Tali Roth’s first stab at creating interiors came about when she was 14. “I begged my parents for a four-poster bed – the headboard was a wrought-iron heart and each post was a squiggle. I thought I was the coolest person on the planet.”
Around the same time, she did a make-up course and gave all her friends makeovers. From the age of 10, Roth was also sketching outfits and making her own clothes: “All sorts of visual things.”
But when it came time to decide what to do with her life at age 18, “I wasn’t confident enough to think I could have a career in the creative world,” Roth tells Broadsheet. Instead, she majored in (and loved) psychology and social work at university, and thought she’d end up a clinical psychologist.
Along the way, though, Roth started making and selling clothes. “It awoke something in me that was like, ‘I need to pursue this, I’m actually good at it.’” After working in fashion for a few years, she realised she was more inspired by spaces than clothes, and moved into event decor. Eventually it dawned on her that “the most grounded feeling was the idea of creating spaces for people to live in rather than ones that were deconstructed after 24 hours”.
After finishing a degree in interior design at RMIT in 2013 – and even before her graduation ceremony – she was on a plane to New York with her husband, Marcus Jankie, for his work. Starting her career there, Roth says, was “definitely a steep learning curve because I was just so green”.
She joined buzzy start-up Homepolish, at the time a newly formed agency that matched designers with clients. “I went straight into running my own jobs, but with the backing of the company.” After a couple of years, she took on her own residential and commercial clients, and was featured in the likes of Vogue, Domino, the New York Times and Architectural Digest.
Having returned to Australia during Covid, Roth estimates around 65 per cent of her interiors projects are still in the States, although most of the time she works remotely from her home office. “I’m not that keen to leave my family for jobs that last three years,” she says. When we speak to her, however, she’s just flown home after the opening of Trove, a jewellery store she designed in Manhattan’s West Village – a project that took eight weeks, start to finish.
Roth’s take on interior design, she says, has been strongly influenced by the eight years she lived in the USA. “When I moved there, I thought what we were doing in Australia was the best – clean, contemporary Scandinavian design. But then I was thrown into pre-war buildings and a much more traditional aesthetic – more of a love of warmth and wallpapers and fabrics, and different ways of expressing one’s personality through interior spaces … Where I land now is I’m probably a little bit contemporary for the Americans and, for the Australians, a little bit too vintage.”
It’s that mix that can be seen in her own home, a 1960s house by Czech architect Robert Rosh. It’s in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield, where she and her husband (they were childhood sweethearts) grew up, and where her parents and in-laws still live. They bought the house, sight unseen, from New York, a surprisingly undaunting prospect. “My husband’s in property development so we understand spaces remotely, plus we knew exactly where it was, and I know the family that built it,” she explains.
Classic mid-century, its design is one that has always resonated with Roth. “I think it’s the linearity of it and generosity of space.” Her grandparents and grandparents’ friends lived in similar houses, and her grandfather built a number of modernist apartment buildings in Melbourne.
“I’ve always liked stone,” she says. “I remember being really into The Flintstones and thinking, ‘Gosh, I want to live there.’ There’s something about the bedrock – the coldness of that – and mixing it with really warm furniture like cosy, oversized couches. I love that juxtaposition.”
Name: Tali Roth
Lives: In a three-and-a-half level mid-century house in Caulfield
Since: 2022
With: Her husband and their three children
What are some of the changes you’ve made to the house since you moved in?
We renovated the kitchen and laundry, respecting what was there. I tried to create a kitchen that was almost like furniture, making sure it was highly functional and that there was a space for everything. We cleaned up the electricals and painted throughout, and also made some revisions to the main bathroom. There was yellow carpet in the entry and all through the living and dining area – it was foul, but in amazing condition. It made me want to throw up.
Can you describe the vibe of the house, and your approach to decorating it.
It feels like European modernism – it’s kind of cool and a little bit sexy. It’s also a little bit undone, so doesn’t feel perfect, which I like. The windows are all original, which means they’re kind of fucked up, and all the cabinets are original and untouched, so it’s beaten up a bit.
I think my look is collected – it’s definitely warm and comfortable, and doesn’t really subscribe to the rules of our industry when it comes to the way things need to work together. In my head, I always try to have about a third vintage, a third contemporary and then a third being custom-made for the space. If you can create that kind of hybrid, you’ll have a very balanced aesthetic.
It’s the same when it comes to every element – hard and soft, warm and cool. I’m always trying different things to get that balance right – when I’ve created spaces that feel too precious, I haven’t enjoyed living there. I’ve only been here for two years, but feel really comfortable – it’s the right balance of hard and soft, high-end and accessible.
What’s your favourite room?
I just love walking into the big yellow entry – it’s so grand and massive. I added the yellow Venetian plaster, rewired the original lights from the space (putting all the glass through the dishwasher) and took the fluorescents out of the skylight. I replaced the carpet with terrazzo, and it feels like it’s meant to be there.
How about your favourite object?
That’s a really tough question to ask someone like me. I’m obsessed with a glazed red vase shaped like a head by Matthias Vriens of Atelier MVM, which lives mainly on the dining table. I’ll never get over how much I love it. We were on a stopover in LA, and it was my birthday. I went to this amazing designer store and bought it for myself – it just makes me feel happy.
Then there’s the Mario Bellini Le Bambole loveseat, upholstered in purple bouclé. It’s modernist and awesome – I bought the most fucked up one I could find for the cheapest amount of money from 1st Dibs, and stayed with it for a while. Towards the end of this project, I reupholstered it.
I’ve also got a Danish armchair I love, and my bedside table and bedside lights which I got from Geoffrey Hatty, who passed away. He always made me feel so at home in his store – I was so happy to buy a couple of things from him and have them in my house.
Favourite places to buy homewares and art?
Smith Street Bazaar, because they have an incredible eye for vintage furniture and we love the same era. I love Criteria Collection – the owner Rachel is so kind and gracious, and has a beautiful aesthetic. Sophie Gannon Gallery – again, she’s lovely to deal with and has such a good eye. Oigall Projects showcase excellent people and are always on the edge of incredible design, and Pepite has beautiful stuff and she’s also lovely.
This article first appeared in Domain Review, in partnership with Broadsheet.
