• Home security

    Required Reading: ‘Country Life: Homes of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley,’ by William Abranowicz

    Veteran architectural photographer William Abranowicz’s latest book, Country Life: Homes of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley (Vendome), explores 20 distinctive period and contemporary residences located amid the natural beauty of Upstate New York. Featured projects range from the historic houses of Thomas Cole and Frederic Church—quintessential landscape painters of the Hudson River School— to the characterful dwellings of local artists, architects, writers, museum curators, dancers, photographers, antiques dealers, and more. Abranowicz opens the book with the home of celebrated architect Alan Wanzenberg, a friend and colleague, and his partner, landscape architect Peter Kelly. Join us for a tour: Above:…

  • Home Décor - Home Renovation - Home security

    How to Inject New Life Into A Tired Room (On A Budget!)

    Caro Bed from Furniture And Choice It doesn’t take much for a room to suddenly feel tired or outdated. Simply do nothing with it for a few years and it will start to feel a little bit stale. When it gets to this point, you’re probably going to want to take action. Luckily, you don’t need a bottomless budget to breathe new life into a tired room. With a little creativity, resourcefulness, and a touch of flair, you can turn your neglected space into a stylish sanctuary.   Make a Plan Before you start, it helps to work out what…

  • Home Décor

    A life changing stroke in her 40s made Arlene Austin reclaim art

    Arlene Austin has been painting her entire life and the walls of her colourful Inner West Sydney home are lined with her creations. But it took a stroke earlier this year aged just 44, to finally prompt her to push her art out into the world as a business. “When I had the stroke, everything that I’d previously found easy, was hard – writing, reading, concentrating etc. At about the six week mark my doctor said I needed to start pushing my brain again and start the process of recovery. It was at this moment that I decided to start,…

  • Home Renovation

    Subtraction renovation: asbestos-riddled garage becomes feelgood forest in Sydney | Life and style

    Sam and Andrew knew they would have to do some creative reimagining when they bought a three-bedroom federation cottage in Coogee, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. “But to be honest, we weren’t fully aware of the state of disrepair it was in,” Sam says. Sam says the former owner was a 100-year-old poet, who had lived there for decades and had a reputation for being a bit of a character. “People say she would often invite the neighbours in for a game of cards or a whiskey as they passed by her low fence.” “We wanted to retain some of ……