y repleta de luz e iconos del diseño)
La asombrosa transformación de una oscura vivienda de los años 30 en una casa de cristal luminosa inspirada en la obra de Pierre Chareau Como muchas casas de los años 30, el interior de esta construcción situada en el barrio australiano de South Yarra, en Melbourne, estaba impregnado de carácter. ¿Pero de luz? No tanta.
Glass Block Structures Allow This 1930s Melbourne House to Be Bathed in Light
Like many 1930s houses, the interior of Catherine Hains’s in the Melbourne, Australia, suburb of South Yarra was drenched in character. But sunlight? Not so much. Hains and her children had lived in the historic four-bedroom home for 15 years, but after she hired local AD100 designer David Flack to transform her country house about two hours north, she turned attention to making her city place just as inviting.
Inside The Dreamy Alémais Sydney Office Designed To Inspire
Bold, colourful and expressive, the Sydney offices for fashion label Alémais were designed to stimulate the senses and breed creativity. Yasmine Ghoniem of YSG Studio was engaged to create the dreamy interiors inspiring the brand’s vibrant fashion designs, and she shares all the details here. WHAT WAS THE CONCEPT FOR THIS SPACE?
Office Interiors Get a Fashion-Inspired Makeover at Alémais’ Dreamlike Design Lab in Sydney
For years, office interiors have been a symbol of mediocrity; white walls, tube lighting, and an all-encompassing sterility designed to motivate focus and efficiency. But if the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the environments we work in have to do more than offer hot-desking or stable wifi. They should stimulate, satisfy, and inspire us to actually show up on a Monday morning at 8am.
Nine to Know | Ceramic Side Tables
Artistic and hand-sculpted forms elevate these nine ceramic side tables beyond functional pieces for the home. This instalment of our ‘Nine to Know’ series was first featured inside est magazine issue 55: ‘The Faces of Design’. 01. BZIPPY Single Tier Ruffle Side Table Designed by Los Angeles-based artist Bari Ziperstein, the BZippy Single Tier Ruffle side table is inspired by “bringing edges forward”, drawing on old-fashioned collars, curtain drapes and bed skirts. 02.
A calming family home in Sydney's east with blush tones
“I think there’s a ‘warrior-woman’ energy in my house with all the girls, so we wanted the space to be very relaxed,” says Sam, who lives with her husband Michael, their three young daughters and their dog in a semi-detached home overlooking the ocean. Sam engaged Shona McElroy of Smac Studio for the design and emphasised that she’d like the home to have a calming energy to balance the family’s vivacity, while making the most of space and light. Practicality for the kids was also top of mind.
Nine to Know | Expressive Stone
We explore nine examples of expressive natural stone for the bathroom. Defined by rich colours, distinctive textures and intricate patterns, this selection is designed to bring depth and character to any space. This instalment of our ‘Nine to Know’ series was first featured inside est magazine issue 54: ‘Time to Play’.
Sydney Cove House by Arent&Pyke
Having remained derelict for an extended period of time, the home was purchased in a dilapidated state in 2018 — requiring layout changes and a re-shuffling of rooms to accommodate modern life. A key part of the renovation was the creation of a kitchen that now occupies a newly built structure along a length of the courtyard; seamlessly connecting inside and out.
Malvern Residence III by Studio Tate
Signorino Super White marble dresses the kitchen, accentuated against a muted backdrop of pastel grey-blue cabinetry and brass details. Subtle moments of surprise are introduced through the glossy marine blue interiors of the bar cabinet to the Norwegian Rose stone discretely applied to the handles and shelving. Adjacent, the living room is in conversation with the leafy exterior landscape through the deep forest hues embedded in the carpet, furnishings and artwork.
Bathroom Covet | Open-air Bathing | est living
We step inside five open-air bathrooms that elevate the everyday act of bathing into an immersive ritual, embracing the restorative qualities of indoor-outdoor living. Gadigal Country / Sydney, Australia Designed by Sydney-based architecture studio Polly Harbison Design, the Copacabana Beach House is both understated and resilient, embodied by the indoor-outdoor bathroom.
Bathroom Covet | Open-air Bathing
We step inside six open-air bathrooms that elevate the everyday act of bathing into an immersive ritual, embracing the restorative qualities of indoor-outdoor living. Gadigal Country / Sydney, Australia Designed by Sydney-based architecture studio Polly Harbison Design, the Copacabana Beach House is both understated and resilient, embodied by the indoor-outdoor bathroom.
Arielle Lopresti and Teegan Cocchiaro of Lo & Co
Australian-owned architectural hardware company Lo & Co specialises in crafting high- quality products rooted in modern design principles. Co-founders Arielle Lopresti and Teegan Cocchiaro are dedicated to creating bespoke touchpoints for the home that stand out from the ordinary. With a shared design philosophy and aesthetic vision, Lo & Co reached out to leading Australian designer Claire Delmar, founder of Studio CD, to collaborate.
Ace Hotel Sydney by Flack Studio
The reception desk showcases a ceramic brick installation by James Lemon. The first Ace property to grace the Southern Hemisphere; Ace Hotel Sydney reimagines a historic site while forging an artistic benchmark for modern Australian design.
Questa casa sul mare dell’Australia, tra le onde più amate dei surfisti, combina stile industriale e giapponese
Questa casa sul mare dell’Australia è stata costruita su una duna di sabbia, a pochissimi metri dalle onde del mare. A scomodare la Bibbia, questa di MacMasters Beach, 90 chilometri a nord di Sydney, non parrebbe avere le caratteristiche della casa di un uomo saggio. Costruita su una duna di sabbia a 50 metri dalle onde che si infrangono, la villa è stata concepita da Jorge Hrdina Architects come un molo, ponte non soltanto ideale tra il mare e la terra.
A compact home bursting with colour and clever design
When designer David Flack of Flack Studio was enlisted to work on this project for owners Nicholas Slater and Zahra Sulaeman, he knew it was going to be tricky. Yet despite a conservative spend, a tiny block, a heritage facade and more than a few quirks, David accepted the job, turning hindrances and difficulties into opportunities. “Initially, we were hesitant because there was a very tight budget and so many unknowns. It was a problematic site but we love a bit of a challenge.
These Vegan Holiday Drinks Will Get You in the Festive Mood This Thanksgiving: Mocktails, Hot Toddy, and More
After a Thanksgiving feast, there’s nothing better than sitting back with family and friends and enjoying a glass (or mug!) of something special. Whether it’s a steaming cup of hot cocoa you’re after or you’re more into the hard stuff, we’ve compiled 10 tasty drink recipes below, all of which are perfect for indulging in over the holiday period. Jump to the drinks What drinks should you serve on Thanksgiving? Most people traditionally opt for wine over Thanksgiving.
Peach Season Is Fleeting, So Make These Recipes While You Can
The people of ancient China had a unique way of warding off evil spirits: peaches. Well, more specifically, the wood from peach trees. Sorcerers or shamans (called Wu) would carry peach rods with them, in a bid to protect ancient rulers from potential evil influences. Thousands of years on, peaches are still a big deal in China, where they have been cultivated for centuries. In fact, the country is now the biggest supplier of the popular fruit.
How to Grow Your Own Herbs This Summer (And the Best Ways to Eat Them)
If you want to elevate your cooking, herbs are a must. They enhance the flavor of most dishes without the need for extra salt, and research suggests they’re quite good for us, too. Like many fruits and vegetables, herbs contain vitamins and plant compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, albeit in smaller amounts. While it’s easy to stock up on herbs at the grocery store, it’s arguably more fun and rewarding to grow them yourself.
Call for Entries: Australian House & Garden Top 50 Rooms 2024
Australian House & Garden together with leading retailer Winning Appliances is thrilled to announce that entries are now open for the 2024 Top 50 Rooms showcase. In its 26th year, the competition celebrates interior design innovation, featuring beautiful rooms in a diverse range of categories. We are looking for projects that display an outstanding commitment to quality, creativity and functional design.
A Mediterranean-resort-style New Build in Sydney
With a spectacular outlook to the east over the harbour, and leafy district views west, this Sydney residence has been designed to allow the first light of day and the last rays of sunset to reach into its generous rooms.
Art Deco Colourful Freestanding Family Home Renovation
When David Flack was approached to design this house in Princes Hill his firm, Flack Studio, was a fledgling business with just a handful of projects to its name. That was in early 2016. One of those projects, however, was an apartment development for a property developer who just happens to be the owner of this house. The owner was determined, he says, that when the time came to renovate the rundown art deco duplex he'd recently purchased it would be David who would design it.
Feng Shui: A Guide To Mastering The Layout Of Your Home
The art of Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway) is an ancient Chinese practice with a history dating back 6000 years. It seeks to draw parallels between how we place certain objects around the home and your own personal well-being. A cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, if you will. The philosophy looks to elements like how your space is lit, the colours present, materiality, function and flow.
10 Furniture Boxing Day Sales To Shop 2023
Boxing Day is for leftover Christmas ham, clearing away wrapping paper, reading new books and — most importantly — sales. Once all of your guests have departed, you may be left with a long list of things that you felt were missing from this year's festivities, or that you'd like to replace before the next party season or event rolls around.
A Mediterranean-resort-style New Build in Sydney
With a spectacular outlook to the east over the harbour, and leafy district views west, this Sydney residence has been designed to allow the first light of day and the last rays of sunset to reach into its generous rooms.
Compact but clever multipurpose house wins World Interior of the Year Original
Alongside the main World Architecture Festival, the World Festival of Interiors has also recently taken place in Singapore. The event's judges have declared 19 Waterloo Street in Sydney, by SJB, as the winner of the World Interior of the Year for its clever installation of a multipurpose corner terraced house onto a compact site.
Common Renovation Regrets And How To Avoid Them
Ask anyone who has recently completed a home renovation — no matter how big or small — and we can almost guarantee that there is something they regret or wish they'd done differently. Maybe it's the colour of their kitchen joinery, or that they forgot to measure something properly. Maybe it's an issue they didn't know about until it was uncovered, which then ate into their budget considerably.
Creative And Practical Decorating Ideas For Renters
When it comes to decorating, renters face a particular set of challenges. Rental properties are, at best, decorated to someone else's taste and, at worst, dingy and soulless. But unlike homeowners, who can knock down walls and rip up floors to transform a space, renters can't even put a nail in the wall without the owner's permission.
Monochrome Coastal Light-Filled Renovation In Nelson Bay
Fifteen years ago, while visiting her in-laws in Nelson Bay, NSW, avid real-estate window shopper Susan found herself at an open inspection for a property well beyond her price range. "Not that we were even looking for a house, but I was intrigued," she recalls. The agent suggested Susan and husband Ken view a more affordable home nearby.
Greg Natale Lavish Luxurious Renovation Mansion
While interior designer Greg Natale applied his masterly brushstrokes to this grand Georgian Revival home in Melbourne's southeast a decade ago, the owners invited him back in 2019 to dab more lavish layers onto its vast canvas. And this was not gilding the lily – by retouching his earlier efforts, he has made the home into, some would say, a work of art. In such a huge home boasting seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms, not all the rooms were remodelled the first time around.
A Creative Restoration Of This Artist's Sydney Home
What would this room be like in the 19th century? It's a question Annie Kelly asked herself while creating her office in her inner-city terrace. "I had an idea in my mind that I wanted to bring to life," this writer and interior decorator tells me as we stand in the room, with its views over gum trees and the red terracotta tiled roofs that signify where we are almost more than any other architectural vernacular: Sydney.
A sweeping marble staircase soars at the entrance of this grand Sydney home
Consider the staircase, which can be a purely utilitarian way to access different levels or can make a dramatic and glamorous statement, catching the eye and setting the scene for what lies beyond.
30 Homewares You Should Own By 30
For most of us, our living situations in our 20s embraced either our parents' rent-free home, the worst rental in the best suburb, or even a bustling sharehouse. Our furniture and homeware collection was a mismatched assortment of hand-me-downs, thrift store finds, budget buys and whatever trend had taken our fancy that week. And it was fun. But as we approach the age of 30, our home starts to become not simply a means to an end, but rather a retreat at the end of the day.
A 750-Square-Foot Sydney Home Filled with Surprise Pops of Color and Playful Geometry
In her famous essay “Notes on ‘Camp’,” Susan Sontag defined camp as an expression of pointed, playful artifice and a delight in aesthetically exaggerated kitsch. This 750-square-foot house in Sydney embodies some of those qualities. Behind the light brick facade, with its fun geometric window openings, there’s a lot to discover. “We wanted it to be playful and reminiscent of the sweeping, zany aesthetic of a Jacques Tati movie,” says architect Adam Haddow.
Australian House & Garden Top 50 Rooms winners for 2023
Innovative, solution-focused and creative are just a few of the words that spring to mind to describe Australia's interior designers and architects. These qualities abound in our pick of the most magical rooms of 2023 – we hope you find them as inspiring as we did. We're pleased to present our pick of the most gorgeous spaces, proudly sponsored by Winning Appliances.
Former Cornershop-Turned-Apartment Speaks Volumes
It would be hard to picture a neglected inner-city Victorian-era corner store with a ramshackle collection of ad-hoc additions at the back as something that would have the makings of an award-winning future home. Even architect Adam Haddow couldn't see it at first. Adam is the principal of SJB and one of Australia's most highly regarded architects.
A Brick Bungalow Renovation That Honours Its Heritage
Amazingly, four generations of the one family have lived in this Arts and Crafts home in Sydney's inner west. With decades of family moments witnessed by those walls, when it came to a refresh, little wonder the current owners asked interior designer Marylou Sobel to honour its past while looking to a – literally – colourful future. The grandmother of one of the current owners bought the bungalow in 1940 and raised her family under its roof.
A Layred Home Nestled Within New Zealand's Landscape
On a property surrounded by 85 acres of New Zealand's exquisite mountainous landscape, Speargrass House exemplifies an outstanding integration of materials in its design. In collaboration with architects Sumich Chaplin, Arent&Pyke created a uniquely refined forever home for the family. "Given its hard-wearing nature, stone became our expressive canvas, lining walls, doors, plus bench and vanity surfaces," say designers Juliette Arent and Sarah-Jane Pyke.
M House by Rama Architects
Vote for this project in the Readers’ Choice Belle Fanuli Interior Design Awards 2023.
A Grand Home with a White Wedding Cake-Stye Facade Original
With its grand wedding cake-style facade, generous setback from the road and manicured grounds, this landmark 1885 home in Sydney's inner west could be dubbed the White House by passers-by. And, if its walls could talk, they would have some equally interesting tales to tell. "Our home's story is deep-rooted, as it has lived many lives," says the owner, who lives here with her husband and three sons, aged 16 and under.
7 natural cleaning tips for a healthy home
If you're like most Australians, you probably have kitchen and bathroom cupboards overflowing with sprays, scrubs, wipes and disinfectants. While you may use some or all of them to get your house clean and fresh, there's a real chance they're not doing you or your family much good in the long term.
Venetian Plaster: Everything You Need To Know
First thought to have been used by the Romans in the fourth century, Venetian plaster is a natural lime-based plaster wall and ceiling finish applied by specialist artisans in multiple coats, replicating the organic beauty of polished, natural stone. Here, we speak to industry experts about the product, why people are drawn to its multi-layered luminosity and its application.
7 Natural Cleaning Solutions
Spick and span without the chemicals? Sign us up. If you're like most Australians, you probably have kitchen and bathroom cupboards overflowing with sprays, scrubs, wipes and disinfectants. While you may use some or all of them to get your house clean and fresh, there's a real chance they're not doing you or your family much good in the long term.
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