Mary Featherston: Design, disruption and advocacy

The Home Front, Owning the dream

Why do so many Australians see owning a home as the cornerstone of the Great Australian Dream? In this opening episode of our special series The Home Front, we unpack the historical, cultural, and political forces that shaped Australia’s deep-rooted obsession with home ownership. From post-war prosperity to the rise of suburban ideals, we trace how the dream took hold- and why that dream no longer fits the realities of today.

How the sari became fashion’s ultimate chameleon

It’s a single strip of cloth that has shaped centuries of style and identity.Worn for thousands of years across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, the sari is one of the world’s most enduring—and adaptable—garments. From sacred ceremonies to high fashion runways, it has continually reinvented itself while carrying deep cultural meaning. But how has one garment continued to feel fresh, relevant and strikingly modern over so much time?

How an interior designer really sees your home

What do designers notice the moment they walk through your front door? Interior designer Adelaide Bragg and photographer and author Robyn Lea reveal how they read a room—translating light, objects and atmosphere into deeply personal stories. We explore their collaboration on City, Coast and Country and what it takes to style and capture uniquely Australian homes with meaning, not just bea

How was the fork an instrument of evil?

It sits quietly on the table, beside the knife and spoon, rarely asking for attention. But the fork hasn’t always looked — or behaved — the way it does today. From scandalous novelty to everyday necessity, this small object has played a powerful role in shaping how we eat, how we gather, and how manners became habit.

Public toilets: The design, history and politics of who gets to go

‘The sewer is the conscience of the city’, or so the French writer Victor Hugo once claimed. It’s a confronting idea, but a revealing one: the way a society deals with waste can tell us a lot about its values, priorities and politics. And yet our toilet habits are something we’re usually taught to ignore, avoid or feel embarrassed about. We look at one everyday object that sits right at the intersection of design, morality and public life: the public toilet. Used by everyone, discussed by few, and designed very differently across cultures and centuries, it turns out the humble loo has a lot to say about who we are.