An Art Deco Apartment Reimagined – Domain Road by Tamsin Johnson

Domain Road embraces an imaginative spirit for a playful and experimental client. Tamsin Johnson combines a muted and spirited approach to reconfigure an existing art deco apartment, injecting personality and character.

In an established art deco apartment building in Melbourne’s inner south, Domain Road is set into eclectic and vibrant South Yarra, offering nods to the apartment’s classical heritage while also hinting at a more contemporary approach through the refined and new. The project offered an extraordinary level of design freedom, with Tamsin Johnson engaged from afar, designer and client did not meet until the build was complete. Given an open ticket to conceive the resulting series of spaces, this freedom resulted in a nuanced and layered outcme. Starting from a cleared foundation, after a complete reconfiguration and removal or existing superfluous dated and wearied features, the goal was to create a home of resonance within both the building’s existing character and within the realm of personality of its owners.

Referencing a Parisian approach to apartment design, the strategy was to create a home that embodied its own character and charm while also being a retreat and entertaining space for the client when needed.

Built by Steven Waters Building, the apartment is situated into an existing four storey building that enviably looks out over the Royal Botanic Gardens. Optimising this outlook over the tree canopies and strengthening the interior’s connection to nature became the primary focus. Although the location and existing apertures hinted at a generous openness, the internal condition needed significant intervention to then aptly reflect this. The removal and reconfiguration of the interior to create a better sense of flow and encourage movement and interconnection between spaces was key. Taking cues from the existing steel windows, new glass and steel doors are inserted throughout, enhancing transparency and created an expanded sense of space.

Referencing a Parisian approach to apartment design, the strategy was to create a home that embodied its own character and charm while also being a retreat and entertaining space for the client when needed. Combining a classical sensibility, a timeless and muted resolve emerged, where neutrals are combined with thin metal details and interesting moments of quirkiness throughout. In its brushed stainless steel, the kitchen offers a handcrafted element of boldness, intended to reflect human interactions with its surfaces over time. Furniture and artwork are then used to add additional layers of richness and complexity throughout, allowing expression.

Taking cues from the existing steel windows, new glass and steel doors are inserted throughout, enhancing transparency and created an expanded sense of space.

Domain Road is a unique opportunity for experimentation with space, materiality and form. Tamsin Johnson proposes a beautiful and unique pied-à-terre that connects to past and present.