The Design Files Talks

We’ve been big fans of Sydney-based brand ELLISON STUDIOS. since it launched in 2017.Now, it has a cult following after dominating the internet with retro-inspired designs like a coffee-coloured velvet sofa created in collaboration with Pantone, and the viral Huggy Armchair.  In this episode, ELLISON STUDIOS. CEO and co-founder Leigh McKeown shares the origin story behind the brand, and how they f...

Building a successful brand is no mean feat, but lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Alyce Tran knows a thing or two. After co-founding the wildly popular accessories brand The Daily Edited, she’s since gone on to work for influencer marketing platform LTK and you’ve probably heard of her side hustle, In The Roundhouse — the tableware brand known for its playful plates, cutlery and tablescaping accessories...

Since launching in 2019, Baina has taken the humble towel from a utilitarian textile to a must-have design product with a cult following, including A-list celebrities like  Cindy Crawford and Dakota Fanning. Even if you don’t know Baina by name, we bet you’ve spotted their checkerboard towels at your local beach, or in some of your favourite bathroom inspo photos.  In this episode, founders and ch...

Have you ever lived in a house that just wouldn’t stay warm, or a place that felt like a perpetual sauna in summer? Passive Houses are all about solving these problems before the home is even built, and using as little energy as possible to do so. In today’s episode, we speak to certified passive house builder and MVH Constructions founder Mark van Haandel who talks us through everything you need...

Saul Griffith is a visionary engineer, scientist, author, and inventor with a plan to fight climate change. The Rewiring Australia founder says the key to urgently reducing Australia’s emissions is by turning everything electric — from our homes to our cars, and entire suburbs — and embracing renewable energy. We speak to Saul in this episode about how Australia could successfully get off fossil f...

Voice actor Sarah Aubrey is a bit of an accidental expert in sustainability, who started posting educational videos on Instagram after being astonished by how much she saved when she got off the gas and turned her draughty old home all-electric. Now with more than 68k followers, she's on a mission to educate others to do the same!  In this episode, Sarah shares how much she spent retrofitting her...

Tamara DiMattina is passionate about promoting low-waste, sustainable living. So much so, that she actually hasn’t bought anything new for more than 20 years — aside from food and the occasional personal hygiene essentials. Instead, she’s been shopping for her clothing, shoes, furniture, and (literally) everything else, second hand!  In this episode, Tamara shares how she founded the annual Buy No...

Interior designer and TV presenter Sibella Court is an expert at creating spaces that feel like they have a storied past, and her Bundeena family home is the perfect example. It took a five-year renovation to bring the interiors to life (designed around the character of an imagined sailor!), using salvaged materials and vintage treasures that fill the house with character!  Hear how the project ev...

Landscape architects Joel Barker and Hannah Pannell are the husband-and-wife team behind See Design Studio who built their beautiful Perth family home on the smallest possible footprint — in order to save most of their block for the garden of their dreams. The resulting house is just 110-square-metres, and it's one of the most energy-efficient properties we’ve ever featured! Hear why building smal...

Courtney Adamo has renovated houses before, but nothing compared to the process of designing and building her family’s beach home. She shares the highs and lows of the design and build process — plus what she'd do differently if building a house again. See images of the home and read the interview highlights here. Follow Courtney at @ courtneyadamo Follow us at @thedesignfiles or subscribe to our...

We’re back with a new renovating episode! Lucy Feagins sits down with Georgia Frances King and Mete Erdogan who are currently renovating a 1970s brick veneer home in Melbourne’s north. Despite having no renovating experience, they’ve been able to revive the home mostly through DIY updates and some advice from the original owner’s family! Georgia and Mete share what renovations they’ve done so far,...

In our final episode for 2023, we speak with lawyers-turned-renovators Julie and Vincent Fodera who are restoring one of Melbourne's oldest mansions, a historic homestead in Caulfield known as Heatherbrae . The private property dates back to 1854 and is bit of a local landmark, which the couple have been the proud custodians of since buying it last year.  Hear how they're lovingly updating the pro...

Melbourne interior designer Ruby Shields and her carpenter husband Patrick join us to talk about the five-year renovation of their first home in Mount Evelyn! The couple bought the house in 2018 (that had been left half-renovated by the previous owner) and have been working on it ever since. They share how this journey inspired Ruby’s to land her dream job at design studio WOWOWA, the struggles of...

When furniture makers Al and Imogen Roberts found themselves priced out of Torquay’s real estate market, they decided to buy a block of land and build their sustainable dream home.  Al is a former carpenter and Imo is a designer with a background in digital marketing, and it’s taken them almost three years to create their timber-lined family home from the ground up! They reveal the challenges of t...

We're back with more renovating stories, and today's episode is all about how TDF Talks host Lucy Feagins and her husband Gordy Johnson transformed their family's Blairgowrie beach shack!  Using Lucy's project management skills and Gordy's expertise as a cabinet maker, the couple took a hands-on approach to updating their circa-1970s property, which they ended up refurbishing inside and out. They...

In the final episode of our sustainability series, Momentum Energy’s managing director Lisa Chiba helps us understand how Australia will make the transition from fossil fuels to renewables!  As the managing director of one of Australia’s ‘greenest’ energy retailers, Lisa breaks down some of the challenges facing our energy sector and shares how we can help make a difference — in addition to saving...

Could Melbourne become a self-sufficient city powered by its own energy by 2030? Environmental engineering consultancy Finding Infinity ’s ambitious project 'A New Normal' is hoping to turn this vision into a reality, and the organisation's Will Young joins us in this episode to share how!  Will explains the innovative architectural and building projects that are already underway, how much it will...

Been wondering how you can save money on your energy bills? In this episode of our sustainability series, chemical engineer turned energy advisor Tim Forcey tells us everything we need to know about improving the efficiency of the average Australian home!  Tim is the founder of the popular Facebook group My Efficient Electric Home (MEEH) that’s about to welcome its 100,000th member, and he reveals...

We kick off our new mini-series on sustainability with this episode featuring Jeremy McLeod, founder of Breathe Architecture and one of the driving forces behind Nightingale Housing! He joins Lucy to speak about Australia's housing crisis and how sustainability and affordability can coexist, with the help of thoughtful design. Hear his expert tips for getting into the property market, the importan...

In the final episode of our four-part renovating series, serial renovators and The Block favourites Josh and Jenna Densten talk about the incredible transformation of their 1800s heritage homestead in regional Victoria! They reveal the challenges of restoring a run-down property (which they found on Facebook Marketplace!), how their family has found living in a shed during the renovation, and the...

Today we chat with Leigh Ellwood, an interior designer behind some of the most special homes we've ever featured on TDF. Having completed 10 personal renovation projects in the last 24 years, safe to say she knows a thing or two about renovating!  But what we really love about Leigh is her magic creative touch that turns each property into a warm, perfectly styled home, with lived-in interiors. Le...

In this episode of our renovating series, we chat with Sydney-based interior designer Jono Fleming to hear about how he recently transformed a 1980s suburban home using budget-friendly hacks at every turn! With a decade-long career in magazines, styling and design, Jono shares how Bunnings engaged him to renovate every room of the dated house, working with ONLY products from the hardware store, an...

Welcome back to The Design Files’s podcast TDF Talks, and our new 4-part series on renovating! We kick things off with a chat between our founder and host Lucy Feagins and art director, Annie Portelli — who’s taken on a massive DIY home renovation in the last two years. Annie shares how she and her husband Simon ‘accidentally’ fell into renovating their Melbourne home themselves, the budget mishap...

See more about Ngarrimili here: https://www.ngarrimili.org.au/ .  See more about Strong Brother Strong Sister here: https://www.strongbrotherstrongsister.com/ . Read our 'Family' story with Cormach, Coco, Waari and Winnie here: https://thedesignfiles.net/2020/08/family-cormache-evans-coco-eke/ This episode was brought to you by Nelson Alexander Real Estate. See more about them here:  https://www.n...

Read more about Sarah Ellison studio and shop the collections here .