Author: Adam Nobel

After the last couple of years, it is unsurprising that a major trend in home décor is focussed on generating a greater sense of wellbeing. The movement towards creating wellness oases at home was forefront amongst the winners of this…

Many of us would like to have a ‘real’ Christmas tree, but they can be problematic to dispose of afterwards. Some will end up in the green bin, while potted plants might spend the following 11 months in a corner…

500 households in Perth have been chosen for a new $35 million virtual power plant, a network of solar-powered homes that collectively generate and store energy, minimising the use of fossil fuels. Selected because of their suburbs’ high uptake of…

With the Reserve Bank holding out on raising interest rates, some lenders are starting to make their own decisions, it seems. In the last few days of November, Commonwealth Bank increased fixed rates for the third time since September, taking…

Home lending is expected to become easier for owner-occupiers though not so much for investors or ‘risky’ borrowers, following the release this week of changes to bank capital rules. Banking regulator Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has described its new…

It’s official – La Niña is here for the summer, the Bureau of Meteorology has announced. And she’s bringing ‘increased likelihood of damage and flooding related to strong winds, high seas and heavy rains from tropical cyclones’. So with our…

Building approvals have tipped down again, thanks to the ever-volatile apartment sector, official figures show. Data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the seasonally adjusted number of dwellings approved fell 12.9% in October, following a…

It’s that time of the year when Love Actually inevitably returns to screens. So we found our own love story, in the rotating home a Bosnian man built so his wife could have better views. When his wife complained that…

Orange peels, coffee grounds, algae and 2 million recycled plastic bottles were the building materials for the Italian pavilion at Dubai Expo, as a way of highlighting a need to incorporate climate awareness into design. The bottles made up the…

One in four Australians have considered buying property with family or friends, a new survey shows. When asked what was driving this trend, more than two-thirds said affordability was the main driver, followed by wanting to buy a bigger/better property…