Living

With a large, rolling block to fill, Susan and Michel searched for a recycled house that could provide the basic structure for their new home.

Alex Harratt and Judith Najee run Fox and Mint, an interior design business focusing on the commercial market. But with the birth of their daughter, they realised that they needed to put some energy into their own space.

Building your own home can be a challenge, but Richard and Lyn Malcolm, the team behind Design Studio 22, found it both a pleasure and a challenge to create their ideal home. The design has gone on to win a Building Designers Association of Australia 2007 National Design Award and countless compliments from friends and family.

This family home, set on a sloping block and bordered on three sides by rainforest, was originally the residence of the town's postmaster-general. It had been moved from the centre of town to its current location and re-clad in weatherboard but, despite this and its idyllic location, was still extremely difficult to live in.

This home has a lot more going for it than your average residential dwelling. Not only is it designed with environmental sustainability in mind, it also includes wheelchair access, a home office and a bed and breakfast.

The Shuetrim household needed storage options, but when they looked at cheaper storage companies they were unimpressed with the finishes on their products. "A friend recommended Creative by Design, and we chose to go with them because they looked like they had good quality work."

"It was a damp, dark, cold courtyard that was never being used," says owner Lorna Wallace of her home before the extensions. "And of course, Melbourne being Melbourne, anytime we went to entertain outside it would always end up being drizzly, dreary weather."

This stylish home boasts a clever contemporary design where the original owners were also the designers. To that end, they had done a stunning job on the home, which meant not a lot needed to be done to the place when John and Caroline moved in. But what they did need help with was their interior decorating, so they got in touch with interior designer Heidi Barreau from Plume to help them choose their furniture and decorations.

The relatively unassuming appearance of this new home in north Queensland's idyllic Palm Cove is entirely intentional. Owners Alix and John were looking to achieve a fine balance between a traditional Palm Cove beach shack and a slick, modern home. The result, by Cairns-based architects Studio Mango, is a wholly successful interpretation of this brief.

This unusual home on the Western Australian coast fits in perfectly with its location, with the sweeping curve of the roof seeming to mimic the lines of a boat's sail.