A Trim table from The Wood Room with vintage leather Cab chairs by Mario Bellini for Cassina. Shocking-pink sideboard by Joel Elliott Furniture.
A Santa & Cole Tekiò Horizontal pendant light hangs above a Calacatta marble island bench.
Studio Doherty transform a period home through thoughtful contemporary interventions and an imaginative retelling.
Unrecognisable from its former self, this historic home in Melbourne’s South Yarra was originally slated for a simple decorative refresh. But in the deft hands and creative minds of Melbourne’s Studio Doherty, its potential grew with each passing phase, “gaining momentum” until it was re-born as a family refuge. Its existing bright white walls, old monochromatic renovation and jarring black-framed doors have been replaced by chalky cocooning hues, punctured by primary colours and natural oak floorboards sanded back from their original grey-brown finish.
Director of her eponymous studio, Doherty worked entirely within the existing footprint to reverse the home’s dated interiors which straddle the Art Deco and Bungalow styles. The clinical skeletons of all the bathrooms were gutted, each one re-dressed with their own unique personality: the powder room, coated wall-to-wall in gem-like Japanese tiles and offset with black fixtures; the family bathroom, re-organised with new vanity heights and satiny walls; the main ensuite, drenched head-to-toe in grassy green gloss tiled cabinetry.
The Jardan Valley sofa in the living area.
With its skirtings and Murano vintage waterfall chandelier, the salon near the entry presents as the home’s most traditional room. Muted and subdued, but bathed in daylight, the formal space cultivates a cosiness perfect for reading and playing the piano. “The chameleon-like grey walls are swathed in petrol-toned mesh curtains and the modest ceiling heights are forgotten amid the moody richness of the furnishings,” Doherty says. The designer anchored the room with a misty, sky-blue sofa in a slim, curved silhouette.
With sustainability and waste reduction top of mind, Doherty updated the kitchen conservatively, only re-tiling it for a gentle facelift. She also retained the Calacatta marble which glows under a bullet-shaped Washi Japanese paper shade hanging above. “This project was a lesson in responding to what was at hand, focusing on what could be retained rather than what could be torn out,” Doherty explains of her guiding principle.
One of the few mild structural interventions involved replacing a small window in the dining room with a cylindrical skylight. The effect washes the pared-back space in natural light, illuminating the heavyset, shocking pink sideboard custom made by Joel Elliott Furniture.
The living room was given a jolt of colour, a low-lying navy Jardan sofa complemented by a playful, sugary-pink, snaking floor cushion. Running along the rear wall, a bespoke joinery unit in quartzite, bronze, and oak serves as a place to display objets d’art and collectables. Doherty has elevated the home even further by layering the interiors with sculptures, textile works and paintings. Peppered throughout, they are both composed in clusters and reign supreme as stand-alone works. “The contrasting mediums create a visual tension that our client was keen to pursue,” Doherty says. “They have a love of contemporary art, but also have some classic pieces and wanted them all to sit together in the home.”
While the floorplate wasn’t increased, Doherty visually enlarged the area with floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the rear wall that reflect the new outdoor scheme. Devised by landscape designers Mud Office, the outdoor space features a moat-like design and above-ground mosaic pool; its snaking silhouette glinting with glassy waters.
The formal salon features an Arthur G Orb sofa and canary yellow Baxter Tactile armchair, a cluster of Moroso Nest coffee tables and a Miniforms Soda table.
The Foscarini Buds 2 table lamp and Audo Copenhagen Knitting lounge chair.
In the main bedroom, a custom bed by Studio Doherty in Pelle leather with linen sheets from Carlotta+Gee.
An Articolo wall light in the bathroom.
