Fancy Nance Salon by Studio Tate, Melbourne

Famingo tea parties and baguette-shaped lounges are among the quirky design features of Adriano Zumbo‘s new salon, Fancy Nance. Designed by newly formed interior architecture practice Studio Tate, Zumbo’s latest venture features his signature pink accents in a bespoke interior. Having previously noticed the practice through a quirky Instagram competition, the celebrity pâtissier of MasterChef fame approached Studio Tate to transform the South Yarra shopfront into a hybrid cafe and cocktail bar. The space’s dual function has led to an adaptable and playful design, allowing a seamless transformation from experimental cafe by day, to an avant-garde cocktail lounge by night.

The aesthetic of Zumbo’s extravagantly stylish mother, whom Fancy Nance derives its name from, has inspired Studio Tate to create a diverse, multi-functional venue full of lush, playful furnishings and bold pops of colour. “Our design draws upon the whimsical concept of Nancy the Fancy Flamingo. With her lush feathers and graceful legs, Nancy guides the tone of the venue, which takes on a personality in line with the iconic Zumbo brand,” says Alex Hopkins, Principal and co-founder of Studio Tate. The contour of flamingo feathers, as well as Zumbo’s architecturally sculpted cakes, have informed the design and crafted a visual language of curves, cut into the metal framework and high-gloss surfaces of each custom made cabinet.

This myriad of aesthetic considerations and influences is tied together in collaboration with local graffiti artist Daniel Wenn, whose illustrations of the Mad Hatter’s tea party have been populated by flamingos. These murals are painted on the low dividing walls that separate the coffee and macaron wonderland from Fancy Nance’s nighttime bar area, where mood lighting takes the form of hanging teacup pendants by local designer Suzie Stanford.