Tamarama Residence
A nod to New York, grounded by Sydney and elevated by Milan: this three-story beachside home by Flack Studio is a daring homage to a mashup of metropolitan inspirations.
The owner, a businessman who moved from the Big Apple, rejected the “typical beach-house beige” and knew he’d found the right creative collaborator in designer David Flack after being introduced by a mutual friend. “He wanted an escape near the beach, somewhere calm to decompress from his high-pressure work life,” notes Flack.
The home, which was built in the early 2000s, was one the client and his family had eyed for years. In lieu of “wishy-washy coastal minimalism,” it’s now a tribute to texture, art and playful vignettes, with an overarching sense of fearlessness and custom commissions throughout. The plan? Substance first. The design transformed the home, which had great views and a beautiful garden but lacked any inference of innovation, into a grounded retreat. Timeless, appealing materials such as Venetian plaster, terrazzo, solid timber doors, parquetry, Palladiana floors and a hand-turned walnut stair create a layered sense of warmth and depth, atypical in bright, boxy Australian beach homes.
Each room has its own identity and a sense of permanence, with furnishings, alluring materials and modern art. The homeowner and Flack’s shared taste for risk led to the punchy palette. While the client is colourblind and can view blues and greens, it didn’t stop the designer from infusing a rainbow of hues, relentless energy and unapologetic attitude.
The ground-floor sitting room includes moody walnut paneling, a neon sculpture, and a provocative Sanne Mestrom coffee table formed from body-part silhouettes in onyx and bronze, as well as art from Stephen Ormandy and a Murano vase. The kitchen fuses American diner energy with Milanese grace, featuring pink marble, checkerboard tile, and a hammered brass range hood. In the dining room, multiple artworks accompany a Christophe Delcourt dining table and a Flack Studio-designed banquette.
The stairwell, which serves as both gallery and passageway, features deep charcoal-veined marble treads alongside works from the late Sydney Ball and a heavy steel panel by Gerold Miller that had to be craned in. In the primary bedroom and second-floor bathroom, tactile materiality in inky blues and reds gives way to dreamy texture. Moving outside, pieces from Cassina anchor the warm-weather zone.
Rather than blending, the client’s background and vision for the home “coexist in productive tension,” says the designer. The brashness of Manhattan arrives through art, while Sydney contributes “beachy ease and golden light streaming through walnut-framed ocean views.” The result is a home that reads like an art piece itself, with every surface speaking to the studio’s ethos of depth and detail.
Interior design by Flack Studio. Build by Boon Building. Landscape by Florian Wild.
