What does a truly beautiful home look like when you stop chasing trends—and start telling the truth? In this episode of The Edit, host (and former colleague) Elle Lovelock sits down with interiors heavyweight Neale Whitaker: the gently opinionated eye behind some of Australia’s most-loved design titles and TV shows, from Belle and Home Beautiful to Love It or List It—and now Reno Rules on Seven.
Together they take an audio home tour of Neale’s “patchwork quilt” South Coast cottage, from the wraparound verandah draped in wisteria to rooms packed with art collected everywhere he and partner David have lived and travelled. Neale shares why he buys art on pure instinct (and why it should never ‘match the sofa’), how he and David blend antique and contemporary tastes, and what ‘dog-friendly’ design actually looks like when the dogs are absolutely allowed on the bed. Plus: the entertaining rituals he can’t give up (candles, music, the perfect table), why being a TV judge doesn’t mean judging your house, and the tiny home edit he wishes he’d made years earlier—one that punches well above its weight every winter.
Moments You'll Hear:
- An audio walk-through of Neale’s quirky ‘patchwork quilt’ cottage (yes—there are two front doors).
- How Neale buys and hangs art: instinct-first, story-driven, and never matched to the furnishings.
- Why a home that’s “perfect” is usually boring—and how to build comfort, layers, and soul.
- Designing with dogs: choosing what you love, then problem-solving (towels, throws, and muddy paws).
- Hosting without the stress: beautiful table, candles, music… but always relaxed.
- The tiny edit with a big payoff: underfloor heating (and the power of lamps in dark corners).
- Authenticity over trends: mixing old and new to make a home that feels like you.
This is an episode with permission to ignore trends and buy what you actually love. Confidence that your art doesn't need to match anything. A renewed appreciation for warm lighting and the ritual of turning on lamps. Practical solutions for real design dilemmas. The reminder that homes should feel like you - layered, honest, maybe a little eccentric. And possibly a new perspective on your throw situation.
Thank you for listening ❤️
before you leave...
🗣️ Get in touch
What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Home Beautiful community and DM us on Instagram.
Part one episode with Neale: here 🎧
👀 See more
Neale Whitaker Joins My Reno Rules as a Judge in 2026
My Reno Rules Just Gave Us Our First Look
Inside Neale Whitaker’s Country Cottage
The New Season of Love It or List It Australia Has a Release Date
My Reno Rules All The Details For The New Series!
🙏 Our special thanks for making 'The Edit' our new home:
Luxaflex - our beautiful 'studio home' curtains
Oz Design - furniture Australians love
Credits:
Our friend Neale Whitaker
Edited by Propod
Production by Thomas Crnkovic and Charlie Potter
Our wonderful Home Beautiful team
See omnystudio.com/listener for privac
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is an our media podcast. I mean, you've been
through so many homes through your work and in your
personal life, and having the knowledge and experience that you do,
do you ever look at things in other people's homes
and go, hmmm, that could have been done better?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Simple answer, no.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Ah, You you really are a dream.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
And I had this tiny little apartment. It was literally
a typical London. It was on the ground floor of
an old Victorian building. I had a living room in
the front, a bedroom at the back, and a tiny
little bathroom and a tiny, tiny little kitchen that you
could barely swing a cat in. But it was mine. Yes,
we will always set a beautiful table. Yes there will
(00:50):
be candles. Yes, I must admit I do stress a
bit about the right music and all that stuff. But
at the same time I wanted to be a relaxed
experience for the guests.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
This episode is brought to you by Luxeflex, transforming homes
with beautiful, functional window coverings designed to change your life
and lifestyle. Today's set has been thoughtfully curated by oz Design,
sharing life with you since nineteen seventy nine. You know
(01:29):
those people who quietly change the way you see homes,
then lady realize they've also quietly changed the way you
see yourself at home. For me, that person is Neil Whittaker.
In this episode of the Edit, I get to do
something really special. I sit down with my former boss
and longtime mentor and invite you into the kind, gently
(01:53):
opinionated brain behind some of Australia's favorite interiors shows. This
is the man who once walk past my desk. He
clocked that someone senior had left their dirty dishes there,
and Neil simply said, you shouldn't be doing their dishes.
Just put them back on their desk. I did, and
no one ever spoke of it again. Neil has spent
(02:16):
decades helping us all understand what really makes a house
feel like a home from Bell and Home Beautiful, to
Love It, a List It, and his new show might
reno rules. But in this conversation we get to see
the person behind the judge, the brit who never turns
on the big light unless he's dropped something on the floor,
the collector who believes every piece of art should tell
(02:37):
a story, and the country homeowner who's finally admitting it
might be time to simplify. Neil has taught me so
much over the years, and I genuinely wouldn't be here
without his guidance. I really hope this episode shows you
something new too about your own space, your own taste,
and you're right to make a home that feels like you. Neil,
(03:02):
welcome back to the edit.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Thank you for having me back.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
I it might be a bit cheeky, but I'd like
to invite myself over to your place.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I all means, all means let's do it.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Don't be alarmed. We can do it through an audio.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Tour, right, Okay, so paint word pictures exactly.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Okay, We're known for home tours at home beautiful. So
I'm ringing your doorbell. It's the weekend. What can we see?
What is the first thing we see?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Can you open the door? If you are ringing my doorbell,
that means you are standing at what we call the
side front door as opposed to the front front door.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
What's the difference besides the location.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Because our house is a very quirky, little sort of
country style cottage I always describe as a patchwork quilt.
I mean, I think the original part of the house,
which is actually now really just our kitchen, I think
dates back to about nineteen thirty eight, but other bits
have been added over the decades. I think some in
the seventies, some in the eighties, And as a result,
(04:05):
we've literally got sort of two front doors, one at
the side and one at the front. But the one
that seems to be used the most is what we
call the side.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Front side front door.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Now you're standing at the side front door and you're
ringing the bell because we don't have a we don't
have a buzz or anything. We have an old fashioned bell,
and it means that you're also standing on our verandah.
We have a beautiful wrap around veranda which is tiled.
We've got balustrades, we've got wisteria overhanging, so at certain
times of the year, particularly in early summer, is absolutely beautiful.
(04:40):
It sounds adyllic ceiling fans. I mean, our veranda is
like an outdoor room. It's like having a beautiful So
that's where you're standing before you've even stepped foot into
the house. Then you come into the house, open plan
l shaped. We've got a living living area and a
dining area. Art absolutely everywhere. David and I are obsessed
(05:04):
with art, and we've collected art over the years, everywhere
we have ever been in our lives art.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
How do you buy art? Do you choose guts?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Just gut, absolute gut. It's instinct and it's immediate. And
some of the some of the pieces that we own,
you know, few of the pieces that we own are
expensive and have come from galleries. The vast majority have
come from flea markets, all sorts of different sources. And
it's a real mix of paintings, photographs, summerre framed, unframed.
(05:43):
It's a real yeah, it's it's a gallery. And we
have art throughout the whole house. We have art in
our bathrooms, we have art in the kitchen, we have
art in all of the bedrooms.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
How do you know what to hang where?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
I would say it's instinct, which perhaps isn't very helpful,
but we just have a gut feeling of what works
in certain spaces.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I think that's it. When you're creating a home, Actually,
it doesn't matter what trends are or what the experts
might say. It is what is pleasing to your eye,
what makes it.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
And that's a nice segue l into something that I
feel very strongly about. Actually, when it comes to putting art,
in the home. Art to me tells a very different story,
and a very independent story to everything else in the home.
I know a lot of people like to sort of
match their art to the rug, to the sofa, to
the furnishings. That's not our style. Art for us has
(06:39):
always stood alone. It's independent. It tells a completely different
story visually and esthetically. And every piece of art that
we own has a story attached to it. You know,
if you were standing in front of our wall of
art and you said, Neil, tell me about that one.
Tell me about that one, I'd tell you where it
came from, why we have what it means to us.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Your art tells a story of your life, really.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Does. Yeah, I think we worry far too much about
finding art that is going to appeal to everyone. It's
impossible to do that. I mean, I can guarantee l
that what you love will be different to what I love.
That's the nature of art. And you have to put
that sort of fear of polarizing your family and your
(07:29):
friends to one side and just choose what you love. Yes,
because people will walk into your home and they'll say, oh,
I'm not sure about that one, or they might not
say that out loud, but they'll be thinking it doesn't matter.
It's your art. And if you try and fill your
home with art that is going to please everyone, you'll fail.
(07:50):
You'll either fail or it will be the blandest home ever.
Art is so so personal, it really is.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
So if art tells the story of your life, what
would it say, where did you start buying or tell
us about your journey of building home and your art collection.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
I'm hesitating because that's actually a huge question because I'm
quite old. Workout where to start the story.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
What's the first home that you remember decorating and thinking, yes,
this feels like me.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
I think the first home where I ever felt like
that was the first apartment that I ever owned on
my own in London, and it would have been late eighties,
early nineties, and I suddenly found myself single. I've been
in a longish relationship throughout my twenties, suddenly found myself
(08:51):
single and I bought a tiny little apartment in Shepherd's
Bush in West London, which funnily enough these days is
actually very popular with Australians. They've migrated from Earl's Court,
which used to be the Australian hang out to Sheppard's Bush,
but that's by the bike from the bush to the bush. Yes, absolutely.
And I had this tiny little apartment. It was literally
(09:12):
a typical London sort of. It was on the ground
floor of an old Victorian building. They had a living
room at the front, a bedroom at the back, and
a tiny little bathroom and a tiny, tiny little kitchen
that you could barely swing a cat in. But it
was mine, it was yours. And I remember painting it
all white.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Absolutely, I probably chose the wrong white. I probably would
have chosen totally the wrong white for the cold London light.
But it was all white and I put down sea
grass matting throughout. I laid it like cop Oh, so
you've always been chic, well, thank you. It was quite
street actually, and also I wanted to sort of disguise
(09:52):
the awful floorboards of the underneath that were all mismatched,
so I just put sea grass matting down. And I
remember I had a huge gilt mirror over the fire
place in the living room, and then I only allowed
one color throughout, and that was really like a real
Eve climb blue.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Oh, how fantastic for anyone listening. How would you describe
Eve climb.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Climb Blue, the most vivid blue you could ever imagine,
is really the only way that I can describe that, so.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
That I can imagine teamed with the white and the
gilt mirror and the sea grass.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
What was I on? I was on a bit of
a Moroccan trip or something. It was something. There was
obviously something going on in my head at the time.
I mean, this was obviously long before I knew I
was ever going to live in Australia. But I felt
immensely proud of that apartment because it was mine and
I hadn't had to sort of defer to anyone else,
no one else's opinion, that's it, just mine.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
So how does that differ from the house you're in
now where you do share it with David? And how
do you negotiate decorating now with diplomacy?
Speaker 2 (11:02):
It's the honest answer to that. No, seriously. I mean
David and I have been together a very long time,
not twenty three years, and we do actually have very
similar taste.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
That is handy.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
It's yeah. I mean when I say similar taste, we
can always meet in the middle. I mean David, I
think has a tendency towards the more decorative and definitely
towards the more antique, whereas I sort of tend towards
the more contemporary. But somehow we meet in the middle.
You know, there's always an element of compromise, but it's
a good compromise.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Is there anything that you've had to concede to and say, well,
all right, fine all the time?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
But then he does the same for me. I mean,
David has a love of vintage plates, for example, and
when we first when we first moved to our present
home on the New South Wales south coast, he threw
himself sort of wholeheartedly into the sort of country living. Yeah,
and suddenly sort of everything had to be country, country, country, country,
like enough of the country. But we used to have
(12:03):
this wonderful old sort of opshop, like a market of
secondhand vintage market in Bury, which sadly is no longer there,
and I think David probably bought every vintage plate they
had and put them on the walls. Yes, they're still
there now. For me, it's too many, but he absolutely
loves them, so that's fine. I think that's mostly, you know,
(12:27):
and there are other things I'm sure in the house
that he knows. I love that he maybe wouldn't have
if he was living there on his own, but that's
kind of how it rolls.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Yeah, that's true. Do you believe in a forever home?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Yes and no? Yes and no. I thought that the
home that we were in was going to be our
forever home when we bought it back in twenty eighteen.
It was definitely with the forever home. It was the
forever home concept. But we are thinking seriously about selling,
(12:59):
not moving too far. Are staying in Bury, the little
town that we live in, because we absolutely love it.
But we've reached the stage in our lives where maybe
we don't need to have quite so much land yep,
quite so much work involved, So we are thinking of
simplifying and maybe recreating what we have in a different house.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
So do you intend to downsize or in terms of
house or just land?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Just land? Okay, I think the house. Look, I'm not
giving too much away here because I don't want to.
I don't want to tempt fate a plans plans ahead.
But the house will be, if anything, slightly larger for
more plays currently no more, don't won't even go there. Well,
(13:51):
but it won't have the two and a half acres
of land that that we we now have to look after.
And also we have a beautiful guest house on our
at the moment that we do in twenty twenty two,
which we're very proud of. But I think we need
to simplify our lives as we get older. So maybe
(14:11):
the next one will be forever.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Home, moving into a new home and setting it up.
What does being a homemaker mean to you?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Being a homemaker for us means creating a home that
is totally us. It is where we feel relaxed. It's
creating a home that expresses our tastes, our interests, our
life together, our travels, but sort of distilling all that
(14:45):
into a contemporary home because what we love is to
create a contemporary home within an old shell. I mean,
both David and I love old houses. We do. We're
not modern people in the respect we appreciate contemporary architecture,
but we personally love old houses. But what we love
(15:06):
to do is give those old houses a modern spin. Yes,
and let's not forget they have to be dog friendly too,
because we have important family members our dogs, yes, and
we have to create a comfortable home for them too.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Who do you have with you these days.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
We have two dogs. We have five year old Teddy
Ted who's a Wymarana, yes, and we have six year
old Graham, who's an Italian Greyhound.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
They are so sweet. I've seen pictures of them that
absolutely gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
One big ones more.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
How do you decorate with dogs in mind?
Speaker 2 (15:42):
You just have to go for it. You mustn't allow
the dogs to hold you back, because there's always a solution.
I mean, the way we deal with it is we
do exactly what we want. We have the things in
the house that we want. And you know, if we
have to put rugs down on the sofa or towels
down on on the rug when it's raining, so be it.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
That's okay. I was just going to ask, are they
on the sofa on the bed?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Of course they are.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Oh, they're family.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
They are our dogs. They don't live by any rules.
They are part of the family. And people do often
say to me, you know, how do you have you know,
how do you have a beautiful home with dogs? Yeah? Easy,
You just don't allow the dogs to dictate anything. They
just come on that journey with you. And yes, of course,
every now and again you'll get muddy paws on the
(16:30):
bed or on the sofa, but you deal with.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
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(16:53):
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Design A quick pause here. If Neil has just made
(17:20):
you sideyree your down lights, your shears, or your throws,
you're not alone. My favorite thing about this chat is
how practical he is. This is a man who will
happily admit he only turns on the big light to
vacuum or to find something on the floor, and who
still walks around his house every night switching lamps on
and off, just because he loves the ritual. Be back
(17:41):
in a bit, I'd like to shift gears for a minute, Neil,
and move from homemaking into hosting and entertaining. Because I
know that you have a background in food in your
career as well, how does that come through in your home?
How do you like to host and entertain.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
In a very cay is the honest answer. I mean
I have a background in food, yes, but food publishing, yes,
food magazines.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Do you cook?
Speaker 2 (18:08):
David, my partner, is the cook. I mean, David actually
was a professional chef oh wow, back in the day.
So he's the practical one. He's the one that actually
cooks beautifully. Unfortunately, David has been unwell for several years.
The good news is that he's a lot better now,
a lot better, but he's had a few rough years,
(18:30):
poor thing, and he hasn't been doing much cooking. I've
sort of taken over the pans for the last few
years and we've kept things very simple. But we haven't
really been doing much entertaining. But the good news is
that we are back as entertainers now. Simple is the
way to go, though for me it's got to be relaxed.
(18:52):
I mean, yes, we will always set a beautiful table. Yes,
there will be candles. Yes, I must admit I do
stress a bit about the right music and all that stuff.
But at the same time I want it to be
a relaxed experience for the guests.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
And whose house do you love going to? Who do
you think entertains well, you don't have to name names,
but what are some experiences that you've had that you've
thought this is great old friends?
Speaker 2 (19:20):
I mean, for me, it's always about the people, it
really is. I mean, over the years, obviously I've attended many, many, many, many,
many grand functions, and of course it's something that came
with the job of being a magazine editor and a publisher.
But these days I tend to only dine with David
(19:44):
or with friends. Life is much more relaxed and much
much less formal. So for me it's generally about the people.
It's about the people and if the food's lovely too,
then that's a bonus. But it's just spending quality time
with good friends, and that's people here in Australia and
(20:05):
when I get the chance to go back home to
England as well.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Now you've been through so many homes through your work
and in your personal life, and having the knowledge and
experience that you do, do you ever look at things
in other people's homes and go, hmm, that could have
been done better.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Simple answer, no Ah, you are.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
You really are a dream.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
That's a very loaded question because one of the one
of the big drawbacks of being a TV judge is
that people assume that you judge when you're not judging. Yeah,
and I've always said no, no, no, no, no, Please don't
think I do that, because I really don't. I mean,
I only do my judging when the cameras are rolling.
(20:51):
A minute, the camera's stop rolling. I am no longer
a TV judge and el it is amazing how in
all the years I was doing the block, which is
thirteen years, Yes, the invitations really dried up. Oh for
that very reason, because people didn't want me coming to
their home and judging them.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Oh my god, that's so sad.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Very sad. Oh it really didn't make me happy at all.
I was unhappy, but I knew that that was what
was happening. So honest answer to your question is no,
I absolutely don't. Everyone's home is different. Everyone's home is
their home. If you come to my home, you'll probably
see things you think, Oh my god, I can't believe
they've got that. You know, no one's home is perfect. No,
(21:35):
no one's home is perfect. I can guarantee that a
home that is absolutely perfect in every respect is going
to be bloody, boring.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
And really uncomfortable, I think.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Really uncomfortable and lacking soul. A home for me is
one that reflects the personality and love of its owners. Yes,
one that feels layered, one that feels comfortable, one that
feels relaxed. And I really don't care about you know,
whether you've got the latest, this, that or the other. Yeah,
(22:06):
I really don't.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Well, I hope you get more invitations after people hear this.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
They've picked up a bit, they've picked up a bit,
but once my RHNO rules goes out, they'll probably dry
up again.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
So Neil tell me about as this is the edit?
What is a tiny edit that you've made in your
home that's made a big difference.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Do you know the one thing that I can't believe
I left it so late in life to do it,
that has made a huge difference is putting underfloor heating
in our bathrooms. I mean obviously when we renovated. Yeah,
you wouldn't be doing it unless you were renovating them.
But I always imagine that that would be a very
expensive thing to do, and of course it's actually not
really no, not if you are already renovating your bathroom. Okay,
(22:48):
but my goodness, it's wonderful. It's life changing in the
colder months.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
That's been a dream of mine.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I mean, our bathrooms in our home emitted. The aren't
that huge, they're fairly smalloms. But just when we were
renovating them, we suddenly thought, let's look into underfloor heating.
And I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was
into the reno, and my goodness, it punches above its
weight in terms of the impact. But for me, I mean,
(23:16):
look tiny edits will normally always involve light, because I
am such a firm I mean quite apart from being
a fan of lamps. I mean, the reason I'm such
a fan of lamps is because I believe that light,
more than anything else, has a transformative effect on the
space and therefore the way we feel in that space
absolutely so tiny edit for me will always be putting
(23:38):
lamps in dark corners and changing the dynamic, changing the
feel of a room through lamps, And it really doesn't
have to cost much.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
And what makes your home beautiful.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
I think what makes our home beautiful is authenticity. And
I don't mean that to sound like a sort of pompous,
pretentious stand I think it's a very honest. It's not
a home that is on trend in any way, shape
or form. I always love to know what the trends are,
but we do not follow trends. We fill our home
(24:11):
with the things that we like, and sometimes that makes
for an eccentric mix. I mean, we've always got that
yin and yang of the old and the new, the contemporary,
the vintage going on. But it's us and I think
the more authentic a home is, the better it feels,
and the more beautiful it is.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
I couldn't agree more. Neil, thank you so much for
coming back to the edit. It's just it's been so
nice connecting with my mentor in this way. It's been
an absolute joy. And can't wait to see the new
TV show Thank You. We'll look out for the air
date channel seven.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Yes, sometime this year, is all I can tell you.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Well know that I'll be watching thank you and not judging.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Watching not judging that should be on my EITA at L.
It's been such a pleasure. I love talking to you.
Thanks for having me on a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
I could happily sit and talk to Neil all day,
and as you've probably gathered, we nearly did. Hearing him
describe his first tiny London apartment with seagrass matting and
you've climbed blue accents, or admitting that his biggest decore
regret was a beautiful but totally impractical suspended fireplace that
turned the room into a sauna. It was such a
(25:35):
reminder that even the experts get it wrong. Sometimes they
just keep editing like we do here at the edit.
What I love most and what I hope you felt too,
is his insistence on authenticity. That a home doesn't have
to be on trend or match what you've seen on
renovation shows to be beautiful. It needs to feel honest,
(25:57):
layered and relaxed, a place where the are allowed on
the bed, the art tells the story of your life,
and the lamps quietly change the way you feel at
the end of the day. If you'd like to see
more of Neil's world, we've put extra photos, styling ideas,
and a deeper dive into his home tour up on
home Beautiful dot com dot au. You can find that
(26:19):
link in our show notes, along with all our room
for advice, dilemmas and Neil's solutions. Thank you so much
for listening. We'd love to hear how you think we're going,
so leave us a review or DMA set Home Beautiful.
Let us know what you'd like to hear and who
you'd like to meet. This episode is brought to you
(26:40):
by Luxeflex, transforming homes with beautiful, functional window coverings designed
to transform your light and lifestyle. Thank you to OS
Design for our beautiful set. Come visit the experienced team
in store and see the collection for yourself.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
This is an ar Media podcast
This is an our media podcast. I mean, you've been
through so many homes through your work and in your
personal life, and having the knowledge and experience that you do,
do you ever look at things in other people's homes
and go, hmmm, that could have been done better?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Simple answer, no.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Ah, You you really are a dream.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
And I had this tiny little apartment. It was literally
a typical London. It was on the ground floor of
an old Victorian building. I had a living room in
the front, a bedroom at the back, and a tiny
little bathroom and a tiny, tiny little kitchen that you
could barely swing a cat in. But it was mine. Yes,
we will always set a beautiful table. Yes there will
(00:50):
be candles. Yes, I must admit I do stress a
bit about the right music and all that stuff. But
at the same time I wanted to be a relaxed
experience for the guests.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
This episode is brought to you by Luxeflex, transforming homes
with beautiful, functional window coverings designed to change your life
and lifestyle. Today's set has been thoughtfully curated by oz Design,
sharing life with you since nineteen seventy nine. You know
(01:29):
those people who quietly change the way you see homes,
then lady realize they've also quietly changed the way you
see yourself at home. For me, that person is Neil Whittaker.
In this episode of the Edit, I get to do
something really special. I sit down with my former boss
and longtime mentor and invite you into the kind, gently
(01:53):
opinionated brain behind some of Australia's favorite interiors shows. This
is the man who once walk past my desk. He
clocked that someone senior had left their dirty dishes there,
and Neil simply said, you shouldn't be doing their dishes.
Just put them back on their desk. I did, and
no one ever spoke of it again. Neil has spent
(02:16):
decades helping us all understand what really makes a house
feel like a home from Bell and Home Beautiful, to
Love It, a List It, and his new show might
reno rules. But in this conversation we get to see
the person behind the judge, the brit who never turns
on the big light unless he's dropped something on the floor,
the collector who believes every piece of art should tell
(02:37):
a story, and the country homeowner who's finally admitting it
might be time to simplify. Neil has taught me so
much over the years, and I genuinely wouldn't be here
without his guidance. I really hope this episode shows you
something new too about your own space, your own taste,
and you're right to make a home that feels like you. Neil,
(03:02):
welcome back to the edit.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Thank you for having me back.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
I it might be a bit cheeky, but I'd like
to invite myself over to your place.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I all means, all means let's do it.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Don't be alarmed. We can do it through an audio.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Tour, right, Okay, so paint word pictures exactly.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Okay, We're known for home tours at home beautiful. So
I'm ringing your doorbell. It's the weekend. What can we see?
What is the first thing we see?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Can you open the door? If you are ringing my doorbell,
that means you are standing at what we call the
side front door as opposed to the front front door.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
What's the difference besides the location.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Because our house is a very quirky, little sort of
country style cottage I always describe as a patchwork quilt.
I mean, I think the original part of the house,
which is actually now really just our kitchen, I think
dates back to about nineteen thirty eight, but other bits
have been added over the decades. I think some in
the seventies, some in the eighties, And as a result,
(04:05):
we've literally got sort of two front doors, one at
the side and one at the front. But the one
that seems to be used the most is what we
call the side.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Front side front door.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Now you're standing at the side front door and you're
ringing the bell because we don't have a we don't
have a buzz or anything. We have an old fashioned bell,
and it means that you're also standing on our verandah.
We have a beautiful wrap around veranda which is tiled.
We've got balustrades, we've got wisteria overhanging, so at certain
times of the year, particularly in early summer, is absolutely beautiful.
(04:40):
It sounds adyllic ceiling fans. I mean, our veranda is
like an outdoor room. It's like having a beautiful So
that's where you're standing before you've even stepped foot into
the house. Then you come into the house, open plan
l shaped. We've got a living living area and a
dining area. Art absolutely everywhere. David and I are obsessed
(05:04):
with art, and we've collected art over the years, everywhere
we have ever been in our lives art.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
How do you buy art? Do you choose guts?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Just gut, absolute gut. It's instinct and it's immediate. And
some of the some of the pieces that we own,
you know, few of the pieces that we own are
expensive and have come from galleries. The vast majority have
come from flea markets, all sorts of different sources. And
it's a real mix of paintings, photographs, summerre framed, unframed.
(05:43):
It's a real yeah, it's it's a gallery. And we
have art throughout the whole house. We have art in
our bathrooms, we have art in the kitchen, we have
art in all of the bedrooms.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
How do you know what to hang where?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
I would say it's instinct, which perhaps isn't very helpful,
but we just have a gut feeling of what works
in certain spaces.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I think that's it. When you're creating a home, Actually,
it doesn't matter what trends are or what the experts
might say. It is what is pleasing to your eye,
what makes it.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
And that's a nice segue l into something that I
feel very strongly about. Actually, when it comes to putting art,
in the home. Art to me tells a very different story,
and a very independent story to everything else in the home.
I know a lot of people like to sort of
match their art to the rug, to the sofa, to
the furnishings. That's not our style. Art for us has
(06:39):
always stood alone. It's independent. It tells a completely different
story visually and esthetically. And every piece of art that
we own has a story attached to it. You know,
if you were standing in front of our wall of
art and you said, Neil, tell me about that one.
Tell me about that one, I'd tell you where it
came from, why we have what it means to us.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Your art tells a story of your life, really.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Does. Yeah, I think we worry far too much about
finding art that is going to appeal to everyone. It's
impossible to do that. I mean, I can guarantee l
that what you love will be different to what I love.
That's the nature of art. And you have to put
that sort of fear of polarizing your family and your
(07:29):
friends to one side and just choose what you love. Yes,
because people will walk into your home and they'll say, oh,
I'm not sure about that one, or they might not
say that out loud, but they'll be thinking it doesn't matter.
It's your art. And if you try and fill your
home with art that is going to please everyone, you'll fail.
(07:50):
You'll either fail or it will be the blandest home ever.
Art is so so personal, it really is.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
So if art tells the story of your life, what
would it say, where did you start buying or tell
us about your journey of building home and your art collection.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
I'm hesitating because that's actually a huge question because I'm
quite old. Workout where to start the story.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
What's the first home that you remember decorating and thinking, yes,
this feels like me.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
I think the first home where I ever felt like
that was the first apartment that I ever owned on
my own in London, and it would have been late eighties,
early nineties, and I suddenly found myself single. I've been
in a longish relationship throughout my twenties, suddenly found myself
(08:51):
single and I bought a tiny little apartment in Shepherd's
Bush in West London, which funnily enough these days is
actually very popular with Australians. They've migrated from Earl's Court,
which used to be the Australian hang out to Sheppard's Bush,
but that's by the bike from the bush to the bush. Yes, absolutely.
And I had this tiny little apartment. It was literally
(09:12):
a typical London sort of. It was on the ground
floor of an old Victorian building. They had a living
room at the front, a bedroom at the back, and
a tiny little bathroom and a tiny, tiny little kitchen
that you could barely swing a cat in. But it
was mine, it was yours. And I remember painting it
all white.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Absolutely, I probably chose the wrong white. I probably would
have chosen totally the wrong white for the cold London light.
But it was all white and I put down sea
grass matting throughout. I laid it like cop Oh, so
you've always been chic, well, thank you. It was quite
street actually, and also I wanted to sort of disguise
(09:52):
the awful floorboards of the underneath that were all mismatched,
so I just put sea grass matting down. And I
remember I had a huge gilt mirror over the fire
place in the living room, and then I only allowed
one color throughout, and that was really like a real
Eve climb blue.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Oh, how fantastic for anyone listening. How would you describe
Eve climb.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Climb Blue, the most vivid blue you could ever imagine,
is really the only way that I can describe that, so.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
That I can imagine teamed with the white and the
gilt mirror and the sea grass.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
What was I on? I was on a bit of
a Moroccan trip or something. It was something. There was
obviously something going on in my head at the time.
I mean, this was obviously long before I knew I
was ever going to live in Australia. But I felt
immensely proud of that apartment because it was mine and
I hadn't had to sort of defer to anyone else,
no one else's opinion, that's it, just mine.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
So how does that differ from the house you're in
now where you do share it with David? And how
do you negotiate decorating now with diplomacy?
Speaker 2 (11:02):
It's the honest answer to that. No, seriously. I mean
David and I have been together a very long time,
not twenty three years, and we do actually have very
similar taste.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
That is handy.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
It's yeah. I mean when I say similar taste, we
can always meet in the middle. I mean David, I
think has a tendency towards the more decorative and definitely
towards the more antique, whereas I sort of tend towards
the more contemporary. But somehow we meet in the middle.
You know, there's always an element of compromise, but it's
a good compromise.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Is there anything that you've had to concede to and say, well,
all right, fine all the time?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
But then he does the same for me. I mean,
David has a love of vintage plates, for example, and
when we first when we first moved to our present
home on the New South Wales south coast, he threw
himself sort of wholeheartedly into the sort of country living. Yeah,
and suddenly sort of everything had to be country, country, country, country,
like enough of the country. But we used to have
(12:03):
this wonderful old sort of opshop, like a market of
secondhand vintage market in Bury, which sadly is no longer there,
and I think David probably bought every vintage plate they
had and put them on the walls. Yes, they're still
there now. For me, it's too many, but he absolutely
loves them, so that's fine. I think that's mostly, you know,
(12:27):
and there are other things I'm sure in the house
that he knows. I love that he maybe wouldn't have
if he was living there on his own, but that's
kind of how it rolls.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Yeah, that's true. Do you believe in a forever home?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Yes and no? Yes and no. I thought that the
home that we were in was going to be our
forever home when we bought it back in twenty eighteen.
It was definitely with the forever home. It was the
forever home concept. But we are thinking seriously about selling,
(12:59):
not moving too far. Are staying in Bury, the little
town that we live in, because we absolutely love it.
But we've reached the stage in our lives where maybe
we don't need to have quite so much land yep,
quite so much work involved, So we are thinking of
simplifying and maybe recreating what we have in a different house.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
So do you intend to downsize or in terms of
house or just land?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Just land? Okay, I think the house. Look, I'm not
giving too much away here because I don't want to.
I don't want to tempt fate a plans plans ahead.
But the house will be, if anything, slightly larger for
more plays currently no more, don't won't even go there. Well,
(13:51):
but it won't have the two and a half acres
of land that that we we now have to look after.
And also we have a beautiful guest house on our
at the moment that we do in twenty twenty two,
which we're very proud of. But I think we need
to simplify our lives as we get older. So maybe
(14:11):
the next one will be forever.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Home, moving into a new home and setting it up.
What does being a homemaker mean to you?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Being a homemaker for us means creating a home that
is totally us. It is where we feel relaxed. It's
creating a home that expresses our tastes, our interests, our
life together, our travels, but sort of distilling all that
(14:45):
into a contemporary home because what we love is to
create a contemporary home within an old shell. I mean,
both David and I love old houses. We do. We're
not modern people in the respect we appreciate contemporary architecture,
but we personally love old houses. But what we love
(15:06):
to do is give those old houses a modern spin. Yes,
and let's not forget they have to be dog friendly too,
because we have important family members our dogs, yes, and
we have to create a comfortable home for them too.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Who do you have with you these days.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
We have two dogs. We have five year old Teddy
Ted who's a Wymarana, yes, and we have six year
old Graham, who's an Italian Greyhound.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
They are so sweet. I've seen pictures of them that
absolutely gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
One big ones more.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
How do you decorate with dogs in mind?
Speaker 2 (15:42):
You just have to go for it. You mustn't allow
the dogs to hold you back, because there's always a solution.
I mean, the way we deal with it is we
do exactly what we want. We have the things in
the house that we want. And you know, if we
have to put rugs down on the sofa or towels
down on on the rug when it's raining, so be it.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
That's okay. I was just going to ask, are they
on the sofa on the bed?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Of course they are.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Oh, they're family.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
They are our dogs. They don't live by any rules.
They are part of the family. And people do often
say to me, you know, how do you have you know,
how do you have a beautiful home with dogs? Yeah? Easy,
You just don't allow the dogs to dictate anything. They
just come on that journey with you. And yes, of course,
every now and again you'll get muddy paws on the
(16:30):
bed or on the sofa, but you deal with.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
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(16:53):
and effortless style to create a welcoming, lived in feel.
Balancing form and function, the collection helps you create a
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Explore the Winter Collection in store or online with us
Design A quick pause here. If Neil has just made
(17:20):
you sideyree your down lights, your shears, or your throws,
you're not alone. My favorite thing about this chat is
how practical he is. This is a man who will
happily admit he only turns on the big light to
vacuum or to find something on the floor, and who
still walks around his house every night switching lamps on
and off, just because he loves the ritual. Be back
(17:41):
in a bit, I'd like to shift gears for a minute, Neil,
and move from homemaking into hosting and entertaining. Because I
know that you have a background in food in your
career as well, how does that come through in your home?
How do you like to host and entertain.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
In a very cay is the honest answer. I mean
I have a background in food, yes, but food publishing, yes,
food magazines.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Do you cook?
Speaker 2 (18:08):
David, my partner, is the cook. I mean, David actually
was a professional chef oh wow, back in the day.
So he's the practical one. He's the one that actually
cooks beautifully. Unfortunately, David has been unwell for several years.
The good news is that he's a lot better now,
a lot better, but he's had a few rough years,
(18:30):
poor thing, and he hasn't been doing much cooking. I've
sort of taken over the pans for the last few
years and we've kept things very simple. But we haven't
really been doing much entertaining. But the good news is
that we are back as entertainers now. Simple is the
way to go, though for me it's got to be relaxed.
(18:52):
I mean, yes, we will always set a beautiful table. Yes,
there will be candles. Yes, I must admit I do
stress a bit about the right music and all that stuff.
But at the same time I want it to be
a relaxed experience for the guests.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
And whose house do you love going to? Who do
you think entertains well, you don't have to name names,
but what are some experiences that you've had that you've
thought this is great old friends?
Speaker 2 (19:20):
I mean, for me, it's always about the people, it
really is. I mean, over the years, obviously I've attended many, many, many, many,
many grand functions, and of course it's something that came
with the job of being a magazine editor and a publisher.
But these days I tend to only dine with David
(19:44):
or with friends. Life is much more relaxed and much
much less formal. So for me it's generally about the people.
It's about the people and if the food's lovely too,
then that's a bonus. But it's just spending quality time
with good friends, and that's people here in Australia and
(20:05):
when I get the chance to go back home to
England as well.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Now you've been through so many homes through your work
and in your personal life, and having the knowledge and
experience that you do, do you ever look at things
in other people's homes and go, hmm, that could have
been done better.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Simple answer, no Ah, you are.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
You really are a dream.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
That's a very loaded question because one of the one
of the big drawbacks of being a TV judge is
that people assume that you judge when you're not judging. Yeah,
and I've always said no, no, no, no, no, Please don't
think I do that, because I really don't. I mean,
I only do my judging when the cameras are rolling.
(20:51):
A minute, the camera's stop rolling. I am no longer
a TV judge and el it is amazing how in
all the years I was doing the block, which is
thirteen years, Yes, the invitations really dried up. Oh for
that very reason, because people didn't want me coming to
their home and judging them.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Oh my god, that's so sad.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Very sad. Oh it really didn't make me happy at all.
I was unhappy, but I knew that that was what
was happening. So honest answer to your question is no,
I absolutely don't. Everyone's home is different. Everyone's home is
their home. If you come to my home, you'll probably
see things you think, Oh my god, I can't believe
they've got that. You know, no one's home is perfect. No,
(21:35):
no one's home is perfect. I can guarantee that a
home that is absolutely perfect in every respect is going
to be bloody, boring.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
And really uncomfortable, I think.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Really uncomfortable and lacking soul. A home for me is
one that reflects the personality and love of its owners. Yes,
one that feels layered, one that feels comfortable, one that
feels relaxed. And I really don't care about you know,
whether you've got the latest, this, that or the other. Yeah,
(22:06):
I really don't.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Well, I hope you get more invitations after people hear this.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
They've picked up a bit, they've picked up a bit,
but once my RHNO rules goes out, they'll probably dry
up again.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
So Neil tell me about as this is the edit?
What is a tiny edit that you've made in your
home that's made a big difference.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Do you know the one thing that I can't believe
I left it so late in life to do it,
that has made a huge difference is putting underfloor heating
in our bathrooms. I mean obviously when we renovated. Yeah,
you wouldn't be doing it unless you were renovating them.
But I always imagine that that would be a very
expensive thing to do, and of course it's actually not
really no, not if you are already renovating your bathroom. Okay,
(22:48):
but my goodness, it's wonderful. It's life changing in the
colder months.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
That's been a dream of mine.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
I mean, our bathrooms in our home emitted. The aren't
that huge, they're fairly smalloms. But just when we were
renovating them, we suddenly thought, let's look into underfloor heating.
And I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was
into the reno, and my goodness, it punches above its
weight in terms of the impact. But for me, I mean,
(23:16):
look tiny edits will normally always involve light, because I
am such a firm I mean quite apart from being
a fan of lamps. I mean, the reason I'm such
a fan of lamps is because I believe that light,
more than anything else, has a transformative effect on the
space and therefore the way we feel in that space
absolutely so tiny edit for me will always be putting
(23:38):
lamps in dark corners and changing the dynamic, changing the
feel of a room through lamps, And it really doesn't
have to cost much.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
And what makes your home beautiful.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
I think what makes our home beautiful is authenticity. And
I don't mean that to sound like a sort of pompous,
pretentious stand I think it's a very honest. It's not
a home that is on trend in any way, shape
or form. I always love to know what the trends are,
but we do not follow trends. We fill our home
(24:11):
with the things that we like, and sometimes that makes
for an eccentric mix. I mean, we've always got that
yin and yang of the old and the new, the contemporary,
the vintage going on. But it's us and I think
the more authentic a home is, the better it feels,
and the more beautiful it is.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
I couldn't agree more. Neil, thank you so much for
coming back to the edit. It's just it's been so
nice connecting with my mentor in this way. It's been
an absolute joy. And can't wait to see the new
TV show Thank You. We'll look out for the air
date channel seven.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Yes, sometime this year, is all I can tell you.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Well know that I'll be watching thank you and not judging.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Watching not judging that should be on my EITA at L.
It's been such a pleasure. I love talking to you.
Thanks for having me on a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
I could happily sit and talk to Neil all day,
and as you've probably gathered, we nearly did. Hearing him
describe his first tiny London apartment with seagrass matting and
you've climbed blue accents, or admitting that his biggest decore
regret was a beautiful but totally impractical suspended fireplace that
turned the room into a sauna. It was such a
(25:35):
reminder that even the experts get it wrong. Sometimes they
just keep editing like we do here at the edit.
What I love most and what I hope you felt too,
is his insistence on authenticity. That a home doesn't have
to be on trend or match what you've seen on
renovation shows to be beautiful. It needs to feel honest,
(25:57):
layered and relaxed, a place where the are allowed on
the bed, the art tells the story of your life,
and the lamps quietly change the way you feel at
the end of the day. If you'd like to see
more of Neil's world, we've put extra photos, styling ideas,
and a deeper dive into his home tour up on
home Beautiful dot com dot au. You can find that
(26:19):
link in our show notes, along with all our room
for advice, dilemmas and Neil's solutions. Thank you so much
for listening. We'd love to hear how you think we're going,
so leave us a review or DMA set Home Beautiful.
Let us know what you'd like to hear and who
you'd like to meet. This episode is brought to you
(26:40):
by Luxeflex, transforming homes with beautiful, functional window coverings designed
to transform your light and lifestyle. Thank you to OS
Design for our beautiful set. Come visit the experienced team
in store and see the collection for yourself.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
This is an ar Media podcast
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