Belle Magazine, Flack Studio

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This pint-sized home in Melbourne’s Fitzroy packs a powerful punch with a maximalist mash-up of materials.

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This page Brushed stainless steel barn-style doors with high-gloss discs in custom Porter’s Paints ‘Sparkling Shiraz’ Words C ARLI PHILIP S Photography ANSON SMART

open into the maximalist powder room created by designer David Flack. The custom vanity basin is comprised of Calacatta Viola and Rosso Levanto marbles, both from Parthenon Marble. Vintage Poliedri wall sconce from 1stdibs.

The dowels running up the wall are painted in Porter’s Paints ‘Tiramisu’, with Kravet Design acrylic-coated wallpaper above. Opposite page Without much room to play with, the kitchen has been designed in a galley style, with joinery finished in Dulux ‘Nimrod’ and aged brass handles from Mi&Gei. The benchtop, splashback and kickboard is Rosso Levanto marble from Parthenon Marble, and contrasts with the ‘Fatima’s Reflection’ terrazzo floor tiles from Fibonacci Stone also seen in the powder room. Fisher & Paykel ovens. Artwork by Sean Bailey from Daine Singer gallery.

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Melbourne C O L O U R I S A S E PA R AT I O N A I D ... W I T H WA L L S D I P P E D I N A WAV E O F F O A M Y G R E E N A N D S L O W LY S N A K I N G O U T T O T H E G A R D E N .

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hen designer David Flack of Flack Studio was enlisted to work on this project for owners Nicholas Slater and Zahra Sulaeman, he knew it was going to be tricky. Yet despite a conservative spend, a tiny block, a heritage facade and more than a few quirks, David accepted the job, turning hindrances and difficulties into opportunities. “Initially, we were hesitant because there was a very tight budget and so many unknowns. It was a problematic site but we love a bit of a challenge. While there is a reality to how much things cost, the house is just down the road from our studio so it meant that, timewise, little hurdles were easier to overcome.”

One of the oldest homes in the neighbourhood, the place was derelict when Nicholas and Zahra bought it. The facade needed to remain intact according to heritage restrictions, but the rest was falling apart at the seams and totally uninhabitable. David worked alongside architects Taylor Knights to relocate the entry door to the side so the house now opens into an emeraldgreen galley kitchen that bridges the dining area at one end of the property and the living room at the other.

Finding adequate amenity in the kitchen was difficult, and they had to contend with building the joinery around immovable drains and downpipes. Everything needed to be ‘crunched in’, down to the smallest details, considering issues such as whether the dishwasher would hit the opposite wall when open. Sitting flush with the kitchen wall, the powder room is accessed via embellished silver barn doors with hand-painted oak domes inspired by the industrial designs of Jean Prouvé. Inside, the »

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This page, clockwise from top left In the meals area, a banquette is upholstered in Elmo ‘Elmonordic’ leather and the bolster cushion in Kvadrat ‘Helia’ fabric. Vintage ‘Dialogo’ chairs from Castorina & Co, with a custom Flack Studio table with stone top and aged-brass base.

The serpentine wall panelling is painted in Porter’s Paints ‘Olive Grove’. A Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran sculpture sits next to a Sean Bailey work on the lower shelf while above is a Jordan Marani sculpture next to a Richard Lewer work. Custom Flack Studio sconce. Glenn Barkley vase from Sullivan+Strumpf. Artwork by Sean Bailey. The galley bridges the sitting and dining areas. Another banquette is upholstered in Kvadrat ‘Helia’ fabric. Glas Italia ‘XXX’ coffee table from Space. Mokum ‘Eternal’ linen curtains from James Dunlop Textiles. The powder room door sits flush with the kitchen joinery. Opposite page Garden space was sacrificed to have a larger meals area with full-height glass doors.

Flooring by Storey Floors. Painting by Tom Polo from Station Gallery.

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« maximalist finishes are a textural rainbow of hand-painted fluted walls, seagrass wallpaper and a custom marble basin.

To define the ground floor, David created thresholds using materiality, laying oak to intersect with terrazzo and timber treated with different stains. “It’s such a small area that this detail helps with the division of space,” he says.

Colour, too, served as a separation aid with walls in the meals area dipped in an undulating wave of foamy green that slowly snakes out to the intimate garden. Here, new double-height glass doors were installed, enabling southern light to flood the zone. On the other side of the house and at the opposite end of the spectrum, the living room is bound in a peachy skin with a custom sunshine-yellow banquette running wall-to-wall to maximise the sitting space. Ringed with French blue linen curtains and a metallic leaf finish, the room is up lit with vintage Poliedri Murano glass wall sconces. “It’s an absolute explosion of colour designed so you can dive right in,” says David.

Upstairs, one bedroom at the front and one bedroom at the rear are connected via a glazed partition panel. The green fluted glass creates a level of transparency and lightness so as not to overwhelm the small spaces. With the owners being major fashionistas, they called for good storage and full-height American oak wardrobes with joinery handles in aged brass in the master bedroom. From this floor, a few steps up lead to what David refers to as a “little bathing house or attic boudoir”.

Lined in glossy strawberry tiles this room, while intimate, adds “great value to the house”, he says.

The couple were horrified with any suggestion of white and mortified when David suggested muted linen curtains in the bedrooms. “I suggested some neutrality but they didn’t want »

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This page Walls painted in Porter’s Paints ‘Mizu Gaku’ are matched by a custom Flack Studio-designed sitting-room banquette upholstered in Kvadrat Maharam ‘Helia 533’ fabric. Glas Italia ‘XXX’ coffee table from Space and Oeuffice ‘Ionik’ stool from Criteria. Vintage Poliedri wall sconce from 1stdibs. On the left, the wall is finished in metallic leaf from Bishop Master Finishes. Opposite page, clockwise from top left A view down the galley corridor from the sitting to the dining area, with an Ettore Sottsass ‘Callimaco’ floor lamp from Artemide. A commissioned artwork

by Karen Black from Sullivan+Strumpf fills another wall. Homeowners Zahra Sulaeman and Nicholas Slater were realistic about what was achievable in such a small space. The serpentine wall panelling seen behind them in the dining area is a fun nod to French designer Jean Royère’s furniture and was painted in Porter’s Paints ‘Olive Grove’. Artwork by Tom Polo from Station Gallery.

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SPEED READ » Initially, designer David Flack of Flack Studio was hesitant about taking on a residential project with such strict limitations of size and budget. » The house, just down the road from his own office, was completely derelict and needed to be gutted. » Together with architects Taylor Knights, they worked to create a floor plan that would maximise as much space as possible on the tiny plot. » Homeowners Nicholas Slater and Zahra Sulaeman were gung-ho about colour, embracing a maximalist look and shuddering at the thought of neutrality. » Realistic about what was achievable, they embraced things like marble offcuts and stopped short of trying to disguise utilities, even painting downpipes in colour. » David created an “attic boudoir” in glossy strawberry tiles that, while small, adds value to the home. » The design process became about having better quality pieces and finishes rather than more.

» it anywhere. They wanted it as mixed, detailed and patterned as possible. They have a strong sensibility and were very decisive, especially when it came to deep burgundy and greens. The interiors straddle masculinity and femininity quite rigorously.”

David says that while there were significant size limitations to overcome, he credits Nicholas and Zahra for being realistic about what was achievable. “They knew that it wasn’t possible to cram a five-bedroom house on a tiny block so they made intelligent design decisions and were pragmatic about what we could fit in.”

The couple also didn’t let budget become a hindrance, happily agreeing to stone offcuts and the painting of pipes that would stand out rather than be poorly disguised. “They had to rationalise their own life because they really wanted to live here, so having better quality pieces and finishes rather than simply more, became the focus. It was a process of give and take.” # flackstudio.com.au

This page, clockwise from top left The attic boudoir has a custom makeup table and drawers painted in Porter’s Paints ‘Olive Grove’, with a Tiberio stone benchtop, aged brass legs and handles by Mi&Gei. Custom swivel mirror with opaque LED diffusers. Table lamp from Angelucci 20th Century. Baxter ‘Nepal’ armchair from Criteria. Moroso ‘Net’ side table. Rug from Halcyon Lake and ‘Carmelita’ terrazzo tiles from Fibonacci Stone. In the master bedroom, a Hale Mercantile Co ‘Flocca’ linen bedhead and ‘Flocca’ bedlinen are balanced by walls in Porter’s Paints ‘Washed Linen’ and curtains in Mokum ‘Eternal’ linen in Salt 801 from James Dunlop Textiles. Matter Made ‘F/K/A’ table lamp from Criteria on a USM ‘Haller’ side table from Anibou. Artwork by Matt Arbuckle from Daine Singer gallery. To delineate spaces, the flooring in the hall and guest bedroom change direction and stain. Textured reeded glass from Viridian Glass. The bedroom walls are in Porter’s Paints ‘Overcast’, with Mokum ‘Eternal’ roman blinds in Marsala from James Dunlop Textiles. Custom Flack Studio ottoman in Kvadrat Maharam fabric in Mohair Supreme. Artworks by Trevelyan Clay from Neon Parc. Opposite page On the boudoir’s other side, the walls and ceiling are in a smooth render finish X-Bond polished bond by Alternative Surfaces. D-Tile tile system in Skin from Mondopiero. Baxter ‘Mumbai’ side table from Criteria. Hansgrohe overhead shower rose in Chrome. Halcyon Lake rug.

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