How An Artist + Designer Refreshed This Art Deco Home In Just Two Months
Homes
The living room. Original fireplace has been updated from red tiles to Viola marble tiles.
Vintage mirror. Robbi Floor Lamp by McMullin x Folk Studio.
Folk Studio director Mariah Burton and artist Dan Rochford with their dog Alfie.
Paintings by Dan. ‘I love walking past and seeing these pieces. Knowing they will be sold soon means I really appreciate them when they are here,’ Mariah says. Pièrre Counter Stool by ELLISON STUDIOS.
‘We have so many ceramics from our travels, and this is a nice way to display our treasured items. We change the shelving all the time, so it’s a rotating display.’
The refreshed kitchen features aged brass tapware, a bronzed pot rail, and Viola marble tiles.
‘With new tiles, appliances, tapware, flooring and hardware, we were able to completely transform the kitchen and give the space a whole new identity, without the cost or disruption of a full renovation,’ Mariah says.
The main bedroom is painted a deep dusty pink. Get the look with Tint Hygge.
‘I used an old duvet cover and had this made into a wall tapestry, as the colour and pattern felt more like an artwork than a duvet,’ Mariah says. Vintage Turkish cushion. Rice Paper Table Lamp by McMullin x Assembly Label.
The original Art Deco bathroom remains intact, with butter yellow tiles and vintage tapware.
The sunroom reveals custom checkered tiled floors in place of the existing grey laminate flooring. Gill Dining Chair from Worn Store.
When Folk Studio interior designer Mariah Burton and artist Dan Rushford were looking to buy a home in Sydney earlier this year, they were determined to find a property that didn’t need a complete makeover.
Their goal was to invest in a place with a great kitchen and bathroom, so they could focus on a more cost-effective cosmetic renovation instead.
‘That’s exactly what we did,’ Mariah says of their Art Deco apartment in Mosman.
There was a lot to love about the existing home. For a 100-year-old building, the apartment was in ‘remarkably good condition’; even the fairly ‘uninspiring’, stock-standard white kitchen had potential.
And while the couple initially had their hearts set on finding a home in Manly, the tree-lined streets of Mosman were only a small leap from the coastal neighbourhood where they had spent most of their lives.
But it was ultimately the original butter yellow bathroom, complete with aged brass hardware, that got the couple across the line: ‘It had been beautifully preserved in pristine original condition, so there was no reason to change it.’
‘I wanted an Art Deco home, with a terrace-like floor plan and high patterned ceilings. It ticked all these boxes and more,’ Mariah says.
After purchasing the home in May, the couple were given a two-month settlement period, which was all the time Mariah needed to get everything organised for a cosmetic refresh. The plans were finalised, trades were booked, even the materials were ordered and ready to go, so the moment they got the keys it was ‘game on’.
‘The small renovation was quick, seamless and surprisingly painless, and the result exceeded our expectations,’ she adds.
Given the home’s strong sense of character, every element of the redesign leaned into its original heritage. Any incongruous, modern details like pendant lights, red subway tiles around the fireplace, and grey laminate flooring were replaced with more classic features, with the biggest transformation taking place in the kitchen.
Viola marble accents are now paired with aged brass hardware, as the new engineered oak herringbone floors also pay homage to the Art Deco era.
‘We also have a constant rotation of artwork throughout the house, but when Dan has an upcoming show or artwork launch, the home fills up with these wonderful old faces. I love living amongst them and seeing the artwork every day; it makes the home feel really personal and alive,’ Mariah says.
Having traditionally brought a playful touch to her projects at Folk Studio, Mariah described the renovation as a deliberate exercise in restraint, relying on small but strategic details like the patterned tiles in the sun room or the pink bedroom walls to make a big impact.
‘It’s always tricky being your own client, particularly when you’re working with a much smaller budget and on a much smaller scale than I’m used to. But in many ways, that was the most rewarding part of the process. It forced me to go back to basics, to think creatively, make every dollar work harder and find ways to achieve more without spending more,’ she explains.
‘That said, my temptation to colour-drench the living room in a pale blue is definitely still on the cards! For me, it’s about allowing the house to develop with us rather than trying to finish everything in one go.’