The interior designer’s life stretches over two residences. At his Macedon Ranges retreat, the pace is slower, the gardens are sprawling and there’s an eclectic mix of designer and vintage pieces.

Owners Mariam Ella Arcilla and Mason Kimber host intimate artist talks, pop-up exhibitions and library readings in their Redfern home.

Tali Roth’s interior design practice stretches from Melbourne to New York City. Her 1960s Caulfield family home breaks the renovation rules with a Euro modern look that’s sexy and bold and “a little bit undone”.

Amy Henderson, founder of creative agency THE ARTL–NE, has lived in the same place for over two decades. In that time the space has evolved alongside her, from “cobbled together” uni student digs to a sophisticated gallery-like sanctuary (that still knows how to party).

Designer Corey Ashford and artist Jason Penfold felt right at home in their rental – so they bought it and made it their own. Inside, the Dinosaur Designs alum road-tests elegant food-inspired homewares, including oyster incense holders and boxes that look like tiny cakes.

Pipi’s Kiosk chef Jordan Clay and Neighbours actor Naomi Rukavina’s newly renovated bayside Melbourne abode is like a little colour bomb. Find coral walls, Swedish designer furniture and a very fun, very green functional kitchen.

“New visitors to the house are often very confused when they have to bush bash through foliage to get to our front door,” say the owners of Barefoot House in Clovelly.

A hidden tequila bar was a non-negotiable when the owners had the semi-detached bungalow renovated. We love its minimalist style, mix of marble, timber and glass, and the way it connects the indoor and outdoor spaces.

Creative director Tristan Ceddia and fashion designer Adriana Giuffrida first met in Black Rock. Now the duo call the Melbourne beachside suburb home, living with their kids in an experimental holiday house filled with vintage furniture and mates’ artworks.

There are garden views everywhere you look in the perfectly proportioned south-east Melbourne home (built on an abandoned school tennis court) where fashion label founder Dana Burrows lives with two daughters, two dogs, and an architect husband.

For Kew-based creative Jorja Brown, a 1960s Robin Boyd-designed home serves as an ever-changing furniture showroom as much as it does her place of rest. She collects and curates unique second-hand furniture, and lives among her treasures while they're for sale.

Fleur Sibbel’s home and work life are built on solid family foundations. She runs furniture and homewares company Zuster with her sister and now she’s bought and renovated a Balwyn North house her father constructed half a century ago.

Furniture designer Rachel Donath’s stunning Caulfield North home took some doing. Over time she’s added her own pieces, some well-loved vintage finds and lighting just like at her grandma’s place.

The founders of the Justin Art House Museum talk us through their day-to-day lives in a home-gallery hybrid in Prahran. It’s a house that embraces dualities: public and private; colourful and zen; cultural conduit and family home.

Creative studio co-owners Lou Clark and Amelia Shaw live in a home built on poles. It’s a peaceful family retreat, as well as a place for long lunches, dance parties and whisky-drinking.

Furniture designer and stylist Tilly Barber (and her kid) share an unconventional mid-century mudbrick house with a traditional Chinese medicine practice and plenty of scavenged and handmade homewares.

Sara Taghaode and Andrew Crane have built – and rebuilt – a life together in a 1960s warehouse, playing host to creative tenants, a rescue dog, a newborn and the occasional flood catastrophe.

Kathleen Prentice fell in love with her home’s bright rooms and retro quirks. The furniture designer shares the space with two housemates, lots of her own wares, and just about every cat in the neighbourhood.

More is more for interior artists (and Tiktok stars) Josh Jessup and Matt Moss, who’ve maximised their inner-city space with thrifted furniture, eclectic homemade art, and the full colour spectrum.

Artist Ellen Porteus and interior plant specialist Ryan Klewer have transformed an industrial shell into a colourful home with painted murals, hanging plants and thoughtfully placed mid-century furniture.

Jonathon Oxlade is the award-winning resident designer at Adelaide’s globally acclaimed children’s theatre company Windmill Theatre. His CBD home is full of the same colour and character he injects into his sets and costume designs.

Designed and built by notable architect Rob Mills, the house is wedged between the coast and the forest – and centres around a stunning open-plan living area that’s ideal for entertaining. Best of all: you can make a reservation to stay there.

It might seem unassuming from the front, but wander down the side laneway and its beauty reveals itself. We love the open kitchen, which encourages serendipitous interactions, and the splendid inside-out garden.(And it will soon be available for short-term stays).

On a windy hilltop block, the Daylesford Longhouse is a warren of indoor gardens, private spaces and communal areas that fit together like a puzzle to create one cohesive space. It’s home to Ronnen Goren of Studio Onograto, his partner Trace Streeter and a handful of dogs, cows, pigs and ducks.

With clever design features, a sound-absorbing sunken living room and an open-air shower, this narrow Sydney home might have been built in the early 20th century, but it’s very much of the now.

An extension by Adelaide design firm Sans-Arc Studio put this early 20th-century suburban home on the national map. The cool, contemporary and colourful renovation is defined by pink terrazzo, archways, and a plaster-clad exterior, which earned it the name Plaster Fun House.

Art collector Freddy Grant’s revitalised Footscray home is a little bit Edwardian and a little bit art deco. And entering the living area is like stepping into a tiny gallery.

In a house that dates to 1880, interior designer Lisa Buxton has created a contemporary, charismatic and comfortable family home adorned with vivid artwork and striking furniture.

Plant stylist Emma Sadie Thomson and winemaker partner Jasper Button have polished up a 109-year-old cottage in Basket Range.

Eugene Tan is the photographer behind Aquabumps, a website, gallery and blog that started on the sands of Australia’s most famous beach. His Bondi home is equally photogenic.

Two architects have tested the limits in creating their dream house in Melbourne’s north, which is very minimalist and very, very bold.

Lucy Glade-Wright, the co-founder of Hunting for George, has filled her home with ceramics, sculpture and warm furnishings just right for a flat near the beach.

A Melbourne interior designer has turned a rundown Victorian into a light-filled home that’s both sleek and warm.

This flat in Sydney’s east has been home to a stylist and her boyfriend since 2014.