Finca Talluca by HGA Studio and Ellison Studios
Mid-century modernism meets tropical brutalist design in a richly layered family home designed by HGA Studio and enhanced with new and vintage furnishings thoughtfully selected and supplied by Ellison Studios.
The Currumbin Valley in the Gold Coast hinterland sets the lush stage for Finca Talluca, a family home that brings together mid-century modernism and tropical brutalism with nods to the Australian landscape. Finca Talluca was designed by Harley Graham of HGA Studio for fashion designer Megan Ziems, the founder of Grace Loves Lace, and draws the outside in with rammed earth and natural stone walls. Ziems also collaborated with Ellison Studios founder and CEO Leigh McKeown to weave her own personal taste through the project.
The home is grounded and softened with sculptural lines and an abundance of warm timbers. Geometric openings unfold beyond the main body of the home, creating an origami-like effect and framing the landscape beyond, including the freshwater creek that edges the property.
Ellison Studio’s furniture curation took cues from the landscape and the style of the architecture, as well as from the lifestyle of Ziems and her family. “Bringing a wide mix of materiality and textiles into the home to match the diversity of the geography was a subtle way to bring the outdoors into the home,” says McKeown.
McKeown pulled Ziems’s love of travel and history into the space via vintage pieces sourced from Europe, Mexico and South America, bolstering the “collected over time” narrative that helped define McKeown’s approach to the project. These include a 1970s patchwork leather beanbag from De Sede, the Fantasma floor lamp by Tobias Scarpa for Flos and an original Brazilian rosewood Costela chair by Martin Eisler and Carlo Hauner.
Layered among these vintage treasures are Ellison Studio’s showstopping furnishings. Their curved designs intentionally offer a striking foil to the home’s design. “We knew the space needed to have a softness to make it a family home,” says McKeown. “The contrast of our collections paired with the angular and geometric architecture has proven to be one of the most successful elements.”
A key piece is Ellison Studio’s Float sofa, which occupies a corner of the ’70s-style sunken lounge area – which was designed by Ziems and Graham with the sofa front of mind. “It was Megan’s first non-negotiable for the project,” says McKeown. Not only does it bring visual depth and act as a conversation piece, but its deep seat and large size can comfortably accommodate an entire family. “It’s a unique piece that blends aesthetics with depth and comfort in a way that our clients often have an emotional reaction to,” says McKeown.
In the main bedroom, the minimalist form and distinctive spherical feet of the Yoko bed by Ellison Studios add depth to the luscious textures of shag carpet and the box-like space. And the rounded design of Ellison Studios’s pillowy new Glove chair in the living space offers a throughline from the shape and proportions of the Float sofa.
The combination of McKeown’s sharp eye for detail, and his longstanding relationship with Ziems has found solid form in this luxuriant home that finds a balance between family living and extraordinary design.
Architecture by HGA Studio. Interior curation and furniture by Ellison Studios. Build by Mactech Constructions.
