Can a darker interior draw your eye toward the garden? On a steep site in Coburg North, Sonelo Architects transform a modest brick dwelling into a family home where the landscape becomes the brightest and most defining element.

What happens when architecture steps back and lets the landscape lead? Reworking an original 1980s house by Dan Callaghan in Brisbane, Nielsen Jenkins shaped a home that sits quietly within its bushland setting.

A sensitive renovation looked to preserve its history while updating for modern living, emphasising the mid-century modern timeless design principles.

Wilko Architecture has sympathetically renovated his own mid-century modern home which suffered from a bad 70s makeover.

Melanie Beynon Architecture has used materials and replanning to future-proof their own family home.

Park Street is a former 1970s motel in Brunswick with 17 apartments that have been lightly renovated.

The design of this modern farmhouse was driven by its site, landscape and a deep understanding of sustainability.

Inbetween Architecture looked to add a small chapter to a 100-year cottage in the leafy Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe.

Below street level on a busy Potts Point road sits an apartment that is not what you would expect, with a minimalist light-filled interior and views over Sydney's CBD.

Jesse Creasey, a Melbourne-based builder, and his wife found a Post-War cottage online, and when they drove past for a look, it wasn't initially for him.

Designed in 1962 by Essendon AFL footballer and architect Jack Clarke, the Mid-Century home showed its age and needed a renovation to bring it up to modern standards.

Dark and moody interiors can be challenging to get right, but they evoke a whole new sense of calm and enclosure when they're done right.