The Local Project

SLS Properties At Aether House, the latest project by Los Angeles design-build firm SLS Properties, atmosphere is not simply an effect but the foundation. “Most people associate luxury with something immediate and loud. What I try to create is a slower kind of impact.” Sfadia describes the project as an attempt to reframe what luxury means in built form. “Most people associate luxury with something immediate and loud,” he says.

Designed by Nickolas Gurtler Office, the Plumbline Melbourne showroom introduces the New Zealand bathware brand to the Australian design community. Given the close cultural relationship between New Zealand and Australia, the brand’s move to the latter was natural. “We chose to work with Nickolas Gurtler because we wanted to be brought out of our comfort zone,” explains Joshua Gullaci, head of Plumbline’s growth and partnerships in Australia.

Intrim Intrim’s bespoke timber mouldings help Convict Interiors reinstate Victorian-era character to a terrace in Sydney’s Potts Point, restoring scale, proportion and craft to a stripped-back heritage home. Wainscoting, picture rails and oversized skirting boards were introduced throughout to break up the wall plane and reconnect the interior with its heritage origins. Ceiling heights reaching 3.9 metres in the entry and front rooms gave that restraint real stakes from the outset.

LYMT and Smac Studio Occupying a restored Paddington terrace, TheEND’s new Sydney flagship blurs the boundaries between gallery, home and retail through a carefully choreographed interior experience by LYMT and Smac Studio. Throughout the showroom, oversized lighting, sculptural plaster elements and curved openings establish a layered dialogue between old and new. Previously used as a hairdressing salon, the Victorian terrace had sat vacant for several years before its transformation.

Bidgood Located on the rocky coastline of Victoria, British Columbia, Cliffside Residence is shaped by Californian mid-century influence, with an indoor-outdoor sensibility expressed through a timeless earthy palette and playful moments of vibrancy.

Aura is a retreat that feels unmistakably like home, balancing quiet moments of solitude with space for meaningful family connection. A calm counterpoint to the demands of fast-paced working life, it gives its occupants room to withdraw and unwind. “The design avoids unnecessary complexity, instead allowing clarity of space and movement to shape how the home is lived in.” Aura departs from the usual Gold Coast residential typology.

Fresh off an inspiring visit to Milan Design Week 2026, co-founders of Lowe Living Emma and Tim Lowe discuss the ideas influencing the next generation of contemporary living.

Urban Habitats For Adelaide building designer Urban Habitats, The Pearl began not with an addition but with careful subtraction. Rather than expanding the heritage villa, the design reworks what was already there, bringing its light, space and character back to the surface. The Pearl demonstrates the value of restraint, showing how thoughtful design can transform a home not by adding more but by revealing what was already there.

Home to a couple and their children, this three-bedroom Sydney penthouse by Co:Aika reimagines the conventional idea of a family residence in the heart of the city. Co:Aika curated each space with the intention of revealing something beyond its expected function. Honed marble tiles underfoot and timber-lined surfaces at the entry, together with the family’s mirrored gold wall art, set the tone for the grandeur and sophistication that unfolds deeper within the home.

In Toorak, Melbourne, ALESI Group refines an existing apartment through architectural restraint, natural materials and precise craftsmanship, creating a cohesive, timeless home defined by subtlety, clarity and enduring quality. A pared-back composition of natural stone and soft neutrals moves seamlessly across the kitchen, bathrooms and joinery. At its core, the renovation is guided by spatial clarity and material consistency.