House of Meaning Podcast

There's a myth about architects. You hand them your dream, they disappear for a few weeks, and back comes a finished vision you either love or learn to live with. David Nicholson has spent his career proving that isn't how a good home gets made. In this episode, Simon Clark, founder of Sustainable Homes Melbourne, sits down with David Nicholson, the in-house architect behind SHM for the...

A couple of years ago we ordered a beautiful stone benchtop for one of our custom home projects. It arrived, it was installed, and at the next site meeting the owners said the words every builder dreads. That is not what we wanted. The stone was right. The finish was wrong, gloss instead of matte, and the error was ours. Putting it right cost fifteen thousand dollars, and we wore every cent. In th...

The heritage homes that still stand in 2026 are not a random sample of what was built. They are the best of the best. The ones built with enough craft, enough care, and enough quality to outlast all others built at that time. That's what you're looking at when you scroll through The Home of Heritage. Alison Carlill is the founder of The Home of Heritage , Australia's only dedicated...

Walk into most Melbourne homes on a two-degree July morning and you will feel the problem immediately. A bit of plasterboard. A timber stud. Maybe some weatherboards on the outside. That's what separates an Australian family from the cold. As Simon puts it in this episode: a glorified tent. Simon Clark, founder of Sustainable Homes Melbourne, has spent over a decade walking into homes across...

They listed the house six months after renovating it, and of all the rooms the photographer chose to lead with, it was the one everybody had warned them was too bold. A tealy green vanity, marble Ming green fan tiles, wall to wall. It sold the house, because people could feel the quality.  In this episode of House of Meaning, Simon Clark sits down with Petrina Turner of Petrina Turner Design, an a...

Seven years from first sketch to building contract. Two builder quotes on the same design, one at $900,000 and one at $1.8 million. A home designed, approved through council, and quietly shelved because it came back three times over budget. These are not rare stories. They are the renovation industry's default setting. In this episode, Simon Clark, founder of Sustainable Homes Melbourne, name...

Most Melburnians have a saved search on realestate.com.au they will never act on. A terrace in Fitzroy. A cottage in West Melbourne. A Victorian on a street they drove down once and have not forgotten since. We do not just look at houses in this city. We fall in love with them. In this episode of House of Meaning, Simon sits down with Elio Sarpi, the North Melbourne resident behind one of Melbourn...

Walk into an unrenovated Melbourne home on a winter's morning and the heating's running flat out while you're still wearing two jumpers. The problem isn't the weather. It's the building. And it's the same story right across Australia. In this episode, Simon Clark, founder of Sustainable Homes Melbourne, breaks down why Australian homes are so cold in winter and exactl...

Most of us have never stopped to ask whether the city we live in makes our lives better. Not bigger. Better. It turns out that question sits at the heart of everything wrong, and everything still possible, about the way we build our cities and the homes within them. In this episode of House of Meaning, Simon sits down with Izzie White, Australia's most compelling architecture advocate for a c...

Walk into some homes and everything just feels right. The light lands where it should. The kitchen is calm. There's a corner that draws you in without announcing itself. Walk into the one next door, same suburb, similar size, and something's off. You can't name it. But you feel it. That difference almost never comes down to finishes. It comes down to decisions made long before const...

There is a moment at every home auction, usually just before the auctioneer calls for the first bid, where your chest tightens and your carefully prepared budget starts to feel negotiable. You have spent weeks on this property. You know it is the one. And that certainty, the very thing that got you here, is exactly what is about to work against you. That psychological trap is at the heart of why m...

In early 2020, we were weeks from signing a $700,000 contract with a couple in Brunswick. Then COVID happened. They paused. Understandably. That same project today costs $1 million. The money they held onto became $300,000 extra they now have to find. We've had that conversation more times than we can count. And we're having it again. In this episode, builder Simon Clark cuts through the...

Walk into almost any unrenovated Melbourne heritage home on a winter's day and the problem announces itself before you've taken your coat off. Beautiful from the street. Fifteen degrees inside when it's 22 outside. In this episode, builder Simon Clark answers one of the most common questions he hears from Melbourne homeowners: can you really have the soul of a heritage home and the...

Most buyers spend weeks inspecting kitchens and bathrooms. But when you're buying an inner-city Melbourne property to renovate, extend, or knock down and rebuild, the things that will make or break your project often aren't visible on the surface. In this episode, builder Simon Clark walks through the essential due diligence checklist for anyone buying a property with major works in mind...

Better insulation should mean a healthier, more comfortable home—but if it’s not paired with the right moisture management , it can quietly create the conditions for mould, rot, and “leaky home” failures .  In this episode, builder Simon Clark unpacks Leaky Building Syndrome (catastrophe's in New Zealand and Canada) and explains why Australia’s push toward energy-efficient homes can backfire...

Building your home is exciting—but once construction starts, your property becomes a workplace , and that changes everything.  In this episode, builder Simon Clark explains exactly what you should expect from your builder during the construction phase and what “good process” looks like when dozens of trades and suppliers are working hard to bring your new home or home renovation to life. Simon unp...

What does a design–build journey actually look like—from first enquiry to a signed building contract? In this episode, builder Simon Clark walks through Sustainable Homes Melbourne’s proven process , step by step: Discovery Session at the Fitzroy studio → Design Kickoff on site (with re-establishment & feature survey) → a Feasibility Plan with project-specific sqm guidance → Concept Design wit...

Should you renovate or knockdown-rebuild ? In this episode, builder Simon Clark breaks down the 10 decisive factors that determine which route delivers better value, performance, and peace of mind—especially on inner-city Melbourne sites with heritage sensitivities. You’ll learn how ResCode , overlays and site conditions can force your hand, why floor levels and subfloors matter more than most peo...

In 2024, Simon toured Palm Springs — the mecca of mid-century modern and distilled five design lessons you can apply to Melbourne and broader Australian climates: (1) expressive textures (custom breeze blocks, screens, tactile floors) that also accelerate airflow ; (2) right-sized plans with genuine indoor–outdoor connection from living rooms and bedrooms; (3) workmanship that respects details (wh...

Before you sign with any builder, ask this: “Are you comfortable with an independent building inspector inspecting your work?”   In this episode, builder Simon Clark explains why that single question reveals more about a builder’s quality, confidence, and culture than any brochure ever could. He breaks down how Australia’s current system relies on brief statutory checks (footings, slab steel, fram...

What is biophilic design —and does it really make a difference?  In this episode, builder Simon Clark breaks down the science-backed benefits of bringing nature into the home and shares a practical, no-nonsense framework you can use on any renovation or new build (especially inner-city homes). Simon covers why our brains crave daylight, views to greenery and gentle natural sounds—and how poor envi...

70 out of 10 custom home designs never make it to site - and the biggest reason is avoidable.  In this episode, builder Simon Clark explains the #1 mistake homeowners make: engaging a designer or architect without bringing a builder in early. Simon shares a war-story from his early career (the “square-metre rate” tender) and lays out a smarter path: Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) at the most c...

Australia needs more homes - but builders are stuck in a maze of planning approvals, ResCode rules and red tape.  In this episode, Melbourne builder Simon Clark (Sustainable Homes Melbourne) breaks down why housing targets are being missed , how planning vs. building approvals actually work, and where projects get trapped - especially with ResCode , Report & Consent , and the 2023 VC243 amendm...

In this episode of House of Meaning , host Simon Clark breaks down what it really means to build a sustainable home in 2026 cutting through the myths and greenwashing to focus on four key pillars. Too often, “sustainable” is seen as just adding solar panels or batteries. But true sustainability is deeper than that . Simon explores: Low embodied carbon - why the materials you choose matter more tha...

Step inside one of Melbourne’s most ambitious heritage transformations - two 150 year old terrace homes in Fitzroy that may just be the most sustainable terrace homes in Australia . In this episode, Simon Clark , builder and founder of Sustainable Homes Melbourne , walks you through the restoration and transformation of these derelict heritage-listed homes into carbon-negative , high-performance d...