House of Meaning Podcast

House of Meaning
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In each episode, we’ll share practical advice, design insights, and real stories to help you plan and build your dream sustainable home with confidence.

  1. Jul 7

    Melbourne Heritage Homes: The Mysteries They Hold with Elio Sarpi

    Most Melburnians have a saved search on realestate.com.au they will never act on. A terrace in Fitzroy. A cottage in West Melbourne. A Victorian on a street they drove down once and have not forgotten since. We do not just look at houses in this city. We fall in love with them. In this episode of House of Meaning, Simon sits down with Elio Sarpi, the North Melbourne resident behind one of Melbourne's most quietly remarkable Instagram accounts: Houses of North and West Melbourne. With over 30,000 followers, Elio has spent five years uncovering what is actually inside those houses Melburnians dream about. Not the floorplans. Not the facades. The lives of ordinary people from the 1800-1900’s. Simon and Elio explore what Melbourne's Victorian terraces tell us about the identity of the city we live in today. They move through how domestic life actually worked inside these homes, when front rooms doubled as grocers and boarding houses, when Italian and Greek families reshaped the way spaces were used, and when a single North Melbourne cottage held far more lives than most of us could imagine. The conversation turns to what Melbourne risks losing as the city grows and builds over its own history, and what it means to feel a personal responsibility to the people whose stories may otherwise disappear entirely. You'll learn: Why Melbourne's heritage homes carry stories the official heritage register never capturesHow Elio traces a family's full history from a single photograph of a front doorWhat immigration and commerce did to the way North and West Melbourne terraces were actually lived inWhat Melbourne stands to lose when heritage homes are demolished or altered beyond recognitionWhy the houses Melburnians romanticise hold meaning that goes far deeper than architectureWho it's for: Melbourne homeowners, inner-city property buyers, anyone who has saved a heritage terrace on realestate.com.au and wondered about its story, and anyone who has ever stood outside an old Melbourne home and felt something they could not quite explain. If you'd like to know more, please reach out to Sustainable Homes Melbourne or call us on 1800 683 697. Follow Elio's work on Instagram: @housesofnorthandwestmelbourne

  2. Jun 23

    Why Australian Homes Are So Cold in Winter (And What to Do About It in 2026)

    Walk into an unrenovated Melbourne home on a winter's morning and the heating's running flat out while you're still wearing two jumpers. The problem isn't the weather. It's the building. And it's the same story right across Australia. In this episode, Simon Clark, founder of Sustainable Homes Melbourne, breaks down why Australian homes are so cold in winter and exactly what to do about it. From the big stuff to the small stuff people overlook. Australia's housing stock is old, leaky, and built for cross-ventilation in summer. Most homes have single brick or weatherboard walls with no insulation, suspended timber floors over an uninsulated subfloor, and gaps around every skirting, cornice, and architrave you've ever walked past. You're not just losing heat. You're losing money every single minute the heater is on. Simon walks through the full hierarchy of fixes: air sealing first (the single biggest bang for your buck in an existing home), ceiling and underfloor insulation, window coverings and glazing upgrades, and how to use north-facing glass to capture free solar gain through winter. He covers zoning — heating where you actually live, not the whole house — and explains why a reverse cycle split system is almost always more efficient than ducted gas for a leaky older home. You'll learn: Why air sealing is the first thing to fix in an existing home, and where the biggest draughts actually hideHow ceiling and underfloor insulation change the thermal performance of a suspended floor homeWhy zoning matters more than heater size in an older homeHow passive solar gain through north-facing windows can do a lot of the heavy lifting in winterThe small wins — door snakes, lined curtains, rugs, ceiling fans on reverse — that genuinely move the needleWho it's for: Homeowners across Australia in older or unrenovated homes who want to be warmer this winter without running the heater all day, and anyone planning a Melbourne renovation who wants to understand the building fabric fundamentals before they start. If you'd like to know more, please reach out to Sustainable Homes Melbourne or call us on 1800 683 697.

  3. Jun 9

    Rethinking Architecture with Izzie White: Building Sustainable Homes and Communities That Last

    Most of us have never stopped to ask whether the city we live in makes our lives better. Not bigger. Better. It turns out that question sits at the heart of everything wrong, and everything still possible, about the way we build our cities and the homes within them. In this episode of House of Meaning, Simon sits down with Izzie White, Australia's most compelling architecture advocate for a conversation about sustainable homes, heritage, community and what we've quietly stopped expecting from the places we call home.  Izzie has never held an architect's licence. What she does have is tens of thousands of people on social media following her through Melbourne's streets, learning to see streets and buildings in a totally new way. They cover what architecture really is, what Australian cities reveal about who we are as a country, and how to evaluate good design and architecture. The conversation moves into territory that rarely gets discussed: the slow erosion of community in Australian cities, the places in Scandinavia and the UK where community has been deliberately designed in through alternative housing models, and whether Australians have simply accepted a version of home that may not be adaptable to our growing cities. You'll learn: Why sustainable homes and thoughtful architecture are inseparable from the communities they sit withinWhat a city that takes design seriously actually looks and feels like compared to one that doesn'tWhat countries in Northern Europe are doing to re-engage communities and create better places to live. Why Melbourne and Sydney are at a genuine turning point and what that means for the homes and neighbourhoods being built right now.What great architecture does to the people inside it that they often can't name or explainWho it's for: Melbourne homeowners, architects, planners, urban designers and anyone who cares about building homes and communities that are worth living in for generations. If you'd like to know more, please reach out to Sustainable Homes Melbourne or call us on 1800 683 697. Izzie can be found at: https://www.izziewhite.com/ Instagram TikTok

  4. May 26

    What Separates a Great Home From a Good One: 7 Design Decisions

    Walk into some homes and everything just feels right. The light lands where it should. The kitchen is calm. There's a corner that draws you in without announcing itself. Walk into the one next door, same suburb, similar size, and something's off. You can't name it. But you feel it. That difference almost never comes down to finishes. It comes down to decisions made long before construction started. In this episode, Simon Clark, founder of Sustainable Homes Melbourne, walks through seven design ideas that quietly determine how a home feels to live in every day. These aren't trends or styling tips. They're the architectural decisions behind homes that hold up: spatially, emotionally, and practically. Simon covers how connecting the kitchen to a working laundry creates a hidden service zone that gives mess somewhere to live. How a properly defined entry choreographs your arrival, so the house begins filtering the day before it reaches your living space. Why human-sized rooms, including window seats, study nooks, and generous island benches, deliver more comfort than adding square metres ever could. How widened hallways designed to hold bookshelves, study zones, and winter sun turn expensive circulation space into real living space. Why storage integrated into joinery and structure prevents clutter from forming in the first place. How a courtyard or light well solves airflow, daylight, and privacy on tight Melbourne sites. And how ceiling height variation shapes intimacy, acoustics, and the way a home holds you differently from room to room. At Sustainable Homes Melbourne, none of these ideas are considered upgrades. They're baseline. You'll learn: Why connecting the kitchen to the laundry creates a hidden service zone that restores calm to everyday lifeHow a defined entry with compression, release, and everyday amenity changes what it feels like to come homeWhat human-scaled rooms actually deliver and why they consistently outperform simply building biggerHow dual-purpose circulation turns hallways from a cost into a genuine living assetWhy storage designed into structure prevents clutter from appearing in the first placeWhat a courtyard or light well achieves for light, airflow, and privacy that no open-plan layout can replicateHow ceiling height variation creates intimacy, improves acoustics, and makes a home feel crafted rather than simply builtWho it's for: Melbourne homeowners planning a renovation, extension, or new custom sustainable home, and anyone who has ever walked into a home that felt right and wanted to understand exactly why. If you'd like to know more, please reach out to Sustainable Homes Melbourne or call us on 1800 683 697.

  5. May 12

    Episode 17. How to Win at Auction in Melbourne: A Buyers Advocate's Playbook for 2026

    There is a moment at every home auction, usually just before the auctioneer calls for the first bid, where your chest tightens and your carefully prepared budget starts to feel negotiable. You have spent weeks on this property. You know it is the one. And that certainty, the very thing that got you here, is exactly what is about to work against you. That psychological trap is at the heart of why most buyers overpay or miss out entirely. And it is exactly the kind of problem Sven Fisher from Cottage and Castle was built to solve. In this episode, Simon Clark from Sustainable Homes Melbourne talks with Sven about what it really means to buy well in Melbourne. Sven brings 14 years as a selling agent, a stint in a proptech startup focused on residential energy reporting, and a conviction that the real estate industry has a serious knowledge gap when it comes to home performance. They cover auction psychology, the north versus south orientation debate, and the uncomfortable reality that 90% of Australia's 11 million homes were built before any energy efficiency standards existed. Sven also draws on his German background to compare our disclosure system with Germany's mandatory energy passport at point of sale, and what it might mean for Melbourne buyers. You'll learn: Why bidding at auction creates a psychology of loss even before you have ever owned the propertyHow body language and pacing signal authority at auction without aggressionWhy paying a premium for a north-facing backyard can actually work against renovation buyersWhat a sustainability-focused buyers advocate looks for in a Melbourne period home before recommending itWhy 90% of Australian homes have no insulation and what that means for your energy bills and healthHow Germany's mandatory energy passport compares to Australia's voluntary disclosure system, and where we are headedWho it's for: Melbourne buyers and homeowners considering a purchase or renovation who want to understand the market beyond the marketing, and what home performance really means before you sign a contract. If you'd like to know more, please reach out to Sustainable Homes Melbourne or call us on 1800 683 697. Thank you to Sven Fischer of Cottage & Castle for being our guest. Link to the research by Fuerst and Warren-Myers: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/23428fa7-4d50-45b9-aede-15198e98cb27

  6. Apr 28

    Episode 16. Should You Still Build or Renovate in 2026? Why Waiting Will Cost You More, Not Less

    In early 2020, we were weeks from signing a $700,000 contract with a couple in Brunswick. Then COVID happened. They paused. Understandably. That same project today costs $1 million. The money they held onto became $300,000 extra they now have to find. We've had that conversation more times than we can count. And we're having it again. In this episode, builder Simon Clark cuts through the noise of tariffs, trade wars, and rising energy prices to answer the question coming up in almost every client conversation in 2026: is now still a good time to build? Simon starts with the numbers. Construction costs in Melbourne have risen 40 to 50 percent since 2020. On a million dollar build, that's the difference between the home you planned and one you may never be able to afford. He then makes the case for why 2026 is not a repeat of COVID. Trade availability in Melbourne right now is the best it has been in 25 years. Fuel levies are real. PVC prices have moved. But small businesses that need the work are absorbing those costs, and we are not seeing them passed on at anything like the headline figures. Simon also covers why energy-efficient, self-reliant homes have moved from aspiration to necessity. Two Victorian terrace homes Sustainable Homes Melbourne recently completed are generating energy savings of $1,600 and $2,500 per year respectively, in homes that were never ideally suited to passive solar design. In a volatile energy market, a home that reduces what you spend to live in it is not a luxury. It is a financial strategy. The episode closes with what a well-run project looks like when costs are unpredictable: open book contracting, monthly forecast versus actual reporting, early contractor involvement, and locking in key suppliers before pricing shifts. The window of good trade availability will not stay open forever. The housing shortage will bring demand back. If you have the financial backing, the case for getting started now is strong. You'll learn: Why construction costs in Melbourne are 40 to 50 percent higher than in 2020, and what that means for your budget todayHow waiting cost one Brunswick family $300,000, and why hesitation in a rising-cost market compounds over timeWhy trade availability in 2026 is better than at any point in the past 25 years, and how long that window is likely to lastHow two SHM-completed Victorian terraces now generate energy savings of up to $2,500 per year, and what made that possibleWhat open book contracting and monthly reporting actually look like in practice, and why they matter more in volatile timesHow to assess whether you are in a position to move forward with confidence right nowWho it's for: Melbourne homeowners sitting on approved plans or currently in design, who are feeling the weight of global economic uncertainty and want an honest, grounded view of whether now is the right time to build. If you'd like to know more, please reach out to Sustainable Homes Melbourne or call us on 1800 683 697.

  7. Apr 14

    Episode 15. Heritage Renovations: Five Upgrades for High Performance & Thermal Comfort

    Walk into almost any unrenovated Melbourne heritage home on a winter's day and the problem announces itself before you've taken your coat off. Beautiful from the street. Fifteen degrees inside when it's 22 outside. In this episode, builder Simon Clark answers one of the most common questions he hears from Melbourne homeowners: can you really have the soul of a heritage home and the thermal comfort of a modern one? After nearly 50 heritage renovations, his answer is an emphatic yes. Simon opens with the building science behind why heritage homes fail. Double brick walls may be less leaky than weatherboard, but without insulation they push the dew point onto internal surfaces, breeding mould. Single-glazed windows offer virtually no thermal barrier. Dark interiors were never designed with passive solar in mind. The charm is real. So is the discomfort, and the health risk. He then walks through five building fabric upgrades SHM applies to heritage renovations: addressing compromised footings using resin injection and board piers, replacing lightweight subfloors with an insulated infill slab and low carbon concrete to create genuine thermal mass, installing Coolfirm K17 insulation-backed plasterboard internally on double brick walls using the dop and dab method, rebuilding roofs with OSB, vapour-permeable membranes, and ventilated counter battens to allow moisture to disperse rather than condensate, and restoring or upgrading heritage windows, including vacuum insulated glass units for lead light windows council will not permit to be replaced. Each upgrade is designed to work within heritage overlay constraints, keeping council happy while transforming the building from the inside out. You'll learn: Why double brick heritage homes often develop mould problems, and the building science behind itThe infill slab method SHM uses to eliminate subfloor moisture and create thermal mass with low carbon concreteHow Coolfirm K17 insulation-backed plasterboard transforms double brick wall performance without touching the exteriorWhy vapour-permeable membranes and ventilated roof battens outperform traditional roof blanketsHow to upgrade lead light and heritage-listed windows without breaching council requirementsHow to genuinely improve thermal comfort and longevity while working within heritage overlay constraintsWho it's for: Owners of Melbourne heritage homes planning a renovation or extension, architects and designers working within heritage overlays, and anyone who has wondered whether you really have to choose between character and comfort. If you'd like to know more, please reach out to Sustainable Homes Melbourne or call us on 1800 683 697.

  8. Mar 31

    Episode 14. Buy Property With a Builder's Eye: The Inner-City Renovation and Knockdown Rebuild Checklist

    Most buyers spend weeks inspecting kitchens and bathrooms. But when you're buying an inner-city Melbourne property to renovate, extend, or knock down and rebuild, the things that will make or break your project often aren't visible on the surface. In this episode, builder Simon Clark walks through the essential due diligence checklist for anyone buying a property with major works in mind; from orientation and VicPlan overlays to flood levels, combined sewers, site access, and the eras of homes most likely to hide expensive surprises behind their walls. Simon explains why orientation is the single biggest factor most buyers overlook, and what it actually costs to fix a home with north to the front. He covers how to read VicPlan, what to ask council's planning department before you commit to a purchase, and why updated flood mapping across inner Melbourne is quietly adding cost and complexity to more renovation projects than buyers realise. He also unpacks the construction realities that matter before you sign: legal point of discharge, sewer easements, combined sewers in older inner suburbs, overhead electrical, and site access for machinery. Plus the ResCode trap that catches buyers who confuse what a neighbouring property built decades ago with what council will permit today. Finally, Simon addresses budget head-on: realistic square metre rates for inner-city Melbourne renovation and new builds, why double brick is more challenging to renovate than most buyers expect, and how a proper feasibility plan with a builder early in the process can protect you from the most costly mistake of all. You'll learn: Why orientation is the single most important factor to check before buying, and what north to the front really costs to fixHow to use VicPlan and what to ask council's planning department before you commitWhy flood levels are affecting more inner Melbourne properties than buyers realiseThe era of homes most likely to conceal structural surprises behind their wallsRealistic square metre rates for inner-city Melbourne renovation, extension, and knockdown rebuildHow a feasibility plan with a builder early in the process can prevent the most costly outcome in designWho it's for: Homeowners considering buying an inner-city Melbourne property to renovate, extend, or knockdown rebuild, and anyone who wants to approach purchasing a property with a builder's eye for what actually matters, not just what looks good on inspection day. If you'd like to know more, please reach out to Sustainable Homes Melbourne or call us on 1800 683 697.

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About

In each episode, we’ll share practical advice, design insights, and real stories to help you plan and build your dream sustainable home with confidence.

Information

  • Creator
    House of Meaning
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 House of Meaning Podcast
  • Show Website
    House of Meaning Podcast

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