Echoes of the '80s: Amelda Wilde's nostalgic Torquay escape

Amelda Wilde’s approach to interior design is not about style. Rather, it is always centred on atmosphere.

She strives to create authentic spaces that have personality, that are immersive expressions that make visitors feel things, and that are undeterred by trends.

Her Foam House project, initially conceived as a holiday retreat and one of the first projects the Newtown local chose to share publicly, still serves as the perfect example of this approach, placing on full display Wilde’s ability to create magical and surprising moments filled with carefully curated details that are both whimsical and playful.

The Great Ocean Road property’s kitchen was inspired by Mexican architect Luis Barragan’s own pink kitchen.

The outcome is a nostalgic blend of bold prints, comforting colours and deep escapism, that both references early 1980s interiors and encourages its visitors is disconnect from the world outside.

“The studio’s goal is to create spaces that are about the owner,” Wilde said.

“This is going to be their home; this is their sanctuary. It really needs to instil their personality, their aesthetic.

The use of bold and memorable wallpaper prints, from the kitchen’s plantasia wallpaper to the horses, goats and dogs in the home’s bedrooms, works to establish the uniqueness of each room.

“I really turned to passé finishes at all times to be able to always be interweaving that nostalgic play. The wallpaper finishes, tiled benchtops and even the colour palette is very influenced from looking at much older projects from that era.”

Widely celebrated for its use of colour, Foam House’s striking palette began with the Great Ocean Road property’s kitchen, with Wilde drawing inspiration from Mexican architect Luis Barragan’s own pink kitchen.

“From there, [the palette] started to evolve. The deep burgundy, the smoked claret…we wanted to be able to weave it into each of the spaces, starting with the architraves, and then we included it subtly into the joinery.”

The house is a nostalgic blend of bold prints, comforting colours and deep escapism.

She said it is these neutral tones, which also include the smoky green of the ceiling, the ochre carpet and greys, that help to bring the project together.

“You might look at a project like Foam House and think it’s not very neutral, but there’s actually some key neutrals that are weaved throughout the entire project,” Ms Wilde said.

“Each of the rooms then gets its own stronger colour.

Although filled with bold prints, Ms Wilde said it is the home’s neutral tones, which include the smoky green of the ceiling and the ochre carpet, that help to bring the project together.

“Dosage is really important. You use just a little drizzle of an accent colour in each space to give a new identity to each space, but it’s still interweaving all of the spaces.”

The use of bold and memorable wallpaper prints, from the kitchen’s plantasia wallpaper to the horses, goats and dogs in the home’s bedrooms, also works to establish the uniqueness of each room.

“The patterns are something that were significant for the owner at the time,” Wilde said.

Ms Wilde said she turned to passé finishes to create a sense of nostalgia, using wallpaper finishes, tiled benchtops and even colour palettes that were heavily influenced by projects from the early 80s.

“With her love of patterns, the design also leans into that maximalism.”

Although this layering can be challenging to master, Wilde said bold patterns can further enrich a space by adding complexity and encouraged others to approach the patterns they love with confidence.

“Any space you find that’s delightful, it’s always because it’s surprised you.

“When you turn a corner and you’re surprised, it’s so whimsical, and that to me, is the success of a great space.

“I think that’s the whole reason I love what I do. I love finding those surprises when someone else creates them for me, so I love to do that in my own work – always weave in a little surprise, a little something different.”

Indeed, Foam House is replete with these special moments, elements Wilde still has a great love for, even though the Torquay property has since changed hands.

“I love how when you open the joinery, there’s a smoky green inside,” she said.

The shower, with its two-tone element, is one of the many surprising moments Ms Wilde has carefully imbued with space with.

“I love in the laundry, there’s little cut outs that are put into the joinery, or it’s the linen that hides all the appliances in the laundry that take it from a utilitarian space into a very relaxing and calming and serene space.

“When you’re in the on-suite, as you turn the corner, the shower becomes a wet room and it’s a two-tone element, but it’s split horizontally.

“There’s just little things like that that I obviously stewed over, but they make it always surprising and interesting in each space.”

For more information, head to ameldawilde.com.au