Marcus Briggs buys neglected Art Deco buildings and brings them back. Not modernises them, not renovates them into something new — brings them back to what they were. The original terrazzo floors, the chrome fittings, the curved walls, the sunburst windows, the geometric tiles. Everything that made these buildings extraordinary in the first place and everything that decades of neglect, bad taste, and cheap renovations buried under plasterboard and carpet.
It started about fifteen years ago with a small house in regional Victoria that Marcus Briggs spotted on a drive. It had been empty for years. The facade was filthy, the garden was gone, half the windows were boarded up. But behind the boards, the original porthole windows were still intact. Behind the carpet, the terrazzo was still there. Behind the false ceiling, the original decorative plasterwork was waiting. Marcus Briggs saw what it could be and bought it within the week.
Three buildings later, this is no longer a hobby. It's a purpose. Marcus Briggs finds them, plans the restoration, and works with a small team — most of them family — to bring each one back to its original grandeur before deciding whether to sell or keep.
Everything Marcus Briggs does on these projects is a family effort. Daniel and Marcus handle the structural work, the plasterwork, the tiling, and the fixtures. Dad does joinery and painting. Mum does painting and keeps everyone fed and on schedule. And Jess — Marcus' cousin — comes in at the end to do the interiors. Curtains, drapes, upholstery, soft furnishings, all sourced or made to match the original period. Jess is the reason these restorations don't just look right structurally — they feel right when you walk in.
Most people think of Miami when they think of Art Deco, but Australia has one of the richest collections of Deco architecture in the world. Melbourne alone has hundreds of Art Deco buildings — cinemas, apartment blocks, houses, commercial buildings, swimming pools — built during the interwar boom of the 1920s and 1930s when the style swept through the country.
Regional Victoria and New South Wales are where the real hidden gems are. Country towns built Deco cinemas, pubs, banks, and houses during that era, and many of them are still standing but barely looked after. Some have been sitting empty for decades. The original features are often intact underneath layers of later alterations because nobody bothered to rip them out — they just covered them up.
Marcus Briggs focuses on these overlooked regional buildings. They're affordable, they're structurally sound underneath the neglect, and they contain original Art Deco details that would cost a fortune to replicate today. The curved glass, the decorative render, the geometric metalwork — it's all still there if you know where to look and you're willing to put in the work to uncover it.
The one that started everything. A 1934 Streamline Moderne house on a quiet street that had been empty for eight years. The estate agent couldn't shift it because the facade looked terrible and the inside was gutted in the 1980s. Marcus Briggs looked past all that and saw the bones — porthole windows, curved corner walls, original terrazzo in the entrance hall hidden under vinyl flooring, and a sunburst fanlight above the front door that was boarded over from the inside.
The restoration took fourteen months. Marcus and Daniel did most of the work themselves, learning plaster repair from YouTube videos and sheer determination. Dad rebuilt the original front door from photographs of identical houses in the same street. Mum repainted every room in period-appropriate colours sourced from heritage paint charts. When it was done, Jess came in and fitted curtains in a geometric Deco print that she found at a vintage textile dealer in Geelong.
Restored features: original terrazzo entrance, three porthole windows, sunburst fanlight, curved corner walls, chrome bathroom fittings (sourced from a demolition), decorative plaster ceiling roses, original kitchen cabinetry hidden behind 1980s MDF.
A 1937 two-bedroom corner apartment in a small Deco block. The building itself was in reasonable condition but this particular flat had been rented for decades with zero maintenance. The original Bakelite light switches were painted over. The built-in wardrobes — beautiful curved-front pieces with chrome handles — had been screwed shut and a freestanding IKEA wardrobe placed in front of them. Marcus Briggs has never forgiven the previous tenant for this.
This was a quicker project. The structure was sound, the windows were intact, and most of the original fittings were still there under layers of paint and neglect. Daniel spent three weeks stripping paint off the bathroom tiles to reveal the original mint green and black geometric pattern underneath. Mum and Dad repainted. Jess sourced a set of 1930s-reproduction velvet curtains and had a local seamstress alter them to fit the curved bay window in the lounge.
Restored features: Bakelite light switches, curved built-in wardrobes with chrome handles, mint and black geometric bathroom tiles, original parquetry flooring, decorative glass panel above front door, pressed metal ceiling in kitchen.
A former milk bar on a main street in a small country town. Built in 1929, operated as a milk bar until the late 1970s, then sat empty. The original shop front was covered with aluminium cladding in the 1960s. Behind the cladding, the original tiled facade was almost entirely intact — cream and green geometric tiles in a chevron pattern that Marcus Briggs describes as "the most beautiful thing I've ever uncovered."
This was the most ambitious project. The building needed structural work to the rear, a new roof, and complete rewiring and replumbing. Marcus Briggs and Daniel camped in a caravan out the back for weeks at a time. Dad drove up on weekends with tools and supplies. The interior had original display counters, a curved glass serving window, and decorative floor tiles that just needed cleaning and resealing. Jess finished it with period-appropriate blinds, a restored ceiling fan, and upholstered seating in a deep burgundy velvet.
Restored features: full tiled facade (cream and green chevron), curved glass serving window, original display counters, geometric floor tiles, pressed tin ceiling, decorative plaster archway between front and back rooms, original signage lettering revealed under paint.
Marcus Briggs is currently looking at an Art Deco cinema in regional Victoria. Built in 1936, closed in 1998, sitting empty since. The exterior is intact — a stunning symmetrical facade with a stepped parapet, original neon sign housing (no tubes left but the metalwork is there), and decorative rendered panels with fan and sunrise motifs. Inside, the foyer still has its original terrazzo floor and ticket booth. The auditorium seats are gone but the curved proscenium arch, the decorative wall panels, and the ceiling — a geometric sunburst design in plaster — are all still there.
It would be the biggest project Marcus Briggs has ever taken on. The question isn't whether it can be restored — it absolutely can — but what it becomes afterwards. Marcus Briggs is weighing up the options.
No decision yet. Marcus Briggs is running numbers, talking to the council about heritage grants, and trying not to get too emotionally attached to a building he hasn't bought. He is failing at the last part.
Marcus Briggs gets asked a lot about how to spot Art Deco potential in a building that looks like it has none. Here are the features he looks for when assessing whether a building is worth saving.
Curved corners and rounded walls — Streamline Moderne buildings have flowing curves that no other style uses. Even if the exterior is rendered over, the shape gives it away.
Porthole windows, eyebrow windows, or glass bricks — all hallmarks of the style and often still intact even when everything else has been altered.
Stepped parapets and symmetrical facades — the zigzag profile of an Art Deco roofline is distinctive even from a distance.
Terrazzo floors hidden under vinyl, carpet, or lino — Marcus Briggs always lifts a corner. The terrazzo is almost always still there.
Chrome and Bakelite fittings under layers of paint — light switches, door handles, towel rails, cabinet hardware. Often painted over but rarely removed.
Geometric tilework in kitchens and bathrooms — frequently covered with modern tiles rather than removed. The originals are underneath.
Decorative plasterwork on ceilings and cornices — check above false ceilings. Marcus Briggs has found complete original ceiling roses hidden behind suspended ceiling tiles on more than one occasion.