Drama, glamour and pattern play. Three essential ingredients in any scheme by interior design maestro Greg Natale. Sydney-based Natale’s redesign of this historic Geelong house, situated on an equine estate, sees him weave his magic with dark, moody colours, geometric riffs and a repeating horse motif. But it’s not the grand rooms I’m concentrating on in this post. It’s his bathrooms and kitchen that have my mind spinning with ideas. I’m smitten by the powder room. Love. Don’t miss the rest of the house over on his website and if you love his work as much as we have here on Desire to Inspire over the years you simply can’t miss his book The Tailored Interior.

Dual colour palettes of inky, moody blues contrasting with browns and creams and bright white with soft pastels define the private and public, the formal and the casual areas of this beachside house by Sydney-based interior designers Arent & Pyke. A mix of modern with mid century classics, tribal and texture, light and shade, the look is an easy elegance.

Can you believe another month has flown by? That it’s time for the new issue of Inside Out magazine? Managing Editor Lee Tran Lam emailed a little sneak peek of what’s in the pages of the October issue.

If you are after some house inspiration I’ve got some tasty pics you can snack on from our new October issue, out Thursday. This home is the ultimate example of a work-in-progress – the owners renovated it in bits and pieces for 13 years (!). They really played the long game – and had to deal with some crazy scenarios (one stage of the renovation involved four kids sharing one bedroom for six months; early on, they had to use the barbecue as a makeshift kitchen because only half the house was completed, and the small bathroom sink was assigned for wash-up duties)! But it definitely paid off as you can see in the photos of this updated 1924 weatherboard cottage. Styling by Jane Frosh. Photography by Phu Tang.

I’ve recommenced renovations at my old house after a longer than expected break so it’s good to see a family who have made it through the long haul. Anyone else lusting after that old pine table teamed with the white Thonets in the kitchen? Can’t wait to see more in this month’s issue out tomorrow. Don’t fret if you aren’t in Australia though. You can read along on  Zinio, Google Play,  the Apple Newsstand and Nook.

It’s the little things. It could have been a simple window. Let in the light, some fresh air. By boxing out the opening with a wider, built-in bench and a sliding window all you need to do is just throw in some pillows and it’s an inviting nook. Waverley House by Sydney-based architectural firm Angus Mackenzie.

Slick brick, textured minimalism, an emphasis on construction, on materials, on details. Raw and rough becoming more sophisticated, smoother as you progress through this prewar loft in NYC’s Greenwich Village. By Raad.