Taking up residence in a prominent location in Darlinghurst, inner east Sydney, gohome’s new showroom is very much open for business. The modern Australian furniture brand now occupies a fine corner spot at 171 William Street, with both prominent frontage on a busy street and doors opening onto a pedestrianised space with charming sandstone steps leading into the backstreets of Darlinghurst.

The grand opening coincided with Saturday Indesign, with gohome actually opening its doors on the Friday evening before setting up for a huge day of activities on 7^th September.  “We are very excited about the opening of our flagship design showroom,” said Managing and Creative Director, Simon Bando, ahead of the event. “It will be the new HQ for gohome and will showcase our Australian designs in a 300-square-metre space. The showroom will be open to design professionals and to the public.”

Designers Ben McCarthy and Marcel Siegel were both present at the evening launch party and following  Ben’s most recent collaboration with gohome to produce the Utility Collection, a series of seating that includes the Utility chair and three stackable stools of differing heights. Featuring 60 per cent recycled aluminium, 3D soft-edge moulded FSC-certified American oak plywood, as well as in black-stained oak and custom upholstery, it’s a collection that centres versatility, durability and functionality.

The working relationship between Ben, Marcel and gohome in fact goes back some years, and so provided another reason to celebrate the milestone of this opening. Ben and Marcel were on hand to speak and mingle on both Friday and Saturday, providing what can be a rare yet always valuable experience of meeting the designers alongside their designed pieces.

Related: More on Ben McCarthy and gohome

Visitors streamed into the new showroom throughout the evening at the Friday launch, with drinks and conversation flowing. The 300-square-metre space showcases a range of beautiful furniture, including pieces for the workplace and for other commercial and residential sectors with their Club Lounge collection taking the central window at the moment . Gohome has also set up a multifunctional space that they would love to become a designer hub offering hot desking and the showroom can also be used by designers as an event space.

The crowds continued the following day for the full Saturday Indesign experience. The gohome showroom opening coincided with the design extravaganza, and the team at gome – led by Simon – organised a full program of events. The day started with a chance to meet and chat with designers over coffee and pastries before the official launch of the Utility Collection.

The chef was then on hand with Reuben sandwiches to go with tours of the showroom. Moving into the afternoon, the spotlight was on the Utility product launch as well as new lighting design concepts. Sunset cocktails and live Blues music concluded proceedings, with plenty of design enthusiasts making a stop en route to the official Saturday Indesign Afterparty.

Visitors are welcome to the now-open flagship showroom, while gohome is also set to launch its new website very soon. Make sure you check them both out!

gohome
gohome.com.au

Ben McCarthy
benmccarthy.com

Photography
Josh Sharman

Read about Saturday Indesign 2024 here