Spectacular windows and gorgeous building, what a view overcast or not!

Gosh those stained glass windows are divine. What a totally gorgeous home…elegant, interesting and personal. I love everything about it!!

Oh golly, how dare you post houses that sometimes look somewhat similiar on your amazing free blog. It’s probably so easy to go and photograph houses that busy people live in as well- why don’t you post one house tour every day, maybe even one every hour?!
I can’t believe people. YOU GUYS DO SUCH A FREAKIN AMAZING JOB.

And this house is particularly stunning! Love all the artwork in this one.

those windows – devine

Jennie, you are spot on! Don’t apologise and please keep doing what you’re doing – an awesome job!!

This is a really lovely home xx

Tessa is one of the most beautiful, talented, inspiring women you will ever meet. Beautiful house. Beautiful person.

I walk past this church regularly and have always wondered about the living spaces inside – how stunning! Thanks for the tour Lucy :-)

Oh to live in a converted *insert warehouse/church/barn here* I love the windows, it would be so magical in that kitchen in the morning.

Meanwhile, all Aussie homes will have some theme going through them, it’s what makes them Aussie… most of us shop at similar stores live in the same cities… you guys do an amazing job and I’ve loved seeing more interstate homes that have different stories to tell.

Thanks to Steven, Tessa and Mila for sharing their beautiful home with us. Lucy, you do an ace job finding and photographing many many unique homes and I was so sad for you about some comments made last week. Can I make a suggestion that the Wednesday blog not provide a section for comments – some of the comments leave a bad taste in the mouth … Claire being case in point today. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Love it – warm and original

The aussie homes feature is my favourite part of The Design Files. Personally I don’t find them ‘samey’ at all.

I agree with everything Poppy said.
Love TDF, you rock Lucie.
Engracia

I agree with everyone here – the only ‘sameness’ on TDF is that all the houses featured are AMAZING! Every publication has an aesthetic, which is proof of its honesty and integrity. If you want to see a cross section of Aussie home decorating, browse a real estate website. Though I imagine people would then be running back to TDF after washing their eyes ;)

Anyway, what a lovely home you have Tessa B & fam! BEST stained glass windows I’ve ever seen!!

Dear Lucy & TDF team,
It is simply a measure of your success that people are mounting such criticisms. That you are copping it can be worn as a badge of honour. If you weren’t so popular the obvious riposte to critics would be: “Well, go start your own goddamn blog.” But they can’t very well, can they, because TDF has already captured the audience for such things with such finesse and passion. So, while it’s always good to self-reflect and engage with criticism, I reckon that one way of looking at is is as a congratulatory gesture to you guys. Thanks for doing a tremedous job and allowing us to indulge in interior-design-porn on a Wednesday. I always look forward to it: thanks for your good work.

I love every house you put up and eagerly anticipate the house tour post every week! Keep up the good work.

I love this house and thank you for sharing it with us. I love the stained glass and imagine sitting in that tower is a delight everyday. I have to say though I find it bizarre to suggest that comments should be blocked. TDF is clearly a personal passion for Lucy and I am grateful that she has provided a unique insight into the Australian aesthetic which I think demonstrates that there are a whole range of styles out there. I’ve learned about a lot of new things and people and turn to the pages for inspiration. But, it is not a volunteer role – this is Lucy’s business which she presumably funds with advertising and some level of affiliation. Nothing wrong with this and she is always totally ethical in declaring her sponsorship (with mini, for example) where it occurs and she clearly features creatives or products because she loves them and champions their work not because she is “paid” to. Having said that, I think it is healthy to have people comment on what works for them and what doesn’t. No-one deserves to have the comment boxes become a raging torrent of abuse or snide remarks but if one can not comment “can we have a bit more this and a bit less that” how else will Lucy get feedback on what her audience’s preferences? Personally, I’d like to see a few more houses outside of the Melbourne/Sydney/North Coast region (it was the Canberra house of Jane Petterson which led me TDF in the first place) but I also recognise that those areas have a greater volume of places to chose from so I read each day with pleasure. I think TDF is an amazing success story and I hope it continues to thrive.

Great house, thank you! Gorgeous garden, dining setting and general Danish furniture (a bit of a tease though, as I wished we could see inside the tower, and more of the living room – a tour doesn’t seem complete with some sofa gawking :)

Such a gorgeous + talented pair! Well deserved. I love this home…. home envy (heart)

Nice to see my favourite shop Kazari getting a mention!

While people are entitled to criticism, I dont feel that your houses are the same at all. The work you produce is amazing

Lovely home. What colour are the walls painted?

Poppy, I’m confused.. I don’t see a comment by “Claire”, snarky or otherwise. (Or are we talking about last week’s maelstrom?)
This “Clare” can only add superlatives – such a glorious, light and personality-filled space. It must be calming to live in, as well as inspiring to work in.
Not every home featured appeals to me but that’s my taste, my opinion (if I choose to express it in this forum) is just that. Making derogatory or spiteful comments on other people’s taste and style is uncool. Kartell comes back to bite you.

I enjoy TDF and appreciate the dedication, creative energy and good humour invested in it – every post sparks interest, curiosity, joy, nostalgia, good ideas in some way.. . Thanks!

RattyClare – I think Lucy is starting to delete negative comments. OH NO! Freedom of speech I say.
But I guess all the deals she has with Jardan + Great Dane she can’t have any negativity.

Hi, I agree that those who “comment” should be allowed to offer constructive criticism otherwise all the “gorgeous” comments become meaningless and no further insight is gained. I agree re the sameyness though I think it has more to do with age of the demographic and the old argument wether the media shapes or reflects its audience. The older couple with their original 60″s house was unique because they are not the blogs demographic. Back in the day their house probably looked like lots of their mates too. I enjoyed seeing Babette Hayes” house in House and Garden as her home managed to look current but incorporated looks from the 70″s, 80’s and 90″s. I always joke that you can tell how long a couple have been together by the colour of their Le Crueset casserole wear and the same goes for houses.
Sally

Lucy – it’s your site and you’ve built it from scratch to be so successful/influential. Regular readers must come back for a certain style (your style). I say do whatever you damn well please!

Though still totally on board if stretching boundaries show us more places like this one; Tessa & co.’s home is great!

Loved the concept, and, so peaceful.
Inner city living at its best!

Oh dear lord! I absolutely can not for the life of me understand this. Lucy and her team work their butts off to bring you a free, let me say it again, F.R.E.E, beautiful blog every single freaking day! And you want to, not only critique her, but go out of your way to be damn right rude and then you want to take a pot shot at her for selling ad space on her beautiful site. Excuse me? Do you pay for a subscription to this blog? Honestly. Chill the hell out! If you don’t like it, don’t read it. And if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say it at all. Maybe even try a little positivity with that keyboard. Better yet, start your own blog and get back about that whole ‘pleasing everyone all the time’ thing.

To the TDF, keep up your ace work girls and boys. Many of us positive souls love and appreciate what you do. xx

I would love to live in a converted space like this one one day. I think it is so interesting to give spaces that were designed for one particular use another functionality and see how new vocabularies can be born.

Another beautiful, unique home!
Although I don’t agree with much of what was posted last week, please don’t head down the road of deleting comments (unless they truly are offensive). I have always respected your blog for not offering a sanitised comment section. The diversity of opinions in the comments is surely testament to the diverse range of styles you showcase on this blog….isn’t it? Stay respectful people.

Gorgeous home….that kimono is stunning!

On a side note having just today visited Jardan and having been lucky enough to tour the whole of the factory and design areas and seeing exactly how an Australian Owned, Designed and Made Company is run I think we should all aim to have such beautiful furniture and homewares in our homes and I’m more than happy to see it over and over on your site. Too many good Australian Companies are closing their doors….I for one will be consciously choosing to buy more Australian furniture and homewares in the future and thank you TDF team for supporting such Australian businesses and individuals, up and coming, small and large!

Totally agree with Amanda – surely some feedback around ‘more of this, less of this’ is going to be healthy for what is essentially a growing business? (in this case both TDF and the interiors business). If constructive feedback isn’t welcome in the comments, then you might want to design more flexible feedback surveys – I did the one a little while ago because I genuinely wanted to let you guys know what parts of TDF I love and what parts I could maybe live with less of (knowing mine is just one opinion among many differing opinions), and basically couldn’t find a way to reflect my opinions in many of the fields, and I don’t recall there being a space for general comments – it felt like a bit of a waste of time to be honest, as I wouldn’t say the answers allowed on the form reflected my actual opinions. Hopefully this feedback is taken in the positive manner it is intended – I wouldn’t bother to comment (or fill in the form in the first place) if I didn’t generally really like TDF and it’s content.

Really lovely home- the kimono really caught my eye. Keep up the great work TDF team!

Wow love this house, but I too agree with Amanda honest feedback (without being mean) surely just lets Lucy know the design direction that is or isn’t inspiring her audience. So please no deleting if its just a differing opinion. p.s I also thought last weeks home was lovely and loved all the wallpaper touches. Good work to all the TDF crew.

Another gorgeous home tour thank u Lucy :) I think its wonderful to see people buying beautiful Australian goods and I would love to see more of them not less.

A beautiful house for a beautiful lady! On top of being a jeweller and a mother/wife, Tessa is also a tutor at RMIT University for Interior Design. Amazing house Tessa!

I absolutely love peeking into people’s homes every Wednesday, even if they’re not to my taste each week. I agree that the homes often show Jardan furniture, Loom rugs, certain Australian artists etc but why wouldn’t you buy such beautiful, well made, high quality pieces and support Australian designers and retailers if you can?!

This apartment is delightful, inspiring and original. How fortunate to live in a space with such a sense of history. Thank you for showing us this home.

I have been a keen reader of this blog for the last 12 months and noted a real change in the tone of some of the posts, a little aggressive at times. Can those people remember that no one is forcing them to view these homes, just read another blog!

I agree with alot of these comments. I have noticed jardan and other brands being shown alot on this blog. I support supporting Australian made and designed products – what I don’t support is Lucy’s biased towards certain brands. There are other brands out there – they just don’t have the marketing power as certain brands. There is alot of negativity towards this blog in the design industry. There is an Australian Idenity currently it’s being governed by 2 people Lucy and Jardan.

A lot of the criticism about bias towards brands is based on false assumptions.

My home was featured last week. I have a number of Jardan pieces. For the record, all four of the items shown last week were purchased early in 2008 when our renovation was complete and before The Design Files existed. I believe two of the items are no longer even current designs (the grey Profile couch and the grey Coco armchair).

The armchair and side table were bought heavily-discounted at a warehouse sale. The armchair was a plain brown fabric and was recently re-upholstered to make it look brand new again. The table was also purchased at a reduced price because it was a display item and showed signs of wear.

Lucy and Eve came and photographed my house as it is and only after that was I asked to detail what the various items were. It’s highly unlikely that she would have been aware of what brand these items were, especially as two of them aren’t produced by Jardan anymore and others weren’t in the sample photos sent through of my home.

It’s not fair that Lucy should be copping this criticism just because I love this brand and chose to support a then little-known local business. Their success since then is a credit to their beautiful design and craftsmanship.

I love this and everything you post. What I can’t understand is how these people can afford all these beautiful homes, things, etc. Lucky things…

I recognised the aesthetic immediately and only realised afterwards that this home belongs to Steven Blick! Steven is my hairdresser and a bloody brilliant one at that. His hairdressing studio in the city is so similar and just as beautiful. What a home!

Ok I only just read last weeks and todays comments.I never posted it but alway wondered why Jardan was always in so many homes here as I never see the brand anywhere else.I also was only discussing with a friend only a few weeks back how all the houses looked like they were all copying each other from this site and it was getting so samey the last year.I also thought last weeks house did seem like it was completely done using common bits from TDF houses and it probably just made a few people crack.I just did not look like it evolved naturally at all or that was the instant perception I got.
I always hope to see something amazing so it’s quite a downer to get the same thing so often.Not sure where but I feel like I’ve seen that crimson vintage Kilim rug so many times I wish to never see one again.
For TDF to remain great we need constructive critiquing but maybe it should be emailed direct before it gets to this point.

THANKYOU ALL for your comments guys, particularly appreciate the amazingly supportive words from most of you – thankyou all! I’m also super grateful for Suzanne’s comment (Suzanne was the homeowner from last week’s Box Hill home) – such good points Suzanne! As you know I had no idea the couches were from Jardan until after the shoot when you provided the captions actually! Perhaps people are just less inclined to give me the provenance of their furniture if and when it is from some more mainstream or less respected retailer? Not sure. ANYWAY thankyou Suzanne and sorry again for so much hoo-haa over your beautiful home, which I personally LOVED!

I’m closing the comments on this thread now, as it seems we’ve exhasuted all possible angles on this debate!

Anywaayyy I’m off to bed. Just you WAIT until tomorrow’s post, I just finished it.. it’s a ripper! And if anyone tells me it’s boring / same same / yawn / biased etc I will slash my wrists JUST KIDDING, kidding, don’t worry I won’t slash my wrists I’ll just keep blogging everyday regardless ;) x

BIG LOVE to you all, thanks for reading. xxx