Design Anatomy

• Metricon's New Lookbook: Designs & Styles For Real Families

  Step behind the scenes of Australia’s most-walked display homes with Metricon’s National Display Home and Studio M retail manager, Lisa Goodsall. We dive into how a massive plan library, real customer feedback, and years of display learnings distilled into Metricon's New Lookbook that actually makes styling choices easier. Instead of boxing people into rigid labels, the Metricon's Lookbook offers clear style families—think Palm Springs, Japandi, Nordic, Coastal Luxe and an evolving Australian Hamptons—each with flexible expressions so you can mix, match and still keep a cohesive story throughout your home.We unpack the everyday forces shaping design in Australia: climate that begs for indoor–outdoor flow, smaller blocks that demand multi-use rooms, and livability updates that make aging in place more realistic without sacrificing aesthetics. Lisa shares how home theatres now double as wellness or study spaces, why outdoor kitchens are becoming full outdoor living zones, and how cultural diversity drives planning choices like prayer rooms and adaptable layouts. You’ll hear how styling can make or break a great floor plan, why over-staging turns people off, and the simple cues—texture, light, circulation—that help a space feel calm, warm and real.There’s room for nostalgia too. Hamptons hasn’t disappeared; it’s softened into a breezier, coastal take that feels distinctly Australian. Mid-century’s comeback makes sense when you combine clean lines with liveable materials and human-scale comfort. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by too many floor plans or finish options, this conversation offers a practical path forward: use a shared language, choose a flexible lane, and let Metricon's New Lookbook guide you to confident, enduring choices that suit your region, routines and budget.Check out the Metricon Look Book 'Inspired by life, created for living' below:https://www.metricon.com.au/lookbookMetricon on Instagram:@metriconhomesSubscribe for more design anatomy, share this with a friend who’s renovating or building, and leave a review to tell us which style feels most like you.Bree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment. Bookings now open - Book now Join Lauren online for a workshop to help break down the Design steps to run your project & business a little smoother with the Design Process MasterClass, opening 15th October! For more info see below The Design Process MasterClass ONLINE

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• Our October Top Five: From Tiled Furniture To Ola Mexicola

  Bree & Lauren round up their top five for October with colour, craft, and comfort at the centre. From tiled furniture and Tasmanian-inspired rugs to smarter sheers, Ikea edits, and a Milanese armchair, we share what’s worth your money and why it matters.• Tiled furniture by Matthew Raw as durable statement pieces  • Wild South rug collection and the new book ' A Visual Feast' by Jono Fleming  • Mokum sheers and smarter colour ranges from Warwick  • Ikea walkthrough strategy and notable collabs  • Studiopepe’s Shibari chair and why sculptural seating matters  • Weave Home’s Fabien rug as an everyday base  • Maker & Son x Studio ALM for comfort and joyful textiles  • Ola Mexicola launch and playful homewares • ManyChat Instagram Summit takeaways for creators  • Lily Allen’s new album 'West End Girl' and creative momentumEnjoyed this? Follow the show, share it with a design-loving friend, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find us.Bree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment. Bookings now open - Book now Join Lauren online for a workshop to help break down the Design steps to run your project & business a little smoother with the Design Process MasterClass, opening 15th October! For more info see below The Design Process MasterClass ONLINE

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• Top 5 Places Where Designers Find Great Art

  Art can transform a room faster than any sofa swap, and today we map the exact places we rely on to find pieces that feel personal, joyful, and within reach. We start with the VCA Art Grad Exhibition, a friendly doorway into original art where you can speak to creators, learn what moves you, and buy before prices climb. Then we head to Leonard Joel for the thrill of the auction: weekly catalogues, known names beside hidden gems, and a smart path to works on paper that deliver character without the premium.From there we zoom in on accessible curation. Studio Gallery makes discovery simple with transparent pricing and an easy-to-browse stockroom across Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. For budget-savvy walls, we lean on The Poster Club and Paper Collective: beautifully curated prints, multiple sizes, and framing options that look elevated, not mass-produced. And because flat art isn’t the whole story, we champion ceramics and sculpture from Pepite and Craft Victoria to add texture, shape, and depth to shelves, consoles, and dining tables.If you’re craving bold colour, Fenton & Fenton curates expressive, playful work that suits lived-in homes. For a wider view, the Affordable Art Fair and Melbourne Art Fair offer a mix of approachable and high-end galleries in an open, energised setting where conversations come easy. We also share how to read gallery pricing with confidence and why many spaces now list costs online. To wrap, we demystify commissioning: how to brief an artist on size, palette, and budget so you end up with something made for your light, your scale, your story.Whether you’re buying your first print or commissioning a centrepiece, the rule is simple: collect what you love and you’ll never tire of it. If this guide sparked ideas, follow the show, share it with a design-loving friend, and leave a quick review to help others find us.Bree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment. Bookings now open - Book now Join Lauren online for a workshop to help break down the Design steps to run your project & business a little smoother with the Design Process MasterClass, opening 15th October! For more info see below The Design Process MasterClass ONLINE

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• The Home of Lauren Egan: A Masterclass in Colour & Material Harmony

  What if your home felt like the first moment of autumn—warm, grounded, and quietly fresh? We sit down with colour-obsessed designer Lauren Egan to unpack how a single, emotive brief can guide every choice, from timber and tile to paint and furniture, and deliver a space that breathes. Did we mention it appears in the latest issue of The Design Files magazine?Lauren’s new home is a masterclass in material harmony: spotted gum floors and panelling from one supplier for continuity, pink travertine with beautiful movement, and a glossy burgundy tiled island that’s equal parts durable and nostalgic. She explains why stark white can fight with warm timber, how “dirty” colours with brown or black create calm, and why ceilings painted to match walls can make square-set spaces feel seamless. If you’ve ever stood under fluorescent lights choosing a “white,” you’ll love her undertone method—A4 swatches, side-by-side comparisons, and decisions guided by light, not labels.We also explore the human side of design. Lauren starts with who lives in the home and builds three themes to steer concept and colour. She shares furniture obsessions (hello, lounge-worthy sofas), the art of balancing caramel warmth with fresh greens, and practical wins like colour-matched grout and sealed tile tops. Her surprising path—from ice cream innovation to interiors—reveals a process-driven, sensory approach that turns brave palettes into livable rooms. Through Designologists & her creative partnership with designer Alison Lewis , she teaches the crucial middle: how to run a colour consult, select stone and tiles, and style with intent.This is a warm and deeply practical guide to colour confidence. If you’re ready to rethink white, embrace cream, and let your materials lead, press play. Subscribe, share with a design-curious friend, and leave a review telling us the boldest colour you’d try at home.Web & Socials for Lauren:Lauren Egan Design + @heylaureneganDesignologists + @designologistsBree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment. Bookings now open - Book now Join Lauren online for a workshop to help break down the Design steps to run your project & business a little smoother with the Design Process MasterClass, opening 15th October! For more info see below The Design Process MasterClass ONLINE

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• Inside Spectra: The Art of Transforming Space Through Colour with Rowena & Geoffrey

  Step into Spectra, our favourite kind of transformation story: a Melbourne hotel lobby that shifts from tasteful neutral to living artwork through colour, narrative, and fearless collaboration. We sit down with artists Rowena Martinich and Geoffrey Carran to unpack how a site-responsive palette drawn from bushland greens, clay tones, and marble textures became the foundation for abstract fields, hyper‑real native birds, and crystalline forms that feel born of the place—not pasted on.We dive into the craft behind the magic. Rowena breaks down her layered process—poured paint, broom-wide gestures, wipe-backs, and selective cropping—while Geoffrey reveals how native birds perched on mineral geometries create a dialogue between softness and edge, ecology and time. Then we go underfoot: working with Godfrey Hirst Commercial in Geelong, the team turned carpet into an immersive medium using inkjet technology to deliver colour-rich, compliant flooring that guides how people move and feel. It’s a case study in why art should be briefed early, not sprinkled on at the end.Beyond the lobby, we head out to regional Victoria where silos become story towers. Geoffrey shares the planning, wind-watching, and composition choices behind a 28-metre piece that nods to the Mallee emu‑wren and the science of anthocyanins—those stress pigments that turn plants incandescent—mirroring the resilience of local communities. We talk cultural tourism, placemaking, and why public art expands who gets to experience art in the first place. Along the way, you’ll hear honest shop talk about night-shift ceilings, partnerships that thrive on critique, and the courage it takes to choose colour at home and in hospitality.If you care about interior design, public art, hotels, or simply how spaces can make people feel more alive, this one’s for you. Subscribe to Design Anatomy, share this episode with a colour-shy friend, and leave us a review with the one space you’re ready to transform next.Web & Instagram:Rowena Martinich & @rowenamartinichGeoffrey Carran & @geoffreycarranBree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment. Bookings now open - Book now Join Lauren online for a workshop to help break down the Design steps to run your project & business a little smoother with the Design Process MasterClass, opening 15th October! For more info see below The Design Process MasterClass ONLINE

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