Featured across five double-page spreads in the most recent Belle Magazine – smart spaces designed with intelligence – this Tuscan-inspired home designed by David Hicks is worth lingering over.

Designed as a primary residence and nestled within Victoria’s stunning Macedon Ranges, all the extended family are welcome. With generous proportions and beautifully embellished guest bedrooms, every space is a warm invitation to stay.

This intriguing home, with hidden frontages and grand entrances, draws inspiration from Italian rural Tuscan villas, cleverly layered with restrained contemporary design. This wonderful dance between rural and contemporary visually translates through moments of ornamentation amongst the simplicity, and with polished and raw materials sitting side by side – from lime-washed exterior walls to refined marble finishes.

The warm, stunning result is a home that feels easily and lovingly composed, where materials, light and form work in harmony, allowing the series of connected spaces to flow seamlessly between indoors and out.

Beautifully summarised, as written by Chris Pearson, “The building’s simple, pared-back design is embellished with decorative flourishes – in short, the romance of la dolce vita gets a modernist twist.”