Best of the Week: 30 Light-Bringing Voids and Atriums (2024)

1. Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Why we love it: This is some bachelor pad. A home doesn’t need to be big to be beautiful, but it helps if there’s a sense of space and plenty of natural light – both things enhanced via a void.

A fireman’s pole makes for speedy access from the bedroom to the living/dining/kitchen area below. Jealous?

2. Location: Miami, USA
Why we love it: A void doesn’t have to be all glass to have an impact – keeping out the heat can be more important than flooding a space with light.

3. Location: Potts Point, NSW
Why we love it: This void is a sleek and sculptural addition to the kitchen/dining area, in line with the incredible renovation as a whole.

4. Location: Fitzroy, Victoria
Why we love it: This converted warehouse in an old industrial area welcomes the sunshine in with two full-height voids. The voids also open the home to sky views, almost as if you were in a backyard.

5. Location: North Epping, NSW
Why we love it: A double-height void and large aluminium windows create a sense of space and light in this new extension. Architect Danny Broe says the contrast of the low spaces against the open areas creates both intimacy and drama.

6. Location: Marrickville, NSW
Why we love it: A void can do double duty. In this case, it brings light and space into not just the kitchen/dining area…

… but also the upstairs living area, which is flooded with light from both sides.

7. Location: Sydney, NSW
Why we love it: A void that serves as a bike storage spot – nice.

8. Location: Sydney, NSW
Why we love it: Circles make a refreshing change from hard lines and angles – what an impact the cylindrical void makes in this home.

9. Location: Glasshouse Mountains, Queensland
Why we love it: This design makes the most of the leafy views, while louvred windows upstairs allow the rising hot air to escape.

10. Location: Bondi, NSW
Why we love it: The void transforms this Victorian terrace house extension, along with several skylights.

11. Location: Brisbane, Queensland
Why we love it: With an outlook this gorgeous, why wouldn’t you make the most of it with double-height glass.

12. Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Why we love it: This void makes the interior a light-filled haven, and the house glows from the inside out when the sun goes down.

13. Location: Sydney, NSW
Why we love it: One of the great things about voids is the bold lighting choices you can make to go with them.

14. Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Why we love it: Light and space delivered upstairs and down. Mission accomplished.

15. Location: Mindarie, WA
Why we love it: Beachy Hamptons style needs plenty of natural light to really work. A soaring ceiling and plantation shutters galore bring both an abundance of light and a chic coastal vibe.

16. Location: Mosman, NSW
Why we love it: This sophisticated home makes use of the grand space created by the void with a statement pendant.

Upstairs, the void serves to open the home to those incredible harbour views.

17. Location: Alexandria, NSW
Why we love it: Squeezing in a house on a narrow block can make bringing in natural light a challenge. Not so with this design.

18. Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Why we love it: A void over the stairwell provides a view out into the garden every time you walk downstairs – far more interesting than a blank wall.

19. Location: London, UK
Why we love it: The morning sun streaming in can get any day off to a fine start. This glass extension adjoins a historical cottage.

20. Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Why we love it: This stairway void makes way for skylights that filter light down to the lower level.

21. Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Why we love it: The goal with the atrium in this home was to welcome in the natural surrounds.

22. Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Why we love it: Texture brings a three-dimensional edge to this contemporary extension.

23. Location: New York City, USA
Why we love it: We can’t think of a better way to make full use of a void.

24. Location: West Virginia, USA
Why we love it: Why chop down a tree if you don’t need to? This design really does bring the outside in.

25. Location: Nantes, France
Why we love it: This home has the best of both worlds: a cosy living area and a kitchen that’s light and bright.

26. Location: London, UK
Why we love it: If this kitchen doesn’t entice you to cook, nothing will. Light acts like a magnet in the home – everyone tends to want to bask in it.

27. Location: West Hollywood, USA
Why we love it: This atrium, between the home’s stairwell and master suite, turns taking a shower into an experience.

28. Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Why we love it: Where better to put an atrium than over the shower? This bathroom was created out of a disused concrete water tank!

29. Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Why we love it: A void in the bathroom is unexpected but brilliant.