Asha Holmes is a fourth-generation artist. Her mother, grandmother and great grandmother all practised art at one point or another in their lives, and this strong matrilineal tradition underpins Asha’s own practice. From the moment her mother handed her a paintbrush when she was three-years-old, art has remained a constant presence in her life.

From Asha’s studio in Brookvale in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Asha paints warm, earthy compositions spanning sunburnt country in earthy ochre tones. She doesn’t paint the Australian landscape in a figurative sense, but her works have a uniquely Australian feel.

(ps. If you like Asha’s style, take a look at our feature on the artist’s new home designed by Folk Studio here!)

The suburb of Haberfield in inner-west Sydney is a traditionally working class neighbourhood, though its proximity to the CBD has accelerated its gentrification in recent years. When Christopher Owen of Fieldwork was engaged to complete this garden in the suburb, he was torn on how to balance his love for the nostalgic, characterful space that had been in the previous owner’s family for decades, with his client’s brief for a contemporary garden.

He settled on a design that respected the garden’s legacy as a family space, by creating a new site ripe for the next generation of memories to take place. And it’s gorgeous!

Although I grew up eating ricotta-filled pasta (Maltese ravjul), the first time I ate…

Autumn is a gorgeous time to be in Ontario, Canada. The province is covered with lakes, forests and cliffs. With very few peaks above the treeline, the province

On an eight acre property nestled in a deep valley along the flank of Mount Witheren in Canungra, South East Queensland, is a slice of pure heaven. Pretty Produce is the multi-award winning chemical-free flower farm of Simone and Dave Jelley, where they grow and sell fresh produce and edible flowers to top restaurants around the country, and to customers through their online store. But it was only eight years ago that Simone was working in a completely different field (so to speak!).

Here, Simone takes us on a tour of Pretty Produce, her pride and joy, and tells us the story.

Nestled between tourist hot spots like Italy and Croatia, the little country of Slovenia is only slightly smaller than California, but has much of the same appe

Tara Rowe and her partner Luke have lived with their young family on their 300 acre farm on the west coast of South Australia for the last seven years.

The property is half a working farm (yielding wheat and canola crops) and half a regeneration project, but the couple have always wanted to create a boutique accommodation offering on their slice of remote wilderness. So, when they found an antique train carriage at a junk sale in a neighbouring town, a unique opportunity presented itself!

Restored with local timber and filled with a mix of vintage furniture by local dealers and new pieces by Australian makers – The Greenly Carriage has panoramic views over the Southern Ocean, Mount Greenly, Lake Greenly and the rolling countryside. This is a very special place to stay!

Photographer and performer Sarah Collins is no stranger to the Family pages of The Design Files, although this is her first time on the other side of the camera! Sarah photographed all our ‘Family’ stories until January 2020, when she became pregnant with her second daughter.

Since then, Sarah, her husband, actor and TV writer Justin Kennedy, their eldest Polly (6) and baby Daisy (1) have been riding out the pandemic from their home in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges.

As creatives working predominantly in the entertainment industry, Sarah and Justin have come up against some pretty scary times over the past two years. Not only have they seen their own work dry up significantly, but they’ve also witnessed their creative community of actors, writers, directors and production crew struggle to get by, in some cases choosing to re-skill and leave the industry altogether.

We spoke with Sarah about the state of the arts, and her hopes for the future.