Rachel Donath’s First Flagship Store Blends Victorian Heritage With French Charm

Almost six years after launching her eponymous label, Melbourne interior and furniture designer Rachel Donath has opened her first permanent retail space.

Occupying a double-fronted Victorian-era shopfront on Malvern Road in Prahran, the store houses her shapely old-world furniture designs alongside a rotating selection of hand-picked vintage and antique furniture, art and homewares.

“I really wanted to put down roots,” Donath says. “Melbourne is our home, so it was a no-brainer that our first space would be here.”

She ran a successful pop-up in Armadale last year and is currently in residence in Woollahra, Sydney, but demand for a permanent physical presence was clear. “The biggest piece of feedback we get is, ‘Where can we sit in your chairs? Where can we touch and feel your furniture?’ People really want that hands-on experience,” she says.

Donath spotted the Prahran property around a year ago before realising its neighbouring space had the same owner. “I was initially planning on renting them and doing a superficial renovation,” she says. “In the end, I bought the pair.”

It’s an enormous leap, both financially and symbolically. Donath launched her label during the pandemic, when online furniture shopping was booming and buyers were getting increasingly comfortable purchasing investment pieces, sight unseen. Since then, the brand has gained international momentum, with almost 50 percent of sales coming from the United States, according to Donath.

Designed to feel like a lived-in house, the new retail space has eight main rooms, including a living room, kitchen, bar, library and Donath’s personal favourite: a sunroom. “It’s nicer than my own house. I just want to sit there with the sun coming in.”

Each room is fitted out with elegant furniture from Donath’s collection, from dining tables and occasional chairs to her signature fringed ottomans. Her pieces nod back to another time, drawing on historic design elements. Classic burlwood, popularised during the art deco era, is reimagined into statement bedside tables and lamps, and her popular Matisse and Cohen chairs reference mid-century Scandinavian and French Provincial proportions respectively.

The west-facing room houses exposed rafters and bluestone floors, and overlooks a pebbled courtyard that feels plucked from a Parisian block. Here, Donath will showcase plants, outdoor furniture, and a new collection of garden pots and accessories due to drop next year.

Donath collaborated with interior designer Emily Gillis, builders Stevens Waters, architect Allan Burrows and landscape designer Clare Mackarness to reimagine the properties.

Preserving the site’s heritage was paramount. “I wanted it to feel like this space was here all along. I was conscious of making sure nothing felt too modern or new.”

The team maintained the Victorian architectural details throughout, including four original fireplaces, soaring ceilings, classic architraves and front windows that match the neighbouring storefronts.

The showroom also displays Donath’s personal archive of rare furniture, homewares and art – all available to shop. “I’ve always scoured auction sites and international vendors’ catalogues,” she says. “I’ve kept a storage unit filled with pieces for six or seven years, knowing that one day I’d have a physical space for them.”

There’s also a sizeable library of vintage books and magazines, including “hundreds of The World of Interiors issues from the ’80s and ’90s”. While the library items aren’t for sale, visitors are encouraged to browse. “I want people to feel comfortable pulling a book off the shelf, sitting down and reading.”

The store opening also coincides with the launch of Donath’s latest collection, which features new pieces crafted from tortoiseshell and basalt. She’s most excited about the tortoiseshell and brass lights she spent a year designing and prototyping. “[Tortoiseshell] is a material I wanted to have fun with. I can’t think of anything that tortoiseshell doesn’t go with – almost like leopard print in fashion.”

Looking ahead, Donath plans to host community events in the store, focusing on literature, art, design and cooking. She’s also focused on scaling her label’s growing presence in the US. “We’ve got a team on the ground there, and we’ve got some exciting projects and collaborations in the pipeline.”

Rachel Donath opens on September 11 at 584-586 Malvern Road, Prahran.