Secret Design Studio is back full-time from Mon 12 Jan 🛠️✨
Bookings now open for Dr Retro House Calls (Melbourne) + Dr Retro Virtual Visits (anywhere Zoom reaches).
Relaxed consults — coffee welcome, suits and dramatic cigarette-planning sessions optional 😄🚬
Unearthed these photos of an elegant carport while clearing old files. Love the use of concrete block as a cost-effective screening wall — a nice alternative to classic mid-century breeze block.
Google image search drew a blank, so if anyone recognises this building, I’d love to know more.
Hats off to SpaceCraft Joinery 👏
This thoughtful custom fit-out gives the home a fresh lease on life, with a standout built-in banquette that maximises seating in a cosy space. Clearly contemporary, yet still a respectful nod to the home’s mid-century modern roots.
Happy New Year! 60 years ago, January 1966, Australian House and Garden featured this Ernest Fooks house with a full-colour cover and multi-page feature in Australian House & Garden.
Mid-century modern, global influences, and quietly confident design — decades ahead of its time.
🕰️ What happened to the classic kitchen clock? Spotted this beauty on a recent Dr Retro House Call — perfectly built into 1960s cabinetry. So much more charm (and function) than blinking appliance digits!
Booking for 2026? Lock in 2025 prices if confirmed in Q1. ✨
#DrRetroHouseCall
Is Inverloch channelling LA’s iconic Stahl House? Those huge windows and daring cantilevers are pure Hollywood energy overlooking Anderson’s Inlet. Let’s just hope it’s well anchored in those coastal breezes!
(Not one of Secret Design Studio’s projects — but I wish it was!)
Loving this 1950s Streamline Moderne gem in the Riverina — all curves, brickwork and ocean-liner vibes. A rare mid-century classic still shining in the country sun.
#StreamlineModerne #MidCenturyAustralia #RiverinaArchitecture #1950sDesign #ModernistAustralia #DrRetroHouseCall #SecretDesignStudio
Oh to be a kid in 1948 — no helmets, no supervision, and absolutely zero risk assessments.
Today this scene would require hi-vis, helmets, safety signage and probably a legal team. But look at them — absolute chaos, zero screens, and having the time of their lives.
📸 Home Beautiful, December 1948
I first saw this forgotten mid-century beach house in Tootgarook months ago. It looked lonely — almost like it was asking, “Why was I abandoned?”
I drove past again recently. Now it sits behind temporary fencing… waiting for its fate.
Some homes are more than buildings — they’re stories.
⚠️ Asbestos Alert in a Mid-Century Home
On a recent Dr Retro House Call, a small detail caught my eye — chipped vinyl around a ducted heating vent in an original 1960s kitchen. A sample was taken and tested by Greenlight Environmental Services.
🔬 Result: Positive for asbestos.
It is always nice to get some feedback from another happy client after a Dr Retro House Call.
“Thanks so much for all of the valuable information and insights/recommendations - Having someone with your experience to bounce ideas off was great!”
This House & Garden cover is from October 1975—just a month before Whitlam’s dismissal. Bright colours, optimism, and the suburban dream… while Australian politics was about to flip upside down.
Secret Design Studio Archives
#Whitlam #TheDismissal #1970sAustralia #MidCenturyAustralia
Heading to a Holgar & Holgar home in Toorak this week for a Dr Retro House Call. Always bold, glamorous and full of personality. Fingers crossed for one of their famous sweeping staircases. These photos are from a memorable one in Eaglemont.
#HolgarAndHolgar #DrRetroHouseCall #ModernistAustralia
Seems like Westleigh might be sleeping on one of its most remarkable homes. “The Abloy,” designed by Michael Dysart and Associates for Habitat Pty Ltd. So if a Habitat-era home, a touch of Brutalism, and a bush block ready for a native garden speaks to you…
www.realestate.com.au/property-hou...
Just visited a freshly settled Lewis Coote mid-century home.
Styling furniture gone = the house’s real personality revealed.
Beautiful condition.
Only problem: one missing cooktop knob.
Got a source for mid-century appliance hardware? Drop a lead 👇
#mcm #midcenturymodern #architecture #renovation
Mid-century lovers: heads up.
A real Alistair Knox designed home just hit the market in Blackburn.
North-facing. Soulful. Needs gentle hands.
Share with the right person 💛
www.realestate.com.au/property-hou...
Dr Retro House Call 🚗💨
Tomorrow we’re heading to Heidelberg to visit a beautifully preserved Lewis Coote Home — a slice of late-1960s Melbourne modernism still standing proud.
#DrRetroHouseCall #MidCenturyMelbourne #LewisCooteHomes #SecretDesignStudio #MidCenturyModern #MelbourneArchitecture
Loved this kind feedback after a Dr Retro House Call:
‘The time just flew, your insights really helped me focus on what matters most!’
After a short break, Dr Retro House Calls are back in Melbourne from November 🎉
🕙 10:30am or 2:30pm
🚗 Regional VIC by arrangement
💻 Zoom for interstate
Mid-century magic = indoors + outdoors in perfect harmony 🌿✨
Open today at 2:30pm — last Saturday before the auction (Sat 18th, 12pm). Don’t miss it!”
#MidCenturyVibes #IndoorOutdoorLiving #OpenHomeToday #AuctionCountdown #RetroCool
www.realestate.com.au/property-hou...
When quirky meets cool 💫
These Carlo Bartoli ‘Solar’ chairs from the 1960s make poolside style look effortless. Would you lounge in these icons? 👀✨
Open house this Thursday, 4:00 pm — come take a seat.
#MidCenturyVibes #PoolsideStyle #RetroCool #OpenHome
www.realestate.com.au/property-hou...
Yes, there’s a Shag in the bedroom. 😉 #ArtGoals
#MidCenturyMtWaverley #ShagArt #OutboundWithTheInCrowd #tikitime #RetroStyle
www.realestate.com.au/property-hou...
secret_design_studio
1m
Topless barman not included. Smiles, mid-century vibes, and Tiki bar very much are. 😎🍹
www.realestate.com.au/property-hou...
🏡 Mid-Century makeover in Mount Waverley!
Old kitchen ➡️ new master suite (ensuite + WIR)
New open-plan kitchen ➡️ garden + pool views 🌿💦
📍 13 Allister St, Mount Waverley
🕚 Open Thursday 9 Oct 4.00 to 4:30pm & Saturday 11 Oct 2:00 to 2:30pm
www.realestate.com.au/property-hou...
From the front door ➡️ family room ➡️ pool + waterfall 🌊 … the sightline says welcome home.
💧 In Feng Shui, water flowing towards the house = prosperity + opportunity 💰
💫 For everyone else? Just a stunning, calming feature you’ll love every day.
www.realestate.com.au/property-hou...
Our mid-century pre-sale makeover client has told me that the Uber Eats delivery driver liked the makeover so much that he told her how nice it was! Some photos from an Uber Eats delivery driver's view...
#MidCenturyMtWaverley #jelliscraigmonash #welcometoyournewlifestyle #midcenturymakeover
Some Greyhounds are great at photo-bombing! Nice match with the runner rug. This is the telephone table in the entry hall of the home which is currently being prepared for sale. #MidCenturyMtWaverley #jelliscraigmonash #welcometoyournewlifestyle #midcenturymakeover
An essential addition to every mid-century home that battles with keeping expansive areas of glass clean a robot window cleaner. Final stages of the mid-century pre-sale makeover have been reached. #MidCenturyMtWaverley #jelliscraigmonash #welcometoyournewlifestyle #midcenturymakeover #RobotMyLife
secret_design_studio
#MidCenturyMtWaverley
“Welcome to your New Lifestyle” by Josh Agle is the the most appropriate artwork to place in the entry hall of our pre-sale mid-century makeover project in Mt Waverley.
#MidCenturyMtWaverley #jelliscraigmonash #welcometoyournewlifestyle #midcenturymakeover
Hoping and praying that the weather stays fine for the rest of the day so that @solshine painters can finish painting the exterior for this pre-sale mid-century makeover. #MidCenturyMtWaverley #jelliscraigmonash
Round or Square? I prefer round as they have a more mid-century vibe. They are also easier to move around if you can imagine Fred Flintstone changing a wheel.
I will be sharing photos of the finished entry path in this pre-sale makeover. #MidCenturyMtWaverley #jelliscraigmonash
