Green Magazine #73 May-June 2020

Whilst restriction of movement has caused frustration and devastation for many, spending more time at home brings with it opportunities for growth and experimentation. We are lucky at our place to have a garden large enough to grow veggies and keep chooks and we all now value the produce even more. We are setting up a propagation system for our cupboard full of seeds and our irrigation is being refined. Inside, we can no longer procrastinate when it comes to sorting and tidying; with some projects like re-grouting the bathroom on the list. But if you are considering more substantial alterations for your bathroom, we have some beauties. The homes in this issue offer a delightful mix, with sustainability and affordability at the forefront. A run-down warehouse has been converted, using…

Big Hitter “Bang Bang ™ ”, who’s there? It’s a hand-cast bronze door knocker, designed by Max Hunt of Hunt Furniture and made in South Australia. huntfurniture.com.au Everyday Daniel To and Emma Aiston (of eponymous South Australian design studio DANIEL EMMA) give new meaning to the phrase ‘dynamic duo’. This intriguing work is from their exhibition, PAK-UH-JING – which investigated colour and material combinations in packaging of everyday items. “This theme brings us monumental joy and satisfaction, enabling us to create pieces that are ‘just nice’,” they reflect. daniel-emma.com Textiles Supercyclers and Seljak Brand joined forces to utilise waste generated by the textile, fashion and furnishing industries. The brainchild of this union is the Pressing Matters project, and its first product, “The Floor Lounger”, is composed of 100 per cent textile waste diverted from landfill…

Understanding who, where and how products are made, the ethical and ecological impacts involved, as well as how raw materials are sourced is part of a growing consciousness toward accountable consumerism. Tait are devoted to continually improving sustainability outcomes and offering transparency across their operations, whilst producing beautiful, high-performing, authentic design which is made to last. Keeping It Local Tait source 95 per cent of raw materials from Australian-based suppliers, which goes a long way in supporting the Australian manufacturing industry, not to mention the wider Australian economy. Tait are committed to the idea of ‘buying once, buying well’ – offering a refurbishment service to revitalise and repair older products, thus promoting conscious consumption. Tait are passionate about supporting the Australian design industry, too. For instance, they are a Gold Partner of…

In many ways, modern life is all about going fast. We have communication at our fingertips, whatever we want virtually one click away and it can feel like the 9-to-5 grind never really stops grinding. In the midst of the madness, it takes guts to go one’s own way. For Kate Stokes, co-director of Melbourne-based furniture and lighting design studio Coco Flip, taking things slow and steady is the cornerstone of her creative process – and it always will be. As a child growing up in Western Australia, design wasn’t really on Kate’s radar. It wasn’t until she was travelling abroad after school that her affinity for design was ignited. Stints working in Italy, Ireland and backpacking across Scandinavia fanned the flames for the budding designer, she recalls: "I remember ……

VIEWS This property’s knockout location overlooking Wallis Lake on the mid-north coast of NSW is likely the envy of many (this writer included). The task fell to Matthew Woodward Architecture to design a robust home that made the very most of the stunning surrounding landscape. Despite being a traditionally insular space, the upper level bathroom has received the same treatment; privacy needs are dextrously met by openable screens and strategically placed windows that still capitalise on views. Touches of timber with crisp white strike the right note between the built and natural realms. By contrast, the ground level bathroom possesses a slick, minimalist quality achieved by prefinished wall panels and a concrete floor. matthewwoodward.com.au Specs Tapware • Yokato fixtures in “Aged Iron” (ground level) and “Vecchio Organic” (upper level) by Brodware Lighting • (both)…

A resonant ‘ding-ding-ding’ from a nearby railway crossing bounces down this surprisingly quiet bluestone cobbled laneway, only to be absorbed by a verdant wall of green scaling a galvanised chain-link fence. Next door, and atop a cream brick factory, emerges a silver corrugated volume appearing as if carefully sleeved into and within the existing outer masonry walls. The original brick façade is punctured with weathered steel windows. Scarcely visible behind this patinated steel-framed glazing is a set of dark stained timber windows, the deep reveals of which are clues to a high performance, well-insulated envelope of a new home within the shell of the old. Looking back across the road, yet another concrete car park fence; yet another uncanny wall of foliage. Coincidence is this time ruled out – these seedling interventions…