Interior design: Brahman Perera / Photography: Lillie Thompson
Retail stores are more than just shopping destinations — they can also serve as home inspiration. Brands spend a tonne of time and money on store design because they understand something most of us don’t: interior design impacts our psychology. While it’s not exactly feng shui (although, that may factor in), brands take painstaking care with colour palettes, materials, finishes and artworks to create the ‘vibe’ they want to project. They want their space to feel special to those walking inside. And, after all, isn’t this how we want our homes to feel?
If you’re looking to renovate or re-decorate your home, interior stylist and content creator Loui Burke recommends visiting your favourite stores for inspiration. “I tell [people] to go to their favourite flagship store. In Melbourne, High Street in Armadale has a lot of beautiful flagship stores,” he recommends. “[In Sydney], if you go to Paddington… go to Venroy or even look at the Mecca set-ups.”
Loui finds that retail stores perfectly showcase how to transform a simple, empty room into something interesting, utilising the latest materials and trends. “They’ve taken a white box, and they’ve turned it into this gorgeous store,” he says. “You can do the same thing with your new home, which is a white box.”
Listen to Loui Burke on The Edit podcast:
Before you start thinking too literally about the link between a retail store and your home, Loui suggests taking inspiration from materials, colours and specific pieces. For example, consider how the store counter could translate to a kitchen island, or if their entry tiles could work in your laundry. “How they’ve done the shelves could [also] be like shelving in a wardrobe or kitchen or bathroom,” he adds. These are all things that can serve as inspiration, as much as your own wardrobe or Pinterest mood board.
Want to know where to start? Here are some of the most visually stunning retail stores in Australia to get the creative juices flowing for your own interior design and décor.
The most beautiful retail stores in Australia
Henne, Paddington
Fashion brand Henne renovated a 19th century Paddington terrace into its second retail location in 2024. Designed by Brahman Perera and built by EMAC Construction, the store features pitted timber finishes and colour-washed feature walls that can inspire a bold use of colour in your home. Note the metallic, flora-inspired sconces and shelf styling for home styling tips.
Friends With Frank, Armadale
There’s a reason Loui Burke suggests home-lovers take a stroll through Armadale in Melbourne’s south-east. The area is flush with beautiful boutiques with unique, design-led interiors. Friends with Frank unveiled its Armadale store in April 2026 with a luxe space designed by Georgina Jeffries. The elegant colour palette combines rich browns and beiges, with mixed metal accents. It’s a fabulous example for those seeking inspiration for timeless, warm-feeling bedrooms or living spaces.
Bedhead Bar, Perth
The Bedhead Bar showroom concept can inspire your home in two ways. For one, as the name suggests, it can show you some gorgeous upholstery options for your bedhead or sofa. However, the store itself is an interiors lesson in bold colour washing and pattern mixing. If you love rich, red tones, the Bedhead Bar by Zenn Design showcases how to do kitsch colour in a contemporary, seductive manner.
Dissh, Bondi
For its Bondi boutique, Queensland fashion brand Dissh tapped designer Brahman Perera to bring its stylish interiors to life. With Armadillo rugs, vintage pieces from E Moderno, and decorative objet from Oigåll Projects, the space blends Art Deco themes with feminine elegance. The combination of marble and chrome also adds an element of Halston House, bringing 1970s glamour to Bondi Beach.
Libertine Parfumerie, Armadale
If you love antique French interiors, you’ll devour the Armadale flagship for Libertine Parfumerie. Interior designer Tamsin Johnson has crafted a truly luxurious store with interiors to rival those of Versailles. Old world elegance is the order, with breathtaking parquetry flooring and dark timber joinery, contrasting with luxurious printed wallpapers, a marble basin and antique furniture and fixtures. Tamsin drew inspiration from historic European apothecaries, with the cabinetry, shelving and vintage gold fixtures paying tribute to this goal. If you’re looking to create a home with statement antiques and a luxury at its core, add this to your mood board.
Henne, Armadale
Interior stylist Loui Burke has name dropped Henne’s Armadale boutique as one of his personal picks to peruse for style inspo. Designed in collaboration with Alexandra Ponting of AP Design House, the Henne location re-imagines an ’80s rag-trade warehouse through a mid-century lens. It finds glamour in unrefined finishes, including raw brickwork and exposed timber trusses, paired with aged leather sofas, vintage lighting and steel joinery. “Each finish was selected for their grounding qualities, while the mirrors offer a lightness in contrast to the earthen finishes,” Alexandra explains. Consider how furniture and fabrics are used to soften a raw, industrial-style space.
Scanlan Theodore, Canberra
Drawing inspiration from some of the most influential architects of the 20th century, the Scanlan Theodore store in Canberra Centre is a modernist dream. The designers at Flack Studios utilised high-gloss walls, glass bricks and terrazzo floors to add a touch of retro glamour to the space, enhanced further by rich finishes, including polished aluminium mirrors, suede curtains and Flack Studio and Volker Huag lighting. The space is also a masterclass in unlikely colour pairings, such as olive green walls with pops of vibrant primary colours. Oh, and if you’re looking for new artists to invest in, this Scanlan location could double as a gallery, with artworks from Marisabel Gonzalez, Dr David Egan, Madeline Peters, Grace Cossington-Smith and more.
Dissh, Armadale
While Dissh’s Bondi and Armadale stores use similar colours and materials, it’s interesting to observe how the same brand adapts its aesthetic to a different location. While the former leans into coastal, vintage glamour, Armadale is a touch more industrial. Depending on your home’s location or aesthetic, you might tend towards one store over the other. At the Armadale Dissh, look to the travertine counter, mosaic foyer tiles, or the Den Holm studio table at the store’s centre for statement inspo. If you’re trying anything on, see how Dissh has utilised customisable lighting to create a personal and serene environment.
