Twelve Black is a contemporary family home designed for comfort, function and quiet drama. The design centres around a refined black palette, softened by natural light and grounded in durable, low-maintenance materials—ideal for a busy family lifestyle. Open-plan living spaces connect seamlessly to the outdoors, with a functional layout that balances communal areas and private retreat zones. Thoughtfully detailed joinery, built-in storage and a flexible kitchen and dining hub support modern day-to-day living. While bold in appearance, the home’s simplicity allows family life to take centre stage.

Rosalie House by KIRK is located in one of Brisbane’s most established inner city suburbs. This 5-bedroom family home sits on a hillside among the peaks and gullies that characterises the suburb of Paddington. Rosalie House has a solid base that rises up as a 3-storey lightweight structure. The exterior is predominantly recycled Tallowwood weatherboard and pre-weathered zinc cladding – KIRK’s interpretation of the timber and tin tradition that is prevalent in the area. Sun-shading and privacy is achieved with operable timber screens and external venetian blinds that sit in front of a bespoke timber window joinery. The planning of the house is organised to address the views towards the city on the North-East and Mt Coot-tha on the South-West. The resulting building footprint provides private courtyards and landscaped terraces adjacent to the main living spaces. The interior is an ensemble of Red Mahogany timber flooring and Jarrah timber panelling on backdrop of white plaster walls and white-set ceilings. Environmental features of the house include solar hot water, 40,000L in-ground rainwater storage for landscape irrigation and low energy lighting. Photo Credits: Scott Burrows

This Hamptons Villa celebrates summer living by opening up onto a spacious lawn bordered by lush vegetation complete with a 20 m pool. The villa is positioned on the north end of the site and opens in a large swooping arch both in plan and in elevation to the south. Upon approaching the villa from the North, one is struck by the verboding monolithic and opaque quality of the form. However, from the south the villa is completely open and porous. Architecturally the villa speaks to the long tradition of gable roof residential architecture in the area. The villa is organized around a large double height great room which hosts all the social functions of the house; kitchen, dining, salon, library with loft and guestroom above. On either side of the great room are terraces that lead to the private master suite and bedrooms. As the program of the house gets more private the roof becomes lower. Hosting artists is an integral part of the culture of the Hamptons. As such our Villa provides for a spacious artist’s studio to use while in residency at the villa.

The centre piece of the works was a single storey ground floor extension that extended the kitchen and usable living space, whilst connecting the house with the garden thanks to the Grand Slider II aluminium sliding doors and a large fixed frame picture window. Architect: Simon Whitehead Architects Photographer: Bill Bolton

Photographer: Nikole Ramsay Stylist: Emma O'Meara

Peter Clarke

'Farmers Oasis' by EDR Building Designs is a modern farm house in Tropical North Queensland and is multi BDAQ Award Winner

The bedroom wing nestles into the native Australian garden. Photo by Emma Cross

Laser cut decorative metal art by Entanglements. Featuring privacy screening balustrade. 'Pebbles' outdoor design theme

Feature front door

Herbert stolz, regensburg

Mads Frederik

Photographer: Andrew Latreille Designed and construction managed by FMSA, the Lucas Residence is an example of a modern coastal architecture. Overlooking Davies Bay the residence is designed to capture the views across Port Phillip Bay to the Melbourne city skyline whilst the building form shelters the external deck from the prevailing south westerly winds. Internally, the main living and bedroom spaces are orientated towards the bay utilising expanses of glazing to maintain this visual connection. Natural Ironbark timber cladding, together with panels of untreated zinc and painted sheet panelling are used externally to ground the home in the landscape. Recycled blackbutt flooring, glazing and neutral palette contribute to a warm natural elegance to the interior spaces. The residence was designed to meet the requirements of Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) 29. Surrounded by landscaped garden using native grasses and locally indigenous shrubs that surround the building with a finely textured and varied foliage creating privacy where needed and enhancing view corridors to the bay.

Simon Kennedy

An extension and renovation to a timber bungalow built in the early 1900s in Shenton Park, Western Australia. Budget $300,000 to $500,000. The original house is characteristic of the suburb in which it is located, developed during the period 1900 to 1939. A Precinct Policy guides development, to preserve and enhance the established neighbourhood character of Shenton Park. With south facing rear, one of the key aspects of the design was to separate the new living / kitchen space from the original house with a courtyard - to allow northern light to the main living spaces. The courtyard also provides cross ventilation and a great connection with the garden. This is a huge change from the original south facing kitchen and meals, which was not only very small, but quite dark and gloomy. Another key design element was to increase the connection with the garden. Despite the beautiful backyard and leafy suburb, the original house was completely cut off from the garden. Now you can see the backyard the moment you step in the front door, and the courtyard breaks the journey as you move through the central corridor of the home to the new kitchen and living area. The entire interior of the home is light and bright. The rear elevation is contemporary, and provides a definite contrast to the original house, but doesn't feel out of place. There is a connection in the architecture between the old and new - for example, in the scale, in the materials, in the pitch of the roof.