Vogue Living Australia – September-October 2026

Summary

Vogue Living Australia September-October 2026 is themed "Poetry in Design," with the entrance hall of Ramdane Touhami's Roman home at Palazzo Borghese on the cover, photographed by Stefan Giftthaler. Gaston Bachelard's "The Poetics of Space" runs as the philosophical throughline. Dimorestudio, Studioutte, Milan Design Week 2026, and a restored Brescian palazzo attic fill the issue.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Story / Design

p.90 · All Roads Lead to Rome
Ramdane Touhami's perfectly imperfect world at Palazzo Borghese. The creative director and his family live inside a 16th-century palazzo that he decorated with layering rather than restoration. A checklist for readers tackling their own period-home renovation: which original features to keep and which to replace.

p.100 · Baroque Beauty
Architect Massimo Adario enlivens a 15th-century residence in Verona with carefully layered modern interventions. The lighting strategy: how he concealed modern fixtures inside historic chandeliers.

p.112 · La Maison Est Magnifique
A Parisian couple's Left Bank apartment filled with art and collected treasures. The couple's rule for acquiring new pieces: wait 3 months before any purchase above EUR 500.

p.148 · Buried Treasure
Italian architect Giovanni Tortelli reveals hidden complexities within a Brescian palazzo's former attic space. The structural challenge of converting a storage attic into a primary residence.

▸ Features

p.28 · Gaston Bachelard
A tribute to the late French philosopher's treatise "The Poetics of Space" and its resonance with this issue's theme. Why Bachelard's concept of "topophilia" matters for contemporary interior design.

p.54 · Studioutte
The Milan-based architecture and interiors studio experiencing rapid ascent. Their signature material palette: concrete, limewash, and untreated oak. One project budget that came in 15 percent under estimate.

p.62 · Objet d'Art
Sceners Gallery in an abandoned factory designed by Gustave Eiffel's studio. How the gallery is reshaping the framework of the contemporary city gallery model.

p.82 · Clean Slate
Poliform's newly imagined Sydney showroom at Space in Alexandria. The spatial layout prioritized circulation over display density.

p.124 · Afterglow
A former hospital site in Sydney's Bronte repurposed for modern family life by Alexander & CO. The floor plan adapts the original ward layout into separate living pavilions.

p.136 · Liberte, Egalite
Leonie Alma Mason draws on a Paris apartment's French heritage while suffusing the space with easy contemporary elegance.

p.162 · Modern Classic
Jillian Dinkel draws from Georgian architecture's balanced symmetry in this Sydney new build for a young family. The cost per square meter compared to a typical Sydney new build.

▸ Regulars

p.80 · The VL Edit
The latest collectible homewares, rugs, art, and furniture from favorite brands and makers.

p.172 · The VL Edit: Kitchen & Bath
Kitchen and bathroom appliances, accessories, and fittings with price ratings.

p.178 · Cross Cultural
Claire Delmar showcases Australian creativity at Copenhagen's 3daysofdesign. Five Australian brands that should be on European buyers' radar.

p.184 · Heavy Metal
Baxter's refined dining setting with contemporary allure.

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Editor's Take

"Poetry in Design" is one of Vogue Living Australia's strongest thematic issues. The Bachelard throughline is ambitious but earned—each featured home actually engages with his philosophy of space. The Ramdane Touhami Palazzo Borghese cover story is the standout: specific, layered, and full of practical renovation lessons. Studioutte's project budget transparency (15 percent under estimate) is rare in this category. Weakest section is the heavy advertising density in the front-of-book watch and jewellery spreads. The "Modern Classic" Jillian Dinkel piece includes cost-per-square-meter data that is genuinely useful. Best for design-literate readers who want philosophical depth with practical renovation guidance.

Strengths
• Ramdane Touhami palazzo with period-home renovation checklist
• Studioutte profile with budget transparency (15 percent under estimate)
• Bachelard philosophy applied to contemporary interiors without pretension

Weaknesses
• Front-of-book watch and jewellery spreads are ad-heavy
• Kitchen & bath VL Edit lacks price anchoring

Verdict: Essential — A rare design magazine issue that successfully pairs philosophical framing with actionable renovation lessons.