Garden

The Best News Story Of 2021 So Far!

Polo

Maggie May and Josh Kelly, co-owners of gift shop and creative space Think Thornbury, went through the absolute ringer last year – more so than most. At just 28, Josh was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma (you can read more about that here). With a busy small business to take care of, as well as their then 18-month-year-old son Remy (oh, and also that global pandemic-driven statewide lockdown), to say the future was uncertain for this family of three would be an understatement.

That was back in October, and we are so thrilled to share that as of January, Josh is officially in remission! BEST NEWS EVER!

We caught up with Maggie May to chat about the last few months, the importance of supporting local small businesses, and what they’ve learned over the last year.

Hey Maggie! last time we caught up with you, Josh had just started chemo.

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Garden

A Contemporary Beach House Designed By An Architect For Her Parents!

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Depending on who you ask, designing a home for your parents could be either a dream or nightmare job. Luckily for Madeleine Blanchfield, it was the former!

The architect’s parents initially tasked her with designing their holiday house in Bendalong, on the NSW South Coast, but the result was so successful, they now live here full time!

Madeleine’s parents were open to a contemporary house from the outset, but nothing too flashy.

‘They are humble people, and wanted to build something that would not appear too bulky or ostentatious from the street and would not impact neighbours or the village feel that Bendalong has.’ Madeleine explains. Given the number of much-loved, owner-built homes in the area, this latter point was especially important.

In response, Madeleine devised a ‘simple and unassuming’ home using her signature stylish flair! ‘We chose to expose the structural system and referred to the simple post

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Garden

A Lean, Clean Renovation To A Grand Heritage Weatherboard

Polo

Flow can be a fickle beast when renovating heritage houses. Freeing up extra space, while also retaining the rhythms of the original home don’t always come hand in hand; so subtle transition spaces prove essential to providing continuity.

When nutting out how to connect the intact Victorian front with their plans for a breezy, contemporary renovation at the rear of this house in Williamstown, ioa Studio settled on light, in-built joinery to complete the task. A long wall of ceiling-high bookshelves eases the progression between old and new zones; connecting the living and dining room to the kitchen, as well as concealing ancillary spaces behind it.

At points throughout the open plan space, pockets of custom joinery are accompanied by glazing to create reading nooks and window outlooks to the pool, terrace and ivy-covered fenceline.

‘Before the renovation, the back portions of house had a lot of wasted space and

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Garden

Our (Free!) Small Business Summer School Is Here!

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Drum roll please! We’re launching something new and a bit different today, and we want YOU to be a part of it!

The Design Files Small Business Summer School is our inspiring new 4-part video series, designed to give you the kick-start you need to launch your dream business or side hustle in 2021!

This series is powered by Squarespace – the website building platform we recommend for anyone starting a small business! Using Squarespace’s all-in-one platform you can buy a domain, build a great-looking website, and even market your brand online. In this series, we’ll show you how to get started – from goal setting, to launching your website, and growing your community and sales online.

Our Small Business Summer School is not an expensive or complicated online course. All the content is short and sharp, it’s FREE and lives right here on our website – simply tune in

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Kitchen

How to Make a Floor to Ceiling Plate Rack on a Wall

Polo

A floor to ceiling plate rack wall that looks built-in doubles as a place for decorative storage as well as a way to enhance an awkward wall that is hard to decorate. Making one for your home is easy to customize to fit a wall of any size.

Plate racks and built-in plate rack walls are not anything new in the decorating world, but for me – it’s a first.

I have always liked them, but had a large china hutch in my previous home and didn’t really need another place to display my collection of white plates, pitchers and platters.

Now, after living without a dining room and that hutch in my current home for 5 years, I miss seeing my collection and wanted to find a way to display more of it in my kitchen. I have the collection of white pitchers and soup tureens on the open

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Garden

The 5 Rules Of Good Kitchen Design, According To Cantilever Interiors – The Design Files

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Layout

Determine the most functional layout for your space.

The ‘right’ kitchen layout is one that not only enhances the dimensions of your home, but improves the efficiency of your cooking and entertaining. 

A basic principle to keep in mind is whether your desired layout adheres to the ‘work triangle’ – a decades’ old idea that ensures a clear path between the food preparation area (usually the stovetop), cleaning area (sink), and food storage area (fridge and pantry).

Other factors to take into account are natural light sources, ceiling typology, spatial flow, doorway and window placement, adjacent room use, and service scope.

Don’t forget to also mark where your appliances will sit in the kitchen and their size at this stage!

‘Appliances are a cornerstone of kitchen design, and directly influence the outcome’, says Kylie. ‘Your appliance choice will be influenced by the food you make, the spatial and architectural

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