Interior Design Lover’s Guide to Melbourne | 11 Spaces Worth Visiting
Not the NGV. Not the Old Melbourne Gaol. Not even the iconic churches.
This is a Melbourne travel guide for interior design lovers — eleven rooms worth going out of your way for.
Some of these spots I’ve wandered through wide-eyed. Others? Still on the wishlist (and firmly saved in my Maps app).
Whether you’re scouting inspo for your next reno, a Sunday brunch with visual drama, or just a good flat white with great chairs — this list is for you.
Bookmark this blog. Share it with a fellow design geek. And if you know any gems I’ve missed, leave them in the comments below!
Let’s explore beautiful, well-designed Melbourne—one café, bar, and croissant at a time.
Luci at The Hilton
A moody, modern Italian restaurant inside the heritage-listed Equity Chambers building. Think Art Deco arches, stone floors, luxe upholstery, and brass detailing.
Address: 472 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Mid Air Restaurant & Bar
The perfect blend of sophistication and play. Finished in late 2024, this rooftop gem delivers serious wow-factor — think mid-century modern flair, panoramic city views, and a menu full of Mediterranean-inspired bites and cocktails that feel like summer on a plate.
Address: Level 12, 130 Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3000
Music Room | hER
Tucked behind a soundproof door on the first floor of HER, Music Room is a design lover’s dream. Inspired by vinyl bars in Japan and Europe, the space features timber-lined walls, Japanese art deco sconces, nectar-hued banquettes, and a dynamic ceiling light installation by Hervé Descottes that pulses with the music. With American Walnut surfaces perforated like speaker boxes, every detail nods to the room’s audiophile heart — sleek, warm, and immersive.
Address: Level 1 270 Lonsdale Street Melbourne 3000
Beverley Rooftop Bar
Perched on the 24th floor of Goldfields House, Beverly is a visual love letter to Californian rooftop culture. Designed by Mitchell & Eades, the interiors channel sun-drenched LA glam — blush-pink curved chairs, green-and-white-striped lounges, and sweeping 270-degree skyline views. A retractable glass roof makes it an all-seasons escape, where effortless luxury meets sky-high style.
Address: level 24/627 Chapel St, South Yarra VIC 3141
Baker D. Chirico
Baker D. Chirico is the Carlton bakery design people make a detour for, and it earns it. The space features terrazzo marble, brass-rimmed tables, and a soaring timber-slatted ceiling that curves like a croissant — the shopfront’s famous bread-basket geometry carried inside. Outside, a red Piaggio Ape adds a dash of Roman charm, completing the bakery’s piazza-like atmosphere with effortless style.
Address: 178 Faraday St, Carlton VIC
Marmelo & Mr Mills
Marmelo brings a refined Iberian spirit to Melbourne, blending Portuguese tradition with local flair. The interiors feature hand-painted azulejos, warm timber detailing, and contemporary art by Melbourne creatives, creating a rich, textural space. A glass wine cellar anchors the room, giving centre stage to rare Iberian labels — a sophisticated nod to old-world charm with a distinctly modern edge.
Address: Ground Floor/130 Russell St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Reine & La Rue
Reine is nothing short of breathtaking. Set inside the Cathedral Room of the former Melbourne Stock Exchange, this space stuns with vaulted Gothic ceilings, stained glass windows, granite columns, and limestone walls. The layout is anchored by twin marble bars—one for cocktails, the other for freshly shucked oysters—while every detail, from moody lighting to heritage architecture, feels rich, regal, and unapologetically grand.
Address: 380 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Poodle Bar & Bistro
Poodle is where Art Deco meets Melbourne edge. Marble, vintage glass, checkerboard floors and curved bar seating — it’s every interior design lover’s daydream, and the closest thing on this list to a warm-but-edgy living room you could actually build at home.
Address: 81-83 Gertrude St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Rocco’s Bologna Discoteca
Rocco’s Bologna Discoteca channels vintage Italian charm with a Melbourne twist. The interior features amber-toned timber, curtain-draped windows, and nostalgic trattoria touches that feel straight out of Nonna’s dining room. It’s warm, a little cheeky, and full of character—just like the menu.
Address: 15 Gertrude St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Via Porta Eatery & Deli
Via Porta is a refined nod to the traditional Italian family kitchen, brought to life by Studio Esteta’s Sarah Cosentino. The interiors blend soft oak, stone counters, and elegantly styled shelves stacked with artisanal goods, creating a space that feels equal parts deli, eatery, and design showroom. It’s warm, nostalgic, and beautifully curated — a love letter to Italian heritage with a Melbourne sensibility.
Address: 677 Whitehorse Rd, Mont Albert VIC 3127
Higher Ground
A Melbourne design icon. Set in a soaring heritage building with industrial bones and lush greenery, this café feels more like a boutique hotel lobby than a brunch spot.
Address: 650 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
What I’d Actually Steal From These Rooms
Here’s the thing about hospitality interiors: they’re designed to be experienced for two hours, not lived in for twenty years. The lighting is doing an enormous amount of work. The banquette you fell for is upholstered in something nobody has to get toddler yoghurt out of. So when I walk out of a room like Reine or Music Room with my head full of ideas, the useful question isn’t how do I get that — it’s what is that room actually doing, and does any of it translate?
Usually one or two things do. Warm light at eye level — sconces, lamps, anything but a single downlight in the middle of the ceiling — translates, and it’s cheap. One saturated colour taken up the walls and across the ceiling translates. A single curved piece in an otherwise rectangular room translates. What almost never translates is scale: these rooms have four-metre ceilings and a plan drawn from scratch, and the reason your living room doesn’t feel like Higher Ground has very little to do with your paint colour. If you’re not sure which of your saved images are style and which are structural, working out your own design style is a sensible place to start sorting them.
And if you’ve been saving rooms like these to a board for a year while your own place still doesn’t feel right, that’s usually a plan problem rather than a taste problem. No amount of brass and terrazzo rescues a room you have to walk around the long way. Fix My Floor Plan is $297 a room and comes back with the furniture actually placed and the circulation sorted, which is the unglamorous half of what makes all of these spaces feel so good. If it’s the whole house rather than one room, a design consultation is the better fit.
Before You Go
If you’re an interior design lover planning your next Melbourne travel guide itinerary, this list should keep you caffeinated, fed, and creatively inspired. These places are more than just “Instagram-worthy” — they’re crafted spaces where every chair, light fitting, and surface has something to say.
Planning to renovate or design your own dream space? Save what you love, screenshot the textures, and when you’re ready — book an interior design consultation with us.
We live and breathe design, and Melbourne is our mood board.
Still not sure what’s right for your own place?
That’s the part I do — and there are two ways in, depending on how much you need sorted.
Fix My Floor Plan — $297 a room. Send me your floor plan and a few photos. I’ll tell you what I’d change: where the furniture goes, what’s making the room feel awkward, and the practical next steps to fix it. Back with you in 5–7 business days, and there’s not a single meeting involved.
Or a Design Consultation — $550. Ninety minutes on your whole space: layout, colours, materials, joinery, storage, or just a second opinion before you commit to something expensive. Online, wherever you are in the world.
