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Six Australian properties featured by Better Homes & Gardens Australia on July 20, 2018 offer six distinct directions for a home makeover: a light-filled sandstone barn, a vintage-industrial cottage, a contemporary city hotel, a waterside shack, a French-influenced retreat and a sophisticated coastal collection. Their value is not a ranking. Each is a compact style study you can translate into paint, finishes, furniture and lighting at home.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteThe feature is historical, and it does not confirm that every property still operates or accepts bookings. Use the design cues first; verify a property’s current status directly before planning a stay.
Compare the six design directions
| Property | Setting | Design direction | Materials and finish cues |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Barn, Hobart | 1820s sandstone barn in Hobart’s CBD | Restrained rustic | Stone, natural light and a calm materials palette |
| Vintage House Daylesford | 1860s miner’s cottage in Victoria | Vintage-industrial | Vintage, industrial and antique furniture and accessories |
| Paramount House Hotel | Former Paramount Picture Studios, Surry Hills, Sydney | Contemporary urban | Current-feeling colour, metallic bathroom fittings, linen bedding and velvet upholstery |
| Captains Rest | Historically listed cottage at Lettes Bay Village near Strahan, Tasmania | Peaceful waterside shack | Waterside character, simple comfort and a private jetty |
| The White House, Daylesford | Country retreat in Victoria | French-influenced rustic | Industrial lighting, one-off antiques and linen |
| The Bower, Byron Bay | Four-property collection in New South Wales | Sophisticated coastal, cottage and modern beachside | Natural materials, neutral colours and relaxed forms |
For a painting project, the important distinction is between a property’s identity and the details that create it. Stone may suggest restraint, but it is the relationship between wall colour, daylight, texture and furnishings that makes a room feel restrained. Treat each stay below as a palette brief rather than a literal room to copy.
#1 Best Overall
The Barn, Hobart: make rustic architecture feel open
The Barn is an 1820s sandstone barn in Hobart’s central business district, converted by two local architects. The feature highlights a restrained materials palette and abundant natural light. That combination keeps a heavy historic shell from feeling gloomy while preserving its sense of enclosure.
Painting translation
- Keep the wall colour quiet so the architecture carries the visual weight. Soft mineral, chalk or warm stone families are more compatible with sandstone than a hard, blue-leaning white.
- Use daylight as part of the palette. Watch the room from morning to evening before choosing a final colour; a restrained shade can look considerably warmer beside sunlit stone.
- Let texture do some of the work. A low-sheen wall finish can sit behind rough masonry without competing with it, while a more washable finish may suit circulation areas.
- Repeat one calm colour across connected walls if the plan is open. Fewer transitions make a compact barn conversion feel larger.
In a modern home, the lesson is not to fake sandstone. It is to pair one grounded wall colour with pale timber, woven surfaces or other natural textures, then leave enough visual space for daylight to read as a feature.
Vintage House Daylesford: layer history without making a room feel themed
Vintage House is an 1860s miner’s cottage restored and renovated by interior designer Kali Cavanagh. Its suggested language combines vintage, industrial and antique furniture and accessories. The appeal comes from contrast: old pieces, practical surfaces and signs of use can coexist when the background remains coherent.
Painting translation
- Choose a forgiving base colour with enough warmth to support aged timber and metal. Creamy neutrals, muted clay notes or softened green-grey families can bridge vintage and industrial pieces.
- Give old furniture room to stand out. If a cabinet, mirror or pendant is highly detailed, avoid a high-contrast feature wall behind every object; one continuous backdrop is calmer.
- Use darker paint selectively on joinery, a door or a small study rather than saturating every wall. This creates depth without turning a cottage into a heavy industrial set.
- Test colours beside the actual antiques. A shade that appears neutral on a sample card may pull yellow, pink or green next to aged finishes.
For a makeover, start with one inherited or second-hand piece you genuinely want to keep. Build the wall colour around its undertone, then add industrial elements sparingly. The result should feel collected over time, not purchased as a matching package.
Paramount House Hotel, Sydney: give contemporary rooms tactile contrast
Paramount House Hotel occupies the former Paramount Picture Studios in Surry Hills and was created by Breathe Architecture. The feature describes a current-feeling colour palette, metallic bathroom fittings, linen bedding and velvet-upholstered furniture. These details show how a contemporary room can stay crisp while still feeling comfortable.
Painting translation
- Begin with the room’s fixed metal finish. Warm metallic fittings generally sit more naturally with creamy, taupe or earthy colours than with icy whites; cooler metals can support cleaner greys and blue-green neutrals.
- Use paint to frame tactile materials. A matte or eggshell wall can make velvet look richer and linen look more relaxed, while a highly glossy wall may compete with both.
- Keep the main palette edited, then introduce colour in one controlled zone: a bed wall, powder room, reading nook or ceiling.
- Carry the wall colour into the bathroom only when the paint system is suitable for humid conditions. Metallic fittings should remain an accent, not a reason to add metallic paint everywhere.
Linen bedding is a useful general product cue, but the feature does not identify a brand or exact hotel item. Recreate the atmosphere with a generic linen bedding set, a tactile upholstered piece and a carefully tested wall colour rather than trying to reproduce an unspecified product.
Rank #3
Captains Rest: translate a waterside shack into calm, not clutter
Captains Rest is a historically listed cottage in Lettes Bay Village near Strahan, Tasmania, with its own jetty. Its design idea is a peaceful and stylish interpretation of a waterside shack. That phrase points to restraint: the setting supplies drama, so the interior does not need a crowded nautical theme.
Painting translation
- Use a quiet, weathered family of colours: softened blue, grey, sand or off-white can suggest water and timber without becoming literal.
- Keep trim and doors simple. A limited number of related shades helps a small cottage feel restful and lets views remain the focal point.
- Pair painted surfaces with natural, slightly irregular materials such as timber, rope-like fibres or woven textiles. The contrast makes a simple palette feel intentional.
- Reserve the strongest colour for a small, easily changed element if you are uncertain: an entry door, built-in bench or compact bathroom.
At home, ask whether every coastal object earns its place. One or two references to the shoreline are enough when the paint, light and materials already establish the mood.
The White House, Daylesford: build French-influenced rustic rooms from collected pieces
Designed by interior designer Lynda Gardener, The White House in Daylesford combines French-influenced rustic character with industrial lighting, one-off antiques and linen. The feature connects this approach with maximalist or bohemian rooms filled with collected objects. Maximalism works here because the individual pieces share a relaxed, aged vocabulary.
Rank #4
Painting translation
- Select a unifying wall colour before bringing in collections. A warm white, faded neutral or muted earthy tone can prevent many antiques from competing.
- Use the ceiling and trim deliberately. A slightly deeper trim can emphasise old-house proportions; a near-matching trim keeps a crowded room visually quieter.
- Let industrial lighting provide contrast against softer linen and antique surfaces. Paint does not need to supply every dramatic moment.
- Group objects by material or tone rather than scattering them evenly. A concentrated arrangement looks collected; a random distribution can look accidental.
If you prefer a less maximal room, keep the same ingredients but reduce the count. One unusual light, one antique anchor and layered linen can communicate the direction without filling every surface.
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The Bower is a collection of four properties conceived by designers and stylists. The feature associates it with sophisticated coastal, cottage and modern beachside living, using natural materials and neutral colours. This is a more polished coastal direction than a theme built from shells, stripes and bright blue.
Painting translation
- Build from related neutrals rather than one stark white. Sand, oat, warm grey and softened cream can create subtle depth between walls, ceilings and joinery.
- Use natural materials to add variation: timber grain, woven fibres and stone-like surfaces can keep neutral rooms from feeling flat.
- For a modern beachside room, paint one architectural plane—an island wall, stairwell or built-in—to establish focus while keeping the rest quiet.
- Check artificial light at night. Neutral colours can shift noticeably under warm bulbs, so sample in the room’s evening lighting as well as in daylight.
The Bower’s lesson is editing. Coastal character comes from proportion, texture and light; paint should support those qualities rather than announce a theme.
Best Value
Turn one property into a practical paint plan
Once you know which direction fits your home, use this sequence to move from inspiration to a finish you can live with.
- Choose one design brief. Write a short phrase such as “restrained rustic,” “vintage-industrial” or “sophisticated coastal.” Do not combine all six at once.
- Inventory what cannot change. Record flooring, stone, tiles, cabinetry, metal fittings and large furniture. These fixed elements determine which undertones will work.
- Map the light. Note the direction of windows and observe the room at several times of day. A colour that works in a sunny photograph may behave differently in a shaded hall.
- Build a small sample set. Test a few related colours on large movable boards or primed sections of wall. Place them beside the most important fixed materials, not in an empty corner.
- Decide where contrast belongs. Choose whether the strongest shift will be on a feature wall, trim, ceiling, door or a small service room. Limiting contrast makes the overall makeover more deliberate.
- Confirm the finish and prepare properly. Clean, repair and prime surfaces as needed, then select a sheen appropriate to wear, moisture and the texture you want to show. A beautiful colour cannot compensate for poor preparation.
How to verify a stay before planning around it
The six properties were presented as places that could be rented for weekends or family holidays, but the July 2018 feature does not establish their present-day operating status, booking channels or room details. If you want to visit for firsthand inspiration, treat availability as a separate question from design relevance.
- Look for a current official property page or an established accommodation listing, and check the date of its latest update.
- Confirm that the name, location and property description match the place described in the feature; distinctive names can be reused.
- Ask directly whether the accommodation is operating, which spaces are available and whether the photographed interiors have changed.
- Check cancellation terms, minimum stays and access arrangements before paying. A historical design article is not a booking confirmation.
You can still use the design ideas without travelling. Make a materials board from your own room, photograph it in changing light and apply the same editing principle each property demonstrates: choose a direction, then let paint support the architecture, objects and natural materials.
What these designer digs teach a painter
Together, the six properties show that memorable interiors rarely depend on an exotic colour alone. The Barn uses restraint and daylight to make stone feel open. Vintage House layers eras around a coherent background. Paramount House balances a contemporary palette with linen, velvet and metal. Captains Rest keeps a waterside setting peaceful. The White House gives antiques and industrial lighting a unifying envelope. The Bower refines coastal living through neutrals and natural materials.
For your own makeover, identify the atmosphere you want, study the materials already in the room and test paint under real light. That approach produces a home with a clear point of view while leaving space for the objects and routines that make it yours.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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