It’s said bathrooms sell houses but even if you’re planning to stay the distance in your current home it makes sense to get the bathroom absolutely right. After all, it’s one of the most used rooms in your home.

On the surface, bathrooms seem simple and formulaic — shower, vanity, basin and, if there’s space, a bath and toilet. Not much room for error there, right? Well, as reality TV renovation shows have taught us, there’s plenty to consider when designing your dream bathroom.

“Layout is a really important factor when designing your bathroom,” explains Mojo Homes interior design Sandra Lockhart. “Where will the toilet go? Is there enough room to dry off when I step out of the shower? What am I looking at when sitting on the toilet?”

“The most important thing to consider is who will be using the bathroom,” says Tradelink national selection centre manager Eamon Lowe. “The layout, the fixtures and fittings should be tailored to the people who are going to use it. If there will be several people using the bathroom at a time perhaps think about twin shower heads, two basins, and space- saving features such as wall-hung toilet and vanity.”

A bathroom with hidden cistern by Reece

Budget is also an important consideration.

“If you’re working to a strict budget, compile a list of ‘must haves’ and a list of ‘lust-haves’,” advises Reece bathrooms business manager Daniela Santilli. “Essentials such as storage and proper ventilation need to be in the budget breakdown, while the inclusion of splurges like a rain shower or heated towel rail may need to be revised when the final costs are completed.”

First things first

Getting the order right is especially important in a wet area like the bathroom where, generally, space is limited and each element of the room heavily relies on the others.

“When selecting your products, start with the largest items first as these can dictate further choices as you layer products from big to small,” says Reece’s Daniela Santilli. “For example, the kind of vanity you select will dictate whether the basin is inset or above counter, which will then influence what kind of tapware you choose. Similarly, the type of bath and its placement will impact the taps and spout you can use.”

The usual sequence of events is: rough in, plumbing, waterproofing, painting/tiling, and installing new fixtures and fittings. However, the order of these may vary depending on your project.

Tile choice

Gone are the days when bathroom tiles were confined to square and white. While white is still a popular choice, patterned and textured tiles are adding interest to otherwise neutral spaces. Trends to watch are hexagonal-shaped tiles and mosaics which work well in a small feature wall or around the vanity.

A bathroom tile mosaic features on last year's season of The Block

Lighting that works

“Well-planned lighting is essential in a bathroom – it should never be an added afterthought,” says Tradelink’s Eamon Lowe. “Ideally there should be both ambient and task lighting — ambient for bathing and showering, and task lighting near the vanity and mirror for grooming.”

The bathroom in the Nova display home by Mojo Homes

Lockhart suggests keeping all your different lights on separate switches for the ability customise each bathroom experience.

First published Home Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, 15 November 2015

Chefs may be the new rock stars, but behind the fawning magazine profiles and the celebrity TV gigs, it's a tough life. Not for nothing does the aphorism "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" ring true.

But the collision of two trends is seeing a change in our top kitchens. The "paddock to plate" philosophy is connecting chefs more closely to the produce they work with, while the wider treechange movement is prompting some to step away from the city restaurant pressure cooker to find a healthier, healthier way of life.



Alastair McLeod spent years at the coalface, making his name at the much-loved Bretts Wharf, Hamilton, and launching the highly regarded Tank Restaurant & Bar, in the city. A couple of years ago, though, the charismatic Irishman moved from New Farm to Samford Valley and set up his catering business Al'FreshCo.

His new existence on a two-hectare property complete with cows, a beehive, chooks and a veggie patch is a far cry from inner-city life and the nonstop, high-stress nature of a working kitchen. Not that he's putting his feet up.

"I think there's an impression that you come out to this idyll because you've made your millions and you can just sit here and stroke your cattle all day but it couldn't be further from the truth," Alastair says.

"I do feel less stressed than when I was in a big city restaurant doing a service every day but instead of working 40 hours a week for someone else I'm doing it for myself. In fact, I'm probably working 100 hours a week now but I get to choose which 100 hours they are." Joining Al is his wife Ash, a former TV producer who now runs Al'FreshCo with Alastair and a small, dedicated team.

Alistair McLeod at home in the Samford Valley

Glen Barratt, chef at Brookfield's popular Wild Canary, tells a similar story. He joined the "botanical bistro" in 2014 after a career that has seen him work in some of Brisbane's top kitchens including Tables of Toowong, Two Small Rooms and Restaurant II.

"Don't get me wrong, there's still stress and pressure, but there's also this sense of enjoyment and pleasure that comes from the opportunity to get back to the basics," says Glen, a supporter of farmers' markets, local produce and permaculture who also lives in the Samford Valley with his wife, five children and an ever-growing organic garden.

"It's the little things, like the simple act of walking out to the kitchen garden we have at Wild Canary to collect herbs, instead of having them delivered to the back door of the restaurant.

Glen Barratt in his kitchen garden at Wild Canary in Brookfield

"Even though there are still plenty of high pressure moments, you can look up to the clouds, see the butterflies and watch our customers exploring the garden. It kind of puts it all in perspective." For both men, the move was prompted by a desire to reconnect with produce and create "real food".

Both Alastair and Glen reel off the names of farmers and producers from both the Brisbane region and the Lockyer Valley as if they're talking about familiar friends - and in some cases they are. They know exactly where things have come from and the processes that have brought them from the paddock to the plate.

"The local farmers have become friends. It's nice to hear what's happening from their end. It makes the whole transaction so much more personal, which you definitely don't get working in a fast-paced city kitchen." Alastair, who is a regular presenter on Channel 7's The Great South East, says getting back to the reason he became a chef in the first place was part of the thinking behind his decision to start a market stall when Bretts Wharf closed almost four years ago.

"I arrived at this fork in the road and I had to think about what it was that I really wanted to do," he says. "So basically Ash and I became carnies, travelling to and from the markets and getting back to real, authentic food. I kind of had this moment when it became very clear to me that there's no correlation between how complicated you can make a dish and how delicious it is, so a market stall just made sense." One of Alastair's market hits was his "croque madman" - a take on the classic French grilled ham, cheese and egg sandwich.

"We used bread made by Terry Wilson (of Leavain Bakery) for the market, our butter came from Camille Mortaud from Gympie Farm, who also had a stall, and the ham, cheese and eggs were all from local suppliers," he says. "It wasn't complicated - just delicious."

This passion for the very best local produce is also evident in Glen's ever-changing menu at Wild Canary. Meals are strewn with seasonal herbs and vegetables, while spectacular cakes are decorated liberally with edible flowers.

Packed full of antioxidants who could say no on a Friday morning to a slice of layered chocolate berry cake for breakfast!? #cake #antioxidants #chocolate #berries #cakelicious #edibleflowers #delicious

A photo posted by Wild Canary ☕️🍷🍰🍅🍍🌺🌴 (@wildcanaryeat) on May 19, 2016 at 1:23pm PDT

It's an enthusiasm that has rubbed off on the young chefs he works with in the kitchen.

"In the city, as an apprentice, you're not exposed to where the food actually comes from," he says. "You're not taken out to see where tomatoes or cucumbers would be growing, to see where eggs are being laid - they just turn up on the back doorstep. I make an effort to take my guys with me as often as possible to meet the farmers."

The whole thing suggests an alluring simplicity that can sometimes be lost in the hubbub of a city restaurant. "The main job of the chef is to manage a business that, in this country, is operating with a profit margin of just two to four per cent on average, so it's not really in the best interest of the business for me to be out foraging for parsley," Alastair says.

"Instead I need to be in the restaurant managing this slim-margin business and we all know that's not really the core skill of a chef." Alastair and Glen aren't the only ones who are enjoying a greater connection to the food they prepare thanks to their semi-rural status.
Ben Devlin left city fine diner Esquire to launch Paper Daisy at Cabarita Beach, where he can cook in view of the pool.

Three Blue Ducks chef Darren Robertson swapped the bright lights of Sydney for a quieter life in Byron Bay to open a farmside business complete with restaurant, cafe and deli, and there are many others following their lead. It's a trend that looks set to continue as the dining public's appetite for unprocessed, "real" ingredients grows.

"I've been cooking for 25 years and, truthfully, I've never been happier," Glen says.

First published in Brisbane News, 9 March 2016

Yes, I'm engaged! And to tell you the truth, I think I'm still getting over the shock! It happened more than a month ago while we were holidaying in New York but I feel like it's only all just starting to sink it... I'm going to get married!

Of course the first question everyone is asking is have we started planning yet. But honestly I think I was so overwhelmed for the first few weeks that I couldn't even think that far ahead. I'm sure some people - my fiance included - thought my lack of planning mojo in the first few weeks was a sign I wasn't 100 per cent into the whole wedding thing. I think the poor guy was a little worried in all honesty.

True, I'm not a real girly-girl who has dreamed of my wedding day my whole life. To me, a wedding is a mark of two people's commitment to each other and the colour of the centrepieces doesn't really matter. Sure I want everything to look pretty and perfect but if I end up with rhododendrons instead of roses, the world - or my marriage - isn't going to end. And maybe it's my age but the thought of spending an amount akin to a deposit on a nice home on just one evening sends shivers down my spine.

But now the reality that I am soon to be a Mrs. has sunk in I'm feeling more ready to tackle the ginormous task ahead of me. The first hurdle we faced was the type of wedding we wanted to have - I'm happy with small (and I mean really small) and intimate whereas my fiance is more of a big-party-for-everyone-we've-ever-met type of thing. We've managed to come to a middle ground of sorts and, at the moment, we're thinking of a destination wedding where whoever wants to come see us tie the knot is welcome.

Our engagement pic! Yes, this is where it happened.

It's a really exciting time but I'm conscious of not getting too bogged down in the detail and enjoying our engagement. I know I'll never get this time again so I want it to be as stress-free as possible.

And for all of our friends reading this... consider this your official notification that we've finally set the date (well kind of!). We're hoping for the second week of April 2017 - almost exactly a year to the date we got engaged. Stay tuned.