The Design Files' Top Ten Australian Homes Of 2021

A Dreamy, Nostalgic Family Home in Melbourne’s Suburbs

The Malvern East, Victoria, family home of Anastasia Elias, owner of Elias Mercantile, was already beautiful when upon purchasing in 2017, but simplistic additions over the years had stripped the interiors of character.

Walking through the updated home now, it’s not immediately obvious what’s original and what’s new. What is abundantly clear is just how much love and care has been poured into this beautiful renovation!

Not only have the couple succeeded in opening up the space to suit their young family’s lifestyle, they’ve instilled a more ‘lived-in’ feel through the use of recycled materials, relaxed furnishings, and by planting an enchanting garden.

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Louella Boitel Gill’s Loved And Layered Bungalow By The Beach

The Bangalow home of interior and furniture designer Louella Boîtel-Gill started out as a dreamy holiday home for Sydney-based Louella and her two children, but all that changed in 2020! Not long after COVID hit, Louella learned a Steiner school in Byron had a place for her two children, Chilli, 14, and Indigo, 13, inspiring a very spontaneous move.

Despite being in NSW, this quaint weatherboard home is a typical ‘Queenslander’ in style – a single story timber dwelling with verandah, raised up above ground level. The home was already in good condition prior to moving in, but some additional updates were undertaken for improved liveability. ‘We pulled out the wall that divided the kitchen from the main living space, and took out the two support pillars putting a beam in to span across the room,’ Louella says. The interior spaces have also been styled with Louella’s signature rustic, relaxed feel, with a neutral base palette, and accent colours of Dulux Classic Calm and Silent Sage. 

Louella aptly describes the completed home as a ‘happy space that seems to make people feel instantly comfortable.’ She has an unbelievable knack for making her homes feel so loved and well-lived in! 

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This Brand New Home Looks Like A 100-Year-Old Greek Villa… In Northern NSW!

Very few people can build a new house with the patina and character of a heritage home, but that’s exactly what Andrew and Anna Swain have achieved on their Brunswick Heads, NSW, property.

Using recycled timbers, salvaged windows and antique tiles, the couple have created a home with an authentic Mediterranean feel. The property is nicknamed ‘Hydra’ after the family’s favourite Greek Island, where this property would truly look at home!

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Jenna and Josh Densten’s Dreamy New Family Home

We were honoured to share the first look of serial renovators Jenna and Josh Densten’s new North Melbourne earlier this year.

Located behind their previous pint-sized house, the couple recently added a new, larger family house designed by Foomann Architects to the block.

The result; a seriously stunning and calming space, offering the comfort and tranquility of a day spa, with the practicality to suit a young family of four!

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Poppy Lissiman + Harrison Kennedy’s Fashionably Rustic Fremantle Home

The Fremantle, Western Australia, home of Poppy Lissiman and Harrison Kennedy feels like a beautiful boutique hotel, combining influences of retail, hospitality and residential design into the one unique space.

The couple bought the Tuscan villa-style house earlier this year, proceeding to renovate the space for improved outdoor connections and plenty of personality. Their secret weapon – Harrison’s mum and acclaimed architect Louise St John Kennedy, who designed the updated house plans.

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An Architect’s Breathtaking Mid-Century Home On The Great Ocean Road

After nine years pining after the one house in Lorne, Victoria, architect Josh Crosbie made it his own in 2020.

The house was originally built in 1965 by the same family who eventually sold it to Josh. Its long, mid-century form sits elegantly in the landscape, perched directly above a small cliff on the Great Ocean Road.

Since moving in, Josh has added a lower floor to the house and completed some sympathetic restorations. What he hasn’t touched are the ocean-facing facade, hardwood journey, or kitchen floor tiles – original features he deems ‘off-limits!’

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A Leading Architect’s Compact And Clever Fitzroy Family Home

When Karen Alcock, principal of MAArchitects, and her partner Jojo bought this interwar Fitzroy, Victoria, house back in 2006, the floor plan was a mere 45 square metres.

Despite the home’s small size, overgrown garden, and laneway-facing location, the couple saw potential. They eventually underwent a complete renovation and small extension of the property in 2010.

To keep the height of the building down, a split level was created on the ground floor, allowing an upstairs bedroom to tuck in behind the existing roof.

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A Boarding House Turned Gorgeous, Rambling + Indestructible Family Home!

Keryn Nossal (aka Nancy, owner of Fancy Films and St Andrew’s Beach accommodation Coastal Luxe) and Stephen Nossal bought this St Kilda West, Victoria, house 18 years ago. The property was in an incredibly rundown state at the time, having operated as a boarding house for decades, then being separated into flats.

Keryn says it’s taken minor renovations almost every year to get the property to where it is today, with the help of friend and architect Susi Leeton. The home’s grand Victorian bones now serve as the perfect backdrop for Keryn and Steve’s beautiful collection of contemporary and Indigenous art, ceramics, and eclectic furniture mostly bought from op shops.

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An Owner-Built, Architect-Designed Renovation Of A Charming 1920s Melbourne Home

Interior decorator Lauren Egan and photographer Glenn Hester were unsuccessful at numerous auctions before coming across this 1920s house in Preston, Victoria. The property needed urgent work both indoors and out, but Lauren instinctually knew they’d found the one!

After an initial renovation in 2012, Lauren and Glenn engaged Project 12 Architecture in 2018 to design an extension, adding more living space, another bedroom and bathroom. Originally the couple were seeking a major overhaul, but after undertaking a career change and opening co-working and photography studio Council Street in Clifton Hill, they settled on a more modest design. One of Lauren’s inspired ideas was introducing a varied colour palette, eliminating all internal white walls in the process.

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A Modern Family’s Treetop Rental Property

According to her housemates Albee Barton (creative movement and yoga instructor, and the owner of Green Monday Studios) and Justyn Burrows (psychology student), Tilly Barber has a ‘borderline obsession’ with scanning the property market. Luckily, this obsession sometimes comes in handy, such as when she spotted this North Warrandyte home for rent in late 2020!

Tilly did a drive-by of the property, and within 15 minutes she was encouraging Albee and Justyn to apply alongside six-year-old son Mars and her. ‘The property spoke to our SOULS,’ says Tilly. ‘We knew the house was worth the energy and we would stop at nothing on the off chance that we might be approved. We put our best foot forward and with a stroke of luck and a lot of pressing, it was ours.’

The ‘70s property with its original red brick flooring and timber ceilings is the perfect backdrop for the group’s furniture, most of which has been collected by Tilly, who owns the furniture restoration and sourcing business Home body. 

‘We have coined the term ‘semi-harmonious hodgepodge!’ says Tilly of their home’s decorating aesthetic. ‘It’s a real mix of vintage, handmade and salvaged furniture – quite a lot of it is revived or hard waste – complemented by art and objects by makers we admire. Simultaneously, it’s quite minimal.’

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