Brunswick Parlour transforms a Victorian cottage into a hard-working, personalised home for a family of four. Our clients loved the character of their Brunswick terrace home, but not its inefficient floor plan and poor year-round thermal control. They didn't need more space, they just needed their space to work harder. The front bedrooms remain largely untouched, retaining their Victorian features and only introducing new cabinetry. Meanwhile, the main bedroom’s previously pokey en suite and wardrobe have been expanded, adorned with custom cabinetry and illuminated via a generous skylight. At the rear of the house, we reimagined the floor plan to establish shared spaces suited to the family’s lifestyle. Flanked by the dining and living rooms, the kitchen has been reoriented into a more efficient layout and features custom cabinetry that uses every available inch. In the dining room, the Swiss Army Knife of utility cabinets unfolds to reveal a laundry, more custom cabinetry, and a craft station with a retractable desk. Beautiful materiality throughout infuses the home with warmth and personality, featuring Blackbutt timber flooring and cabinetry, and selective pops of green and pink tones. The house now works hard in a thermal sense too. Insulation and glazing were updated to best practice standard, and we’ve introduced several temperature control tools. Hydronic heating installed throughout the house is complemented by an evaporative cooling system and operable skylight. The result is a lush, tactile home that increases the effectiveness of every existing inch to enhance daily life for our clients, proving that good design doesn’t need to add space to add value.

Main Bathroom, feature herringbone tile, black tapware, highlight window, feature niches, floating timber vanity

This bathroom has been renovated in an old Queenslander using marble floor tiles and white wall tiles and green herringbone tiles as a feature wall. As soon as you walk in to this space, it has a relaxing and soothing ambience. A long 3 bay window has been installed to allow for fresh air and natural light.

The clear glass shower screen has black fittings to match the tapware and prevents splash onto the vanity zone. The side to the wall bath provides the style of a freestanding bath, without the required floor area.

The back to wall bath installed into a half hob, creates a streamline bath area. Vertical double niches break up the long wall area and the dotty tiles add interest to the room. All tiles are supplied by Oscar & Co Tiles and Bathware.

CTP Cheyne Toomey

A four bedroom, two bathroom functional design that wraps around a central courtyard. This home embraces Mother Nature's natural light as much as possible. Whatever the season the sun has been embraced in the solar passive home, from the strategically placed north face openings directing light to the thermal mass exposed concrete slab, to the clerestory windows harnessing the sun into the exposed feature brick wall. Feature brickwork and concrete flooring flow from the interior to the exterior, marrying together to create a seamless connection. Rooftop gardens, thoughtful landscaping and cascading plants surrounding the alfresco and balcony further blurs this indoor/outdoor line. Designer: Dalecki Design Photographer: Dion Robeson

Dmax Photography

A bold blue bathroom holds its own in this mid-century ranch remodel. Photos by KuDa Photography.

Kids bathroom remodel, wood cabinets and brass plumbing fixtures. Hexagonal tile on the floors and green tile in the shower. Quartzite countertops with mixing metals for hardware and fixtures, lighting and mirrors.

This bathroom doubles as both a kids bath and pool bath for guests. The glazed terra cotta backsplash and low maintenance quartz countertop offer this space subtle style with a splash of color.

The soothing coastal vibes of this bathroom remodel are sure to take you to a place of calm. What a transformation this project underwent! Not only did we transform this bathroom into a spa-like sanctuary, but we also did it ahead of schedule. That's a rare occurrence in the construction and design industry. We removed the tub and extended out the wall for the shower, which the homeowners chose to expand. This created a walk-in space, made to look even bigger by its frameless glass and large format, linen-look porcelain tile on the walls. For the shower floor, we selected a blue multicolored penny tile, and for the accent band, an opulent glass mosaic tile in dreamy ocean tones. The accent tile also graces the back of a new wall niche. This shower is now beautiful and functional. To address the issues of storage, we removed a wall, freeing up space near the toilet, which was much-needed. Now there is a custom-built linen pantry crafted from alder wood stretching to the ceiling, adding to the visual height of the room and making the bathroom just work better. A new vanity, also made of alder wood, and the linen closet were both stained a rich, warm tone to show off that gorgeous grain. For the walls, we chose a cool blue hue that is soothing and fresh. The accent tile from the shower was carried behind the vanity's two LED mirrors for a bold visual impact. I love the reflection of the light on the tile! The LED mirrors are pretty high-tech, with a defogger and a dimmer to adjust the light levels. Topping the vanity is a creamy quartz countertop, two under-mount sinks, and plumbing and cabinetry hardware in brushed nickel finishes. The cabinet knobs have a stunning iridescent shell that's hard to miss. For the floors, we went with a large-format porcelain tile in dark grey that complements the coloring of the space as well as the look and feel. As a final touch, floating shelves in the same rich wood-tone create additional space for décor items and storage. I styled the shelves with items to inspire and soothe this dreamy bathroom.

A to the ceiling tiled backsplash sets the stage for this guest bathroom. In a blend of blues, this arabesque damask tile gives the space a bit of pizazz. The bamboo vanity and grey concrete tile floors add contrast.

A colorful kids' bathroom holds its own in this mid-century ranch remodel.

I used a patterned tile on the floor, warm wood on the vanity, and dark molding on the walls to give this small bathroom a ton of character.