Monroe
Caitlin Parker-Brown of Parker Studio used heritage Art Deco features as a starting point for her reinvention of Monroe, a home that nods to the past while remaining vibrant and contemporary.
Over the years, Monroe’s design had evolved into a jumble of styles from different eras. Parker-Brown’s clients wanted to bring the residence’s Art Deco roots back to the fore and establish a sense of cohesion. The designer took cues from the home’s existing elements and reinterpreted that design language for contemporary living while paying respect to – and preserving – its heritage.
Those influences begin at the front door, which has “a beautiful, twisted rope brass door pull”, says Parker-Brown. “This was our inspiration for the kitchen cabinetry panelling, where we included a twisted rope moulding to frame the joinery doors.” Small details like these are laced through the home, elevating its clean, pared-back design into something luxurious and textural.
The Art Deco vernacular is spotlighted in the three feature bathrooms, one of which, a striking all-green downstairs bathroom, was subject to heritage requirements. Its tiled dado line and the distinctive decorative stepping detail around the top of the bath and shower had to be preserved. “We loved all of the original features, so this wasn’t an issue,” says Parker-Brown. “We redesigned with all of the quirky original details in a fresh new sage green colour and marble flourishes.” The willow green pedestal basin from The Water Monopoly continues the colour palette.
The downstairs ensuite bathroom, now tiled in calming white and pink, was from a later period and had no distinctive period details. To echo the green bathroom, Parker-Brown added the same Art Deco-style stepped detailing above the shower entrance. Herringbone mosaic tiles are used in both downstairs bathrooms, referencing the mustard tiles of an original bathroom; the pattern is continued throughout the home with herringbone timber floorboards.
Upstairs, an extension Parker-Brown estimates dates back to the 1980s posed problems. “It is very different to the Art Deco vibe on the ground floor and the front facade,” she says. “This was one of our major challenges, to incorporate the first-floor design into the rest of the home.”
Parker-Brown’s vision for unifying the design into a cohesive whole is exemplified in the upstairs bathroom, where she retained the addition’s original pitched timber-lined ceiling. The glass breezeblocks set into the external wall also date back to when the first floor was added. Parker-Brown “decided to really lean into the bold features and make it fun”, adding tiles in a striped pattern on the walls, a double vanity and a rotating mirror suspended from the ceiling.
In other spaces, textured and coloured details elevate the soothing design into something more luxurious while continuing to unify the design. A dramatic island of Monroe Quartzite stone – its swirls of pink and burgundy referencing two of the bathrooms – from CDK dominates the kitchen. The stone is used again in a splashback running the length of the room, as well as in the living zone.
Monroe is an elegant evolution of a home into a cohesive whole that exemplifies Parker Studio’s thoughtful, holistic design approach.
Interior design by Parker Studio. Build by Robert Plumb Fix.
