Sweet Digs Australia: Jamie Yates’ Tassie Rental Is A Thrifter’s Delight

Welcome to Sweet Digs Australia, where we take a look inside the sometimes small, sometimes spacious, and always unique homes of women and gender-diverse people across the country. This week, we tour the quirky, two-bedroom apartment of professional chef Jamie Yates in Hobart (nipaluna).

An interesting fact about Tasmania is that there are very few furniture shops, so naturally, that means thrifting is a common go-to for locals looking to fit out their homes. That was certainly the case for Jamie Yates, chef and founder of local bone broth company, Breu. 

The styling in her two-bedroom apartment — for which she pays $530/week in rent — has been heavily influenced by the local “thrift, thrift, thrift” culture, bucking her usual style of minimalist, soft neutrals and pared-back decor in favour of an eclectic style that has a distinct mid-century modern bent. 

Her space has plenty of fun quirks, from a "horny" black leather-studded door to a kitchen that’s decorated with an impressive collection of vintage tiles designed to look like old cheques. “I feel like this apartment had, like, a very interesting past,” laughs Yates as she stops by the studded door while showing Refinery29 Australia around her home. 

In Yates’ own summation, the beauty of her Tasmania apartment is the fact that absolutely nothing goes together and that the design elements make absolutely no sense — that’s exactly what makes it so perfect. She may not understand the “creative direction” behind the apartment, but the cosy electric fireplace and a constantly bubbling pot of bone broth add to its homeyness. 

Undoubtedly, though, the best thing about her place is the view, which overlooks Mount Wellington. “It’s so nice to be able to look out and just see the mountains, the clouds moving through the day, the light changing through the different frames of the Art Deco windows,” she says. 

It’s partly thanks to the view that the energy in Yates’ home is impeccable from sun-up to sun-down, where the morning stumble over to the coffee pot is backdropped by the “mesmerising” light shapes and shadows thrown around the apartment throughout the day as the sun changes directions. Meanwhile, to take full advantage of the view, Yates says that she and her housemate Jess regularly have friends around for an evening martini. When she’s not entertaining at home, Yates also loves visiting her favourite spots around the city: Tommy McHugo’s for a pub vibe and Pidgeon Whole Bakers for a morning coffee. 

Though Yates admits that her apartment’s aesthetic isn’t her usual taste, she can’t deny that she loves it. “Fun fact about my apartment is that four years ago, I actually sent a photo to my friend of this very building and was like, ‘Whoa, look at this dreamy apartment’,” she says. “And then two years later, I moved into it.”

Get the look of Jamie Yates' home below: