THE EDIT

Should a robot ever be allowed to fold your laundry? It sounds like a throwaway question, but it cuts right to the heart of what the Australian home is becoming. In Part 2 of this bonus episode, recorded live at Metricon’s National Love of Design Summit, Home Beautiful Editor-in-Chief Elle Lovelock hands the microphone to the audience, and the panel of Ali Whelan (Breathe Architecture), Michael Leung (Balanced Earth Architects), Neil Hipwell (Futureflip) and James Treble takes on questions no one saw coming.
Together they imagine the Australian home of the future, smaller, smarter and far more adaptable, explore why builders who’ve created some of the most high-tech houses in the country are quietly stepping away from the tech, and answer the question that nearly stumped all four of them: what’s the internal compass that drives you?
Moments You’ll Hear:
Why the Australian home of the future is smaller, smarter and more adaptable
The affordability and trade-shortage puzzle shaping what we can actually build
Why a half-a-million-dollar smart home taught Neil an expensive lesson
The case for “low-tech first”, and why a little friction is worth protecting
Whether a laundry full of robots would quietly kill a building’s community
The question that nearly stumped the panel: what’s your internal compass?
Thank you for listening ❤️ before you leave…
🗣️ Get in touch What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Home Beautiful community and DM us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/homebeautiful/
🎧 Listen to The Edit and follow on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-edit/id1852946910 Listen and follow on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1y7phZb4CeMhYzFssKZVcq?si=9c224c6461c24caf
👀 Watch and subscribe to The Edit on Home Beautiful’s YouTube 📺 for full episodes and clips https://www.youtube.com/@HomeBeautifulMag
This bonus episode of The Edit was recorded live at Metricon’s National Love of Design Summit. A huge thank you to Metricon for welcoming Home Beautiful into a room so full of ideas. https://www.metricon.com.au
Credits:
Our guests: Ali Whelan (Breathe Architecture), Michael Leung (Balanced Earth Architects), Neil Hipwell (Futureflip) and James Treble (interior designer & colour expert)
Host Elle Lovelock
Edited by Thomas Crnkovic
Head of Vodcasting Rachel Fountain
With thanks to our fabulous Home Beautiful team.
Learn More: The Edit is a production of Home Beautiful and Are Media: https://www.homebeautiful.com.au/home-beautiful-the-edit-podcast/
👀 See more: Missed Part 1? Pushing Boundaries and Building Community is waiting in the feed - why not watch it on YouTube!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After decades spent thinking deeply about food, beauty and family, Karlie Verkerk has finally built a home that reflects all three.
In this episode of The Edit, Karlie joins Home Beautiful Editor Elle Lovelock from her Northern Rivers home to talk about the many moves that brought her family here - from inner-city Sydney to the Blue Mountains, Singapore and finally the coast, and what each place taught her about what she really wanted from a home.
She also shares the story behind FIN, the world's first food fragrance she's just launched with her husband James, why she went on MasterChef and kept it secret for months, and the outdoor kitchen built from recycled bricks that's slowly becoming the heart of the house.
Plus, the renovation mistake she and James made under cover of darkness. Hint: it involved a tin of paint, a washroom, and very misplaced optimism about the colour yellow.
Warning: If you have boucle items at home, this episode could be triggering!
This episode covers:
Karlie Verkerk's Northern Rivers home tour
Moving from Singapore to the Australian coast with young kids
Going on MasterChef and keeping it a secret
Launching FIN, the world's first food fragrance
Building an outdoor kitchen with recycled bricks and Facebook Marketplace finds
Cooking over fire and wood-kissed flavours
How to transform a small courtyard for entertaining
Collecting art as a couple and what it means to inherit a collection
Raising kids with an eye for art
Why cooking is Karlie's greatest source of calm
The butter yellow bathroom disaster
What homemaker means in 2026
What makes a home beautiful
The soundtrack of Karlie & James' lives: https://bremermccoy.com/
Karlie & James' Fin Food Fragrance: https://www.finfragrance.com/
Karlie's recipes on Home Beautiful: https://www.homebeautiful.com.au/author/karlie-verkerk/
🎧 Listen to The Edit and follow on Apple Podcasts
Listen and follow on Spotify
👀 Watch and subscribe to The Edit on Home Beautiful's YouTube
Watch full episodes
Credits:
Host: Elle Lovelock
Guest: Karlie Verkerk
Supervising Producer: Leah Porges
Head of Vodcasting: Rachel Fountain
With thanks to our wonderful Home Beautiful team.
The Edit is a production of Home Beautiful and Are Media: https://www.homebeautiful.com.au/home-beautiful-the-edit-podcast/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the secret to a happier home is being able to smell your neighbour’s burnt toast?
Recorded live at Metricon’s National Love of Design Summit, this bonus episode brings together four of Australia’s most exciting designers and makers: Ali Whelan of Breathe Architecture, Michael Leung of Balanced Earth Architects, Neil Hipwell of Futureflip, and interior designer James Treble, fresh off the plane from Milan Design Week. Expect a basement golf simulator that’s brought a whole street together, a skate bowl built for rainy days, and a very strong case for waving at your neighbours through the window.
Home Beautiful Editor-in-Chief Elle Lovelock sits down with Ali, Michael, Neil, and James and together, they get honest about what it really feels like to push boundaries with clients and councils, and why a beautiful home is about so much more than how it looks.
This episode is brought to you by Metricon.
Moments You’ll Hear:
Why pushing boundaries can be frustrating, thrilling and deeply rewarding all at once
How to know when to push a trend a client isn’t ready for, and when to hold back
The “burnt toast” theory: why small moments of friction make a home feel alive
The basement golf simulator that brought a whole street together
A skate bowl built for rainy days, and designing homes people actually want to gather in
Building community the old-fashioned way, through barn-raising and hempcrete
Why Australian design is turning heads on the world stage at Milan Design Week
Thank you for listening ❤️ before you leave…
🗣️ Get in touch
What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Home Beautiful community and DM us on Instagram
🎧 Listen to The Edit and follow on Apple Podcasts
Listen and follow on Spotify
👀 Watch and subscribe to The Edit on Home Beautiful’s YouTube 📺 for full episodes and clips
This bonus episode of The Edit was recorded live at Metricon’s National Love of Design Summit. A huge thank you to Metricon for welcoming Home Beautiful into a room so full of ideas. https://www.metricon.com.au
Read more about Metricon at Home Beautiful:
The new Australian home: Design trends shaping the way we live today
These family homes in coastal Adelaide and Sydney show great design isn't about creating a one-size-fits-all home
Credits:
Our charming guests: Ali Whelan (Breathe Architecture), Michael Leung (Balanced Earth Architects), Neil Hipwell (Futureflip) and James Treble (interior designer & colour expert)
Host Elle Lovelock
Edited by Thomas Crnkovic
Supervising Producer Leah Porges
Head of Vodcasting Rachel Fountain
Our wonderful team at Home Beautiful
The Edit is a production of Home Beautiful and Are Media: https://www.homebeautiful.com.au/home-beautiful-the-edit-podcast/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The renovation may be finished, but the work of creating a beautiful home never really ends.
In Part 2 of this episode of The Edit, Matty J is back with Home Beautiful Editor Elle Lovelock to talk about what life looks like now that Chante Mer is open to guests - the letting go, the worrying, and the welcome basket decisions he probably overthought.
He also gets into parenting, sharing the mental load, raising three daughters, and the lessons he hopes the next generation will inherit. And he shares the item discovered during the renovation that deepened his connection to the home's original owner, Val.
Plus the one thing that keeps him up at night as a holiday-home owner. Hint: It involves lemon juice and marble.
This episode covers:
Running Chante Mer as a holiday stay
Opening a family home to guests
The realities of short-term rentals
Holiday home hosting tips
Sharing the mental load at home
Modern fatherhood and parenting
Raising daughters
Family life with Laura Byrne
The mystery photo album discovered during renovation
The legacy of Chante Mer
What makes a home beautiful
Photo Credits: @chante.mer.house and Home Beautiful.
🎧 Listen to The Edit and follow on Apple Podcasts
Listen and follow on Spotify
👀 Watch and subscribe to The Edit on Home Beautiful's YouTube
Watch full episodes
Credits:
Host: Elle Lovelock
Guest: Matty Johnson
Videographer: Charlie Potter
Edited by: Leah Porges
Head of Vodcasting: Rachel Fountain
With thanks to our wonderful Home Beautiful team.
Learn More
The Edit is a production of Home Beautiful and Are Media.
https://www.homebeautiful.com.au/home-beautiful-the-edit-podcast/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thousands of people followed Matty J and Laura Byrne's NSW South Coast renovation online. We all chimed in with suggestions on tile colours, furnishings and design ideas, and the end product is like a dream house by the sea. And as anyone who’s taken on a renovation project knows, beneath hose happy snaps and gorgeous exteriors lies a whole lot of grit, stress and family logistics.
In this episode of The Edit, Matty joins Home Beautiful Editor-in-Chief Elle Lovelock to talk about transforming Chante Mer (or Song of the Sea) from a run-down coastal property into a much-loved family retreat and holiday stay.
He shares what it was like renovating while raising two young children and preparing for a third baby, how he and Laura navigated design decisions together, and why opening the home to guests changed the way they think about living spaces.
This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation with Matty J. Make sure you follow The Edit wherever you're listening now, so you can be among the first to hear Part 2.
This episode covers:
Matty J and Laura Byrne's Chante Mer renovation
Renovating a holiday home with young children
The first walk-through of Chante Mer
Mould and unexpected renovation challenges
Designing a family-friendly coastal retreat
Renovating under public scrutiny
Opening a holiday home to Airbnb guests
The reality of running a short-term rental
🎧 Listen to The Edit and follow on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-edit/id1852946910
Listen and follow on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/1y7phZb4CeMhYzFssKZVcq
👀 Watch and subscribe to The Edit on Home Beautiful's YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@HomeBeautifulMag
Watch full episodes:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1c73iMScLqZ357jQ_0A3eDGTysM1SUxO
Credits
Host: Elle Lovelock
Guest: Matty Johnson
Producer: Rachel Fountain
Videographer: Charlie Potter
Edited by: Leah Porges
Head of Vodcasting: Rachel Fountain
With thanks to our wonderful Home Beautiful team.
The Edit is a production of Home Beautiful and Are Media.
https://www.homebeautiful.com.au/home-beautiful-the-edit-podcast/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.