Just Like Heat, Color Intensity Rises in Tali Roth’s Three-Story Melbourne Home
Words by Olivia Lidbury
Photography by Lillie Thompson; Design by Tali Roth Designs
Tali Roth isn’t afraid to admit it: her biggest creative challenge came knocking when decorating her own home.
“It’s so much harder than designing for a client,” explains the Australia-based Expert. “The pressure of trying to bring all your dreams to fruition is a tough one.” When it came to injecting her signature, exuberant style into her three-story Melbourne home, Tali was partly grounded by wisdom from her mother. “She warned me that there's nothing worse than an interior designer’s house who tries out everything on her bucket list,” she laughs.
Budget constraints, however, gave Tali the benefit of time—a luxury rarely afforded with clients. The decision to rent out the property (which she and her husband bought sight unseen upon their return down under after eight years in New York City) while planning the renovation gave Tali room to revisit decisions 100 times over. “Everything was like a Sophie’s Choice, but it allowed me to think: ‘What do I really love? What's fickle? And what will stand the test of time?”’
Photography by Lillie Thompson; Design by Tali Roth Designs
In the end, Tali was guided by the property’s strong mid-century identity. “I held onto the idea that everything should speak to the house rather than me reinventing the wheel,” she says. Serendipitously, the designer realized she knew the previous family who had lived here, and whose grandchildren are her age. Moving in with a brood of her own (Phoenix, 7, Romeo 4, and Ruby, 1), Tali says, was a love letter to the past owners and her own kids.
The house, designed by a Czech architect, skews European modern. Tali indulged her affection for 1950s Italian design by cutting up commercial-grade terrazzo tiles and jigsawing them together to re-create the original entryway floor. With the addition of contrast borders, it’s a clever dupe that everyone mistakes for the original thing.
In her walk-in bathroom, she had the opposite problem: not wanting to disturb the existing marble finishes, she used the same burgundy Calacatta marble as the new shower tray to conceal old pipework between the his-and-hers sinks. Her loathe of open showers saw her enclose the space, but needing to ventilate the area, she landed on a brass, perforated grille which lends a moment of unexpected opulence.
Photography by Lillie Thompson; Design by Tali Roth Designs
While innovation was not Tali’s motivation, daring color combinations provided an opportunity for expression. She talks of the temperature rising as you scale the property: starting with the “cool” mood in the basement (albeit one interrupted with mesh gold doors opening onto a kids’ playroom for a “hit of sexiness”). It’s also impossible to ignore the huge sectional—an auction find recovered in a shockingly bright vermillion base and kid-friendly, microsuede cushions.
Photography by Lillie Thompson; Design by Tali Roth Designs
The vibe intensifies with “in-your-face yellow” Venetian plaster in the hallway, and crescendos in the “boudoir-esque” upstairs bedrooms. Tali swears by decking small spaces in dark tones, which is why she attacked the kids’ diminutive rooms in deep olive and blue hues. “I’m not worried about them growing up with it—paint isn’t like getting a tattoo,” she rationalizes. Picking nature-inspired colors gave her license to “go a bit bonkers” with the headboards; her son proudly has one in citrine mohair.
Photography by Lillie Thompson; Design by Tali Roth Designs
Camping out at her grandmother’s while planning the remodel gave Tali a window to muse over furniture choices too. Vintage pieces she knew she just couldn’t pass up—like the pair of unusual vintage wall sconces that now flank her bed—were wise impulse buys (from a local, legendary dealer who has since sadly passed away), while the equally rare nightstands were an online find.
Photography by Lillie Thompson; Design by Tali Roth Designs
More calculated was the living room’s starry ensemble of vintage seating, which was reupholstered piecemeal. “I really struggled with it,” admits Tali of grappling with an oceanic theme of beiges and blues while her heart veered towards jewel tones. The Bombole sofa was eventually revived from red to purple and the mushroom chair from grass green to blue. Cutting through the richness is an earthy, jute rug.
“I wanted to veer away from the house feeling precious,” reflects Tali. I wanted it to feel like an engaging, robust, and fun place to live.” Mission accomplished.
Photography by Lillie Thompson; Design by Tali Roth Designs