Home & Style

Each Loom towel is made using certified organic cotton and dyes.

Savvy Shopper: Home and dry with Loom Towels

Alexia Biggs   Self-taught textile designer Mikala James works with a small community in Turkey who still use traditional techniques.

Scouring the bookshops

Hancock's drawings are accurate and finely detailed, yet playful and whimsical at the same time.

Erin Munro   We tend to think of minimalist style and apartment living as a contemporary concern.

Collector's corner

The kitchen is the hub of Bev Killick’s home.

Erin Munro   A funny thing happened to comedian Bev Killick while riding on a Melbourne tram.

House of surprise

Pamela Makin and Reg Byrne enjoy the sound of the sea in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

Helen McKenzie   This beachside award-winner has a conversation piece at every turn.

Bright sparks

Viktor Legin and Ed Linacre of Copper ID.

Chris Pearson   Meet five lighting makers whose talent is wowing the design world.

Living it up

Plus Architecture created a tranquil living room.

Beverley Johanson   The lifestyle your apartment offers is just as important as the bricks and mortar.

Seeing the light

Warm, honey-coloured timbers and matte whites are prominent throughout the home.

Warm timbers, matte whites and open spaces have given a dingy house new life.

Editor's choice

Grace Brown has drawn on a range of antiquities and postmodern furniture.

Veronica Ridge   HomeStyle editor Veronica Ridge tracks down creative places and new products that are cool and covetable.

The last laugh

Fun parlour: Dave and Holly with their children Raff , 6, Tess, 3 and Sadie, 4

Joanne Brookfield   Comedian Dave Hughes dislikes renovating and building. So how did he end up with a brand-new architect-designed house?

Wet and wow

Dive in: Aloha Pools pool of the year in 2013.

Erin Munro   No longer separate from the rest of the garden, swimming pools are making a splash as the centrepiece of Australian backyards, with special features, year-round relevance and speciality landscaping.

Azure allure

POOL PRODUCT 9

Erin Munro   It's playtime in the pool. Erin Munro finds some toys to enliven your water world.

Shine on

The exterior individuality, by senior designer Joshua Amsellem, has been reflected on the inside by the practice's ...

Beverley Johanson   The luxe beauty of brass complements the design of 50 new apartments.

Free spirit

"I guess what you'd say about this place is it's me, a lot of people say to me,'it's like walking through your soul'."

Erin Munro   Paula Evans has infused her home with a vibrant ambience similar to the one that has lured clients to her bayside Melbourne boutique.

Wake up to glamour

Diane Bergeron creates a refuge by choosing cool jade as the accent colour teamed with a fur throw and handy buttoned bench.

Chris Pearson   Time to turn the main bedroom into the ultimate retreat.

Scouring the bookshops

Inside <I>Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint Workbook</i>.

Erin Munro   Annie Sloan launched her trademark line of Chalk Paint more than two decades ago.

Editor's choice

$1190. Space, 629 Church Street, Richmond; Kartell Sydney, Chatswood. spacefurniture.com.au

Veronica Ridge   HomeStyle editor Veronica Ridge tracks down creative places and new products that are cool and covetable.

Are You a Toxic Waste Disposal Site?

Substances in homes can harm children’s development.

NICHOLAS KRISTOF   Regardless of where you live, there are toxic chemicals in your home. For that matter, in you.

Decluttering guru Marie Kondo is back with more life-changing magic

Organisation expert and bestselling author, Marie Kondo.

Anna Fifield   Just in time to make good on your New Year's vow to get organised, Marie Kondo, the self-described "crazy tidying fanatic" who has sparked the world with her joy for decluttering, has a new book to help you clean up your act.

Are men or women better at assembling Ikea furniture?

Actor Ryan Reynolds struggling with Ikea's infamous flat pack furniture.

Jeff Guo   The putting together of flat-pack furniture is the new battle of the sexes.

Beyond the backyard

Captivating lifestyle: the new project combines luxury modern convenience with outstanding communal living facilities.

Beverley Johanson   A new precinct of luxury apartments is about to change Moonee Ponds for the better.