Mermaid Beach House by Tamsin Johnson
Amid the canals, lakes and grassy esplanades of Mermaid Waters on the Gold Coast sits a home that glows in the slipstream of its waterfront surroundings. Drawing on the costal vernacular of the Americas and the Caribbean, Mermaid Beach House by Tamsin Johnson reveals an eclectic identity, blending Art Deco elegance with distinctive Queenslander elements.
With six generous bedrooms and an unmistakable coastal character, Mermaid Beach House could easily be mistaken for a waterfront resort. “It breathes a sea air,” says interior designer Johnson of the canal-facing property, where the expansive footprint is split almost evenly between indoors and out. She collaborated with architecture practice Hicks & Holmested to bring the home to life, tailoring it to suit a family of five – a couple and their three young children.
A palette of white and wood served as Johnson’s point of departure, who used timber for the floors, doors and shutters – even appearing as shiplap on the cabinetry and ceilings – and daisy tones for the walls. “White was a critical part of the language and appropriate here – not something I often lean towards, but in this context, it was essential,” notes Johnson, who also embraced sisal flooring, a grey stone fireplace, arched doorways and louvred wardrobes to give the home a light and breezy spirit.
The third element she championed was natural light, welcomed through a light well at the entrance and elsewhere via large, luminous French windows and verandahs. She used texture abundantly and colour sparingly – the former through warm furniture accents in cane, rattan and wicker; the latter through furnishings and tiles, particularly in the ensuite bathrooms, where vibrant hues form a playful mosaic. “The colour really adds a charming and uplifting sense of play against the more formal and stately feel of the building – still tremendously sophisticated in its materiality,” says Johnson. “Apart from the antiques, the view was also very much reclaimed.”
In crafting a home by the sea, Johnson eschewed conventional coastal clichés. “I wanted to strip away obvious or pastiched rusticity and instead bring an American-like sense of maturity, formality and elegance to the home while also extinguishing any overt maritime parodies,” she elaborates. While the architecture nods to the Americas, the decor leans towards a Southern European sensibility, expressed through the use of antiques, vintage novelties and eclectic art. “I think the result is a uniquely Australian one – it is charming, fresh and perennial.”
Architecture by Hicks & Holmested. Interior design by Tamsin Johnson. Build by DB Build.
