December 2025
The top Life & Leisure reads of 2025
From extreme hiking in the heart of Australia’s own Amazon to the boom in private members clubs and a brain hack for good sleep, these stories stood out.
Exploring the lush gardens of Sydney’s trophy homes
From Mollymook to Manly, these settings show why NSW’s prestige property owners flock to hire landscape studio Dangar Barin Smith.
20 decadent gift ideas for design buffs
Shopping for someone of sophistication and style? Two leading design mavens share what they’d like to find under the tree this year (provided money is no object).
November 2025
An expert’s guide to vintage shopping in Paris
We go hunting for hidden treasures on the flea market trail with antiques queen Claire Perini.
October 2025
Adobe ups the ante in Canva battle with ‘copyright-safe’ AI features
The design giant says new AI products and a partnership with YouTube will give it a strategic edge over competitors, including the Australian tech star.
The 133-year-old shoe brand banking on a contemporary update
Best known for children’s school footwear, Betts is a legacy name undergoing a “big step forward” to focus exclusively on women’s style.
Why your new phone is not designed for women
Capitalism, and Apple in particular, is not giving me what I want, but I could always behave like a good free market consumer and switch companies.
This artist’s paintbrush is a steam iron, and Beyonce is a fan
Canberra-based Benjamin Shine threw in a promising fashion design career when he realised he could ‘paint’ with tulle.
Tired of Taylor Swift? The original showgirls are coming to Melbourne
Never heard of Bob Mackie before he designed the outfit for Tay-tay’s new album? His earlier looks for Cher, Tina Turner and P!nk will join dozens of other diva dresses in a blockbuster exhibition at Hamer Hall.
September 2025
Trump’s tacky White House reno a sign of desperation
Paving over the Rose Garden and gaudily embellishing the Oval Office are the US president’s mistaken attempts to make himself look regal and high class.
August 2025
What’s the hottest thing in interiors? The great outdoors
Australians love their backyards so much that one world-renowned design company has opened its first outdoor furniture showroom in Sydney.
Kevin McCloud and Tim Ross’s new podcast is for serious design nerds
Tim and Kev’s Big Design Adventure is an attempt to escape “an emerging tyranny of the visual”. It includes an Australian innovation described as “amazing”.
July 2025
The innovative Coogee window that solves a common coastal problem
If your home faces south, down a slope towards the water, the views are great. But getting sunlight in from the north has been impossible – until now.
Step inside this modernist penthouse with 360-degree views
One of Australia’s most esteemed interior designers has turned his hand to a 1000 square metre apartment in South Yarra, Melbourne.
Vince Frost: ‘When everything is digital, print is premium’
The design guru, who started designing in the same year as the launch of AFR Magazine, has added his creative flair to our special anniversary edition.
Step inside one of the nation’s most extraordinary new homes
This award-winning residence in Byron Bay is perfectly at one with nature – even when there’s a cyclone at its door.
June 2025
The best tips from a stylish high-flyer
British handbag designer and sky-high daydreamer Anya Hindmarch is a woman on the go.
Bill Atkinson, who made computers easier to use, dies
A designer for Apple, he created software that made it possible to display shapes, images and text on the screen and present a simulated “desktop”.
When contemporary design and millennia-old ice sheets collide
Designer Brodie Neill has found inspiration on the front lines of the climate crisis – the iceberg strewn waters of Antarctica.
May 2025
Toorak mansion with Merlo touch flips for $15m
The acclaimed garden designer has sold his latest mansion project for about $15m.