A family home with a sense of drama, a sense of style and a sense of fun. Melbourne multidisciplinary design firm Studio You Me has renovated a 70s home with great bones, the final product being a home of contrasts and cohesion, life and soul.

London and Oslo based Haptic Architects have reached into the unused loft above this top floor Olso apartment to create a light filled home. Vertical lines heighten the space while positive and negative space define the areas in otherwise open plan living. File away the staircase in your inspiration folders. Yes I know not to code in many countries but a work of art, a domestic sculpture. Inspiration doesn’t always have to be practical. A dream, a fleeting thought. A joy. Like the fireplace in the kitchen. The true hearth in the home.

A sandstone cottage has had new life breathed into it by Sydney based interior designers Morris Selvatico. (Time to confess that it is actually the home of one of the directors Amy Morris.) Exposed stone walls and quirky openings reveal the building age but black floors and modern but sympathetic finishes to the kitchen and bathroom bring the house into the 21st century. It is often hard to marry contemporary family living with heritage restraints but this stylish cottage comes up trumps.

If you have to drag your sorry self into the office on a Saturday then it certainly helps if your work place looks as stylin’ as this Surry Hills office by TFAD. Natural light, open space, fabulous art.

Deep timber reveals frame the view through sliding doors in this Sydney terrace house extension. White is warmed by timber while walls of growing green will eventually soften external views. Light wells delineate space within the open plan and clean, minimal lines allow the narrow space to appear so much bigger. The Bondi House by Fearns Studio.