NSW North coast. 9 Brownell Drive, Byron Bay. $4.5m-$4.95m Wategos Beach is footsteps from this recently renovated home. Set over three levels, the four-bedroom house has an open-plan living space leading onto entertaining decks with ocean and hinterland views. The master bedroom, retreat and private balcony occupy the upper floor. Motorsport and yachting enthusiasts Greg and Liz Newton have owned the property, sitting at the foot of the Cape Byron Lighthouse, for the past 17 years. 
Agent: Su Reynolds, Byron Bay First National, Byron Bay.
VIC Melbourne. 10 Pleasant View Crescent, Wheelers Hill. $3m Yousef and Helena Bezheh have transformed this chic Waverley home in their three years here. What was once a dowdy brown-brick 1970s property is now a rendered, light-filled modern home. Glass-fronted wraparound verandas and balconies offer views over the manicured gardens and to the Dandenong Ranges beyond. The home has both formal and family living areas, four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Agent: Zed Nasheet, LJ Hooker, Hampton Park.
QLD Gold Coast. 29 Holland Court, Broadbeach Waters. $1.3m-$1.5m Stackable walls of glass open this canal-front home to the best of outdoor living, without compromising privacy and security. Robyn Smith bought the property nine years ago when she was renovating her nearby home. She and her family lived here for 18 months. "It's so open and light. I loved being able to live in an open-air environment," she says. The four-bedroom home has an in ground pool and waterside loggia.
Agent: Debbie Goudy, Unique Estates, Byron Bay.
WA Southwest. 57   Junee Place, Yallingup. $1.195m Melanie Clark and Joe Ottone opted for a tree-change seven years ago, moving from a tiny terrace house in Fremantle to 3ha of native bush in Yallingup. Melanie, who has a background in design, oversaw a makeover of the 20-year-old home. "We wanted to keep it as a bush house," she says. "We wanted it to work within its landscape." Steep pitched rooflines, large skylights and tall windows let light flood into the four-bedroom home.
Agent: Louis De Chiera, Stocker Preston, Dunsborough.
SA Robe. 91 Longbottom Road,Mount Benson. $720,000-$790,000 This weatherboard home on 17ha close to Robe is the quintessential beach house. The rugged limestone coast and pristine beaches are 100m from the front door. Clinton and Jo Alcock bought the three-bedroom home 10 years ago and have spent many a happy summer there. "It's just so rugged and wild," Clinton says. "You can watch the storms roll in." The Alcocks had hoped to retire here, but will now stay closer to Adelaide.Agent: Grant Schubert, Elders Real Estate - South East, Kingston.