Australian House & Garden Specials

We are fortunate to have an abundance of creative and lateral thinkers in Australia - not just those in the design industry but lots of imaginative personalities. At art launches and design events I am always pleased to see the inner creativity of people who have demanding corporate professions. They often say their jobs are a little dry, but pursuing those professions can allow the financial independence to decorate and build a creative sanctuary where your true style can be displayed. I love seeing the artworks and carefully curated pieces people choose to live with. Two of our subjects in this special issue are serious trailblazers in the world of publishing: Robyn Holt, who launched the Vogue brand in Russia and was once chief executive of Condé Nast Australia, and…

Calves are calling to their mothers in the distance as Robyn Holt walks up the driveway. “Come and see the garden first,” she insists, and I’m not about to say no to the woman who launched the Vogue brand in Russia and was once chief executive of Condé Nast Australia. This invitation is hardly surprising from someone who confesses that The Diggers Club catalogue is one of her favourite things to read, usually found on top of a pile of books at the avid reader’s bedside. “I adore books,” she says. The former editor of Vogue Living clearly adores gardens and houses, too. We meet on a clear sunny day. It’s perfect weather for gardening in a small town in the NSW Southern Highlands, where Robyn and her husband, Jim,…

Many people have told me over the years that the kitchen is the heart of their home. For Elizabeth Hewson it truly is. It’s the place she longs to be and the place where she is happiest. “I love to feed people,” she tells me, tucking baby Remi under one arm while looking for her four-year-old son Louis’ favourite toy car. And feed people she certainly does. It started with a cookbook, Moving Out… Eating In, published when she was only 21, which was followed by Saturday Night Pasta in 2020 and now her column in The Weekend Australian Magazine inspires an audience of nearly 800,000 each week. We are talking in the light-filled kitchen where the magic happens. Lizzie, which is what most people call her, carefully tests recipes…

Design dynamo Joss Knight of Studiojos rents this light-soaked townhouse in Sydney’s Inner West, but even as a rental, the abode still offers generous scope for him to channel his creative energies and showcase his classic style. Joss moved into the property two years ago with his good friends, Jake and James. “We were looking for a brand new property that could comfortably accommodate three young professionals,” he says. “Proximity to work was also a key factor, and, being just minutes from the Sydney CBD, made it an ideal choice.” Comprising three levels, the four-bedroom terrace offered plenty to love, with two bedrooms and a two-car garage on the ground level. The living areas occupy the first floor, while two more bedrooms, both with ensuites, occupy the top. But the…

An 18-month sabbatical on Lake Annecy in Haute-Savoie, France, has provided endless inspiration for Anna Kennard, both in the design of her home and in the creation of Sydney vintage and antiques business, Dusty Luxe. Born in England and educated in Scotland, Anna spent years travelling to her parents’ workplaces in Borneo, Libya, Yemen and Abu Dhabi as an “expat kid” before settling in Australia at the age of 23. Her upbringing certainly broadened her perspective, but the time spent in France was the most formative. While her three children attended the local school, Anna and husband Cameron spent their days learning French, exploring the lake and nearby mountains and, on weekends, fossicking in the local brocantes, vide-greniers and estate sales, developing a passion for French antiques. Returning to Sydney,…

Stuart Membery has spent a lot of his life living out of a suitcase, but he’s not complaining. Far from it. “A suitcase forces you to choose and makes you edit down to the things you love the most. And that’s what the job of a designer is: to edit. A poor designer is one who loves everything. A good designer is one who has refined their taste,” he says. And there you have it. The key to the Membery brand. One thing is very clear – this is a man who definitely does not love everything, but he knows exactly what he does like. It’s an ethos he honed in the world of fashion. The Stuart Membery label was launched in 1982 when the Perth-born designer decided to branch…