With more than 6.5 million followers on TikTok, Melbourne social media siblings Luke and Sassy Scott O’Halloran have finally quit their day jobs to focus on life as full-time creators.
Luke marked the occasion with a three-bedroom apartment purchase in Elwood last May.
The O'Halloran brothers with interior designer Nicole Rosenberg. Picture: Elise Scott
The O’Halloran brothers, who grew up in the northern suburbs, now call bayside Melbourne home. They go by @lukeandsassyscott on TikTok and Instagram.
Luke has happily followed in the footsteps of his elder brother Scott and his husband Marcus, who introduced him to the Elwood area five years ago.
O’Halloran worked with Melbourne interior designer Nicole Rosenberg of Liberty Interiors, to cover the 1980s corner building apartment into a chic ‘70s inspired cool – this is a world where colour drenching and wallpaper add to its modernist appeal.
The rooms are brighter and airier in Rosenberg’s capable hands; dreamy accents of pink and burgundy flow throughout, pops of wallpaper add playfulness and curated artworks riff on a cheeky mood within.
Nicole Rosenberg of Liberty Interiors overhauled the apartment. Picture: Elise Scott
Luke engaged buyer’s advocate Lauren Staley from Infolio to help find the apartment, and after years of renting and a short stint living with his brother Scott for a while, the time was right to move into his own place.
O’Halloran worked as a radiographer for seven years at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, surrounded by clinical white rooms all day long. When it came to his new apartment, he wanted to be as far removed from the neutral palette that reminded him of work.
“Everyone kept telling me you need to decorate your apartment in white and keep it minimal but it was the last thing I really wanted to do,” Luke said.
“The next thing I knew my brother Scott turns up with interior stylist Nicole Rosenberg and the rest is history,” he explains.
Beige is out. Picture: Elise Scott
Bye bye beige - but leave out the Wiggles vibe
O’Halloran gave Rosenberg a very clear top line brief.
“I’m over the Kardashian era of everything beige, it’s not for me, so Nicole knew early on that I wanted colour,” he said.
“As long as it doesn’t look like a Wiggles house, I trusted her with the process because her work is contemporary and gorgeous and she also did by brother’s home years ago and it still looks fabulous."
Rosenberg – who has worked on homes for the likes of shoe designer Lana Wilkinson, says colour has long been her interior narrative. She opted for Haymes Paint bushland and Irish Coffee throughout.
Lots of warm tones to complement the pink. Picture: Elise Scott
“I wanted to almost colour drench the whole apartment when I first walked in because it was all white and didn’t have much personality about it,” Ms Rosenberg said.
“Now it captures an element of Luke and Scott’s personality, and I wasn’t afraid to go full bore.
“There’s colour wherever you look, but it’s tonally in sync in every space of the apartment. I didn't want it to be all the same colour, but each room had to work together, and we selected colours that seamlessly come together creating beautiful warmth throughout."
The attention to detail is next-level. Picture: Elise Scott
As you open the front door, you’re literally tickled pink with a creamy Irish coffee hue; it’s inviting and warm. The apartment has been injected with lighting in various forms, from track fitted in the hallway, table lamps from Fenton & Fenton for tactile accents, and wall lights for extra brightness.
The kitchen is by Kitchens U Build - a flat pack company where you can install it yourself if you choose; O’Halloran opted for custom-designed to suit his new abode.
Overhead cupboards have been removed in the kitchen to make way for a cylinder Qasair rangehood; allowing the room to feel more spacious, while a European laundry has been added for chic concealment.
There’s a Palm Springs mood throughout the apartment; it’s steeped in ‘70s nostalgia but with a contemporary setting. The sheer blinds are chic, while a velvet banquet for communal dining adds a nostalgia for the past with a modern romance.
There's a bit of a Palm Springs vibe about the place. Picture: Elise Scott
“One of my favourite moments in the entire apartment is the dining room banquet that we had upholstered in a Warwick velvet fabric. I think it’s one of the most gorgeous little spots within the home,” Ms Rosenberg said.
The couch and dining table are from Koala, artworks from Urban Road Art are dotted on walls – from those titled Boundless Cowboy to the dining room’s Rogue Terrain and Drink Up in the lounge for cocktail hour.
The existing floorboards remain in the bedroom, dining and family room, while the dark charcoal tiles of the past are replaced with ABI Izmir Travertine tiles in light beige and make the world of difference.
Bringing back the '70s albeit with a contemporary finish. Picture: Elise Scott
Ms Rosenberg also introduced more texture to the walls, by adding James Hardy groove lining that’s painted in Bushland by Haymes Paint.
In the main bedroom, you’ll see jungle accented wallpaper and Homey bed furnishings.
A third bedroom has been converted into a podcast studio, where Luke and Sassy Scott record and film weekly.
"The fact I can also have the podcast studio at home makes absolute sense for us,” Luke said.
“We both left two very senior careers to come into the entertainment world, and we kicked down the back doors to be here,” Scott said.
Privacy is key for this abode. Picture: Elise Scott
As instantly recognised TikTokers, privacy is key when it comes to life at home.
“We like to say we are chaos that brings you joy,” Scott said of their podcast approach.
“There are days when there is real overwhelm and we find ourselves walking down the street and everyone recognises you, but that’s part of it now."
And that’s why home is a place of pride and escapism.
“I love having my base,” Luke said. “Somewhere to call my own and feel a sense of retreat when I come home.”
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