House Tour: A Totally Trippy Pink and Purple Melbourne Home

Step inside this 4,000-square-foot penthouse apartment in the elite Melbourne suburb of Toorak. It has been immaculately transformed into a place of luxury living thanks to Australia-based designer Greg Natale.

The owners of the residence, who run a luxury watch and jewellery business, requested the lavish use of jewel tones—particularly pink and maroon. And the result is a trippy home where Art Deco elements shine through.

The designer was called in to bring a sense of grandeur to an otherwise uninspiring minimalist shell. The sprawling space started as a spec apartment, so it presented an incredibly clean slate. “But that also meant it was neutral. My clients aren’t neutral people,” Natale says. “They’re a young couple, and they’re open to a lot of new ideas.”

Taking the owners’ love of rich and varied hues, and the beautiful gleam of brass, Natale began a process of luxe layering and embellishing over the original space. New elements included a dramatic mirrored entry, a series of arches to form different spaces, and the addition of a fireplace, joinery, kitchen benchtops, bathroom vanities, finishes, and furnishings throughout.

Blush-painted ceilings make for an intimate setting here. It also picks up the slight pink tones of the light oak floors. On the walls, fluted white lacquer panelling subsequently adds luxurious detail, It evokes the spirit of ‘80s-era *Dynasty–*style glamour.

Pink comes into its own

Pink shines through in the dining room, which features Gucci Heron wallpaper, and creates a delicate cocooning effect in the wallpaper of the guest bedroom and in the lacquered joinery and pink marble wallpaper of the dressing room. “My favorite is the dining room. The Gucci wallpaper is so elegant, but it’s also useful,” Natale says. He admits that pink is easily his favorite color, too.

In the bathroom vanities, kitchen benchtops, and backsplashes—and with the living room fireplace—pink tones come courtesy of the striking materiality of Calacatta Viola marble. Who knew pink could be such a versatile tone?

Furthermore, maroon enriches the palette with lacquered joinery in the kitchen and lacquered fluting in the living room and primary bedroom. “The millwork relates to the owners’ jewellery business too. The same builder in their home also did their shops,” Natale says.

Maroon patterned wallpaper brings with it a luxurious feel to the powder room. In the primary suite, a lacquered maroon door opens to reveal a change of pace thanks to black, grey, and white mosaic tiles from Bisazza laid in a chain-link pattern. Totally mesmerising! Accidentally, it also makes for a playful reference to the owners’ business.

Vintage and Contemporary

Beyond the shared affinity in terms of tones, the clients were also keen on finding a designer who could easily incorporate their already existing Jonathan Adler furniture into their new space. So, with a foreword written by Adler in Natale’s book, The Tailored Interior, it was another obvious match. “Jonathan likes when I reupholster and reinvent his work,” Natale says. He introduced a mix of vintage and contemporary pieces to work with the existing Jonathan Adler furniture.

The final element to the design was establishing a grand sense of entry. Natale, therefore, created a hall of mirrored panels and arches. Sculptural Kelly Wearstler lights work together with a pink-and-grey postmodern Art Deco rug beneath the grey textured wallpaper on the ceiling. The effect in this Melbourne home is mesmerizing and suitably sultry at once.

The end result strongly relays the love of luxury and glamour—for the owners and for Natale.

Via