Occupying a floor of the former department store on Chapel Street, the residency marks Ellison Studios’ first physical extension in Melbourne/Naarm. It follows the success of The Rental in Sydney’s Surry Hills while expanding the brand’s interest in creating immersive environments that extend beyond furniture alone. Here, inside a building originally designed by Tompkins and Tompkins in 1914, the studio has found the ideal setting for a concept centred on observation, movement and mood.There is a cinematic quality to The Lobby from the outset. A 15-seat version of the brand’s Float sofa anchors the room – its largest modular configuration to date – while more intimate moments unfold through accent chairs, lighting and dining settings that shift easily into work mode. Art curated by Sydney’s Hake House of Art and a selection of rare books arranged by Melbourne’s Selected Objects contribute to the layered sensibility of the space, lending it the character of somewhere lived in, not merely styled.
