Melissa Penfold

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INTERIORS

HAVE YOU ORDERED YOUR COPY OF MELISSA’S NEW BOOK YET?

Change how you experience the world everyday.
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INTERIORS

NON-OBVIOUS MEGA DESIGN TRENDS: HOW TO SEE WHAT OTHERS MISS

The game-changing trends to keep you future-ready.
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INTERIORS

2025 DESIGN PREDICTIONS ARE IN FOR THE WHOLE HOUSE

What’s in (and what’s out) for the new year, according to insider data.
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INTERIORS

THE 23 MOST DEFINING PIECES OF FURNITURE FROM THE LAST 100 YEARS

Which designs would you nominate to a Furniture Hall of Fame?
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INTERIORS

THE THINGS YOUR WEDDING GUESTS SECRETLY DESPISE

The aspects of weddings, people really detest.
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MPSTYLE

A WORLD OF INSPIRATION

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March 3, 2025

INTERIORS

HAVE YOU ORDERED YOUR COPY OF MELISSA’S NEW BOOK YET?

Change how you experience the world everyday.

read the story

Natural Living By Design - Melissa Penfold

November 29, 2024

INTERIORS

2025 DESIGN PREDICTIONS ARE IN FOR THE WHOLE HOUSE

What’s in (and what’s out) for the new year, according to insider data.

read the story

August 1, 2024

INTERIORS

THE NEW 100 ETIQUETTE RULES FOR MODERN LIFE

The new rules of etiquette. Hugging? Out. Air-kissing? In.

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August 21, 2024

INTERIORS

THE RIGHT WAY TO LAY OUT YOUR LIVING ROOM: THE 7 RULES

Designers follow these guidelines.

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July 24, 2024

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HOW ON TREND IS YOUR HOUSE?

It's time for dopamine decorating.

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May 19, 2024

INTERIORS

THESE ARE THE WORST DECORATING MISTAKES YOU CAN MAKE

Here's how to fix the most common blunders.

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February 17, 2024

INTERIORS

INTERIOR DESIGN TRENDS TO KNOW

The big ideas and trends defining design for the coming year.

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January 11, 2024

INTERIORS

DECORATING ON A BUDGET: INSIDER SECRETS

Time for an update.

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June 23, 2023

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HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD INTERIOR DESIGNER

Separate the truly talented from the dabbler and the dilattente.

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MELISSA’S QUICK FIXES

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Here’s hoping you’re bought my new book, ‘Na

Here’s hoping you’re bought my new book, ‘Natural Living by Design’ @vendomepress and made a start to going natural. Together, we change the world. Yes, the benefits are industrial-strength when we make small incremental changes to our surroundings that add up . Pictured is one of the most incredible houses that I’ve visited in Australia, that features in the book. It is a great example of a house that flows. Even if you live a shoebox-sized place, emphasis its flow, to enliven the atmosphere. Everywhere you look - down halls, through rooms, beyond doorways - you want your eye to land on something attractive in the distance. Using similar or complementary colours and textures from room to room generates a sense of flow and the impression of space. Homes with a great layout and sense of movement through spaces are essential for your sense of well-being. The goal is for the circulation within rooms - between rooms - and between indoor and outdoor spaces is to have the same benefits as you might experience walking in a natural environment. Think of floor plans that lead to more sheltered spaces. Update your home and boost your quality of life - and pick up a copy today. Available in-store and online, worldwide. Link in bio and stories. Publisher @vendomepress; photos: @simonbrownphotography

Creating spaces in which we feel relaxed and at ea

Creating spaces in which we feel relaxed and at ease is essential to our health and happiness. You’ll know you’ve struck the right note if everything in your surroundings pleases your senses, uplifts your mood and puts you at ease. If your home could speak, it would say, “You’re safe; all is well”. You can use my new book, ‘Natural Living By Design’ @vendomepress as a design toolbox - picking a chapter that addresses an area you’d like to explore, such as rearranging furniture in a room to improve its flow and connection between people. Or incorporating the unexpected and surprising to provide enormous uplift. Small changes can have a big cumulative impact on the livability of your home. We hope you’ll pick up a copy of the book and design your way to greater health and happiness. Order today - link to copies in bio + stories. Publisher @vendomepress Pic 1: @paolomoschino + @philipvergeylen country house in Sussex.

BOOK EVENT. How can you begin each day in your hom

BOOK EVENT. How can you begin each day in your home feeling your best? Maximising who you are and, what you need to be doing? What if your home is keeping you from being your best? What can you do to get it? Let’s hash it out at my Literary Lunch hosted by @thebookshopbowral at @centennialvineyards on Friday 6 June where I’ll discuss my new book, ‘Natural Living By Design’ @vendomepress, released two weeks ago. Discover the relatively easy and modest home updates that can result in vast improvements in quality of life. Delighted to announce that @ms.tanyabuchanan, the editor-in-chief of Belle + Australian House & Garden magazines will be part of the discussion. Tickets now available at www.the bookshopbowral.com.au /Events. Book today and join the fun. I love the Australian Southern Highlands and can’t wait to see everybody. Melissa, x. #naturalliving

Humans can be contrary, and what they say they do,

Humans can be contrary, and what they say they do, doesn’t always match what they actually do. People have good intentions. But as prices rise, sustainability is more of a luxury. Consumers will only make eco-friendly choices if they can afford to. Well, the good news is natural living doesn’t cost more. It can save you money. Adding even a modest amount of insulation to solid interior walls can quadruple their efficiency. Keeping the summer heat out with layers of transparent sunscreen shading and shutters can help lower your energy bill. Anyone wanting to help the environment can landscape with less formality - letting nature take its course. Trees and plants perform best when left to their own devices. Simply by reusing or repurposing what you have can reduce wasteful spending. These images are not in my book but they demonstrate the point. Anyone wanting to check the surprising ways natural living can affect your home, and your life - can pick up a copy of my book, ‘Natural Living By Design’ @vendomepress in-store or online now. Link to copies in bio. Pic 1: Joan and Patrick Leigh Fernor’s Kardamyli house at the edge of the Western Peloponnese; photo; Miguel Flores-Vienna; Pic 2: @annahewitsondesign 300 year old cottage; photo; @boz_gagovski; Pic 3: Adrian Holme’s chateau in south west France; photo: @paul_massey; Pic 4: The London house of Christoper Masson; photo; @alistergthorpe; Pic 5; @florasoames garden designed 20 years ago. Photo; @paul_massey; Pics 6 + 8: @worldarchitectureinterior; Pic 7: @jasperconran’s 17th-century Dorset house is surrounded by an informal garden; photo; @montgomeryphoto; Pic 9: Creeper-clad 18th century London house design; @jothompsongarden; photo; @jasoningram; Pic 10; Tuscan farmhouse design Keith Johnson and Glen Senk; photos; @davidelovatti

Thrilled to include the Tangier home and work of @

Thrilled to include the Tangier home and work of @veere_grenney in my new book, ‘Natural Living By Design’ @vendomepress. Veere, who has just been awarded @houseandgardenuk Lifetime Achievement Award for 2025, says “the one thing when you become older, is you want less.” Discover which photos made the cut - and why how much you spend is less important than how you channel your inner curator - when you order your copy today. The book was released last week and is available in-store and online now. Photos: @veere_grenney + @francescolagnese #naturalliving

Follow Melissa on Instagram

Here’s hoping you’re bought my new book, ‘Na

Here’s hoping you’re bought my new book, ‘Natural Living by Design’ @vendomepress and made a start to going natural. Together, we change the world. Yes, the benefits are industrial-strength when we make small incremental changes to our surroundings that add up . Pictured is one of the most incredible houses that I’ve visited in Australia, that features in the book. It is a great example of a house that flows. Even if you live a shoebox-sized place, emphasis its flow, to enliven the atmosphere. Everywhere you look - down halls, through rooms, beyond doorways - you want your eye to land on something attractive in the distance. Using similar or complementary colours and textures from room to room generates a sense of flow and the impression of space. Homes with a great layout and sense of movement through spaces are essential for your sense of well-being. The goal is for the circulation within rooms - between rooms - and between indoor and outdoor spaces is to have the same benefits as you might experience walking in a natural environment. Think of floor plans that lead to more sheltered spaces. Update your home and boost your quality of life - and pick up a copy today. Available in-store and online, worldwide. Link in bio and stories. Publisher @vendomepress; photos: @simonbrownphotography

Creating spaces in which we feel relaxed and at ea

Creating spaces in which we feel relaxed and at ease is essential to our health and happiness. You’ll know you’ve struck the right note if everything in your surroundings pleases your senses, uplifts your mood and puts you at ease. If your home could speak, it would say, “You’re safe; all is well”. You can use my new book, ‘Natural Living By Design’ @vendomepress as a design toolbox - picking a chapter that addresses an area you’d like to explore, such as rearranging furniture in a room to improve its flow and connection between people. Or incorporating the unexpected and surprising to provide enormous uplift. Small changes can have a big cumulative impact on the livability of your home. We hope you’ll pick up a copy of the book and design your way to greater health and happiness. Order today - link to copies in bio + stories. Publisher @vendomepress Pic 1: @paolomoschino + @philipvergeylen country house in Sussex.

BOOK EVENT. How can you begin each day in your hom

BOOK EVENT. How can you begin each day in your home feeling your best? Maximising who you are and, what you need to be doing? What if your home is keeping you from being your best? What can you do to get it? Let’s hash it out at my Literary Lunch hosted by @thebookshopbowral at @centennialvineyards on Friday 6 June where I’ll discuss my new book, ‘Natural Living By Design’ @vendomepress, released two weeks ago. Discover the relatively easy and modest home updates that can result in vast improvements in quality of life. Delighted to announce that @ms.tanyabuchanan, the editor-in-chief of Belle + Australian House & Garden magazines will be part of the discussion. Tickets now available at www.the bookshopbowral.com.au /Events. Book today and join the fun. I love the Australian Southern Highlands and can’t wait to see everybody. Melissa, x. #naturalliving

Humans can be contrary, and what they say they do,

Humans can be contrary, and what they say they do, doesn’t always match what they actually do. People have good intentions. But as prices rise, sustainability is more of a luxury. Consumers will only make eco-friendly choices if they can afford to. Well, the good news is natural living doesn’t cost more. It can save you money. Adding even a modest amount of insulation to solid interior walls can quadruple their efficiency. Keeping the summer heat out with layers of transparent sunscreen shading and shutters can help lower your energy bill. Anyone wanting to help the environment can landscape with less formality - letting nature take its course. Trees and plants perform best when left to their own devices. Simply by reusing or repurposing what you have can reduce wasteful spending. These images are not in my book but they demonstrate the point. Anyone wanting to check the surprising ways natural living can affect your home, and your life - can pick up a copy of my book, ‘Natural Living By Design’ @vendomepress in-store or online now. Link to copies in bio. Pic 1: Joan and Patrick Leigh Fernor’s Kardamyli house at the edge of the Western Peloponnese; photo; Miguel Flores-Vienna; Pic 2: @annahewitsondesign 300 year old cottage; photo; @boz_gagovski; Pic 3: Adrian Holme’s chateau in south west France; photo: @paul_massey; Pic 4: The London house of Christoper Masson; photo; @alistergthorpe; Pic 5; @florasoames garden designed 20 years ago. Photo; @paul_massey; Pics 6 + 8: @worldarchitectureinterior; Pic 7: @jasperconran’s 17th-century Dorset house is surrounded by an informal garden; photo; @montgomeryphoto; Pic 9: Creeper-clad 18th century London house design; @jothompsongarden; photo; @jasoningram; Pic 10; Tuscan farmhouse design Keith Johnson and Glen Senk; photos; @davidelovatti

Thrilled to include the Tangier home and work of @

Thrilled to include the Tangier home and work of @veere_grenney in my new book, ‘Natural Living By Design’ @vendomepress. Veere, who has just been awarded @houseandgardenuk Lifetime Achievement Award for 2025, says “the one thing when you become older, is you want less.” Discover which photos made the cut - and why how much you spend is less important than how you channel your inner curator - when you order your copy today. The book was released last week and is available in-store and online now. Photos: @veere_grenney + @francescolagnese #naturalliving

Follow Melissa on Instagram

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Don’t miss the style set’s fave newsletter

Get Melissa's weekly rundown of where top interior designers source their things and find inspiration - that will instantly transform your pad.

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