LESS SHOW, MORE SOUL: MOSAIC’S BROOK MONAHAN ON AUSTRALIAN LUXURY
Queensland’s prestige property market is maturing fast. Here, Mosaic Property Group founder Brook Monahan explains why true luxury in 2025 is all about substance, not flash.
7 min
Australia’s top-end property scene has shifted gear. Gone are the days when luxury meant marble overload and imported everything. The new elite buyer is hunting something quieter; homes that feel grounded, crafted and enduring.
Few understand that evolution better than Brook Monahan, Founder and Managing Director of Mosaic Property Group, whose projects span the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.
Monahan says resilience in Queensland’s prestige market comes from authenticity: design integrity, lifestyle appeal and a deep sense of place.
Here, he shares his insights on the state’s most resilient luxury markets, the evolution of Australian design, and the quiet details that separate good from great.
Q: In Queensland, prime buyer demand has shifted between beach, river and the inner-city. Where is the most resilient pocket for top-end stock, and why?
Resilience comes from substance — locations where natural beauty, amenity and scarcity combine with established demand from owner-occupiers. In Queensland, that strength is most evident across the beachfront Gold Coast, Brisbane’s inner riverside suburbs and on the Sunshine Coast its river and oceanfront corridors.
On the Gold Coast, the beachfront market has matured. There’s an extraordinary depth of demand for homes that can’t be replicated; true beachfront positions with scale, architectural integrity, and enduring appeal. Scarcity of developable beachfront land means that a premium product, well-executed, holds its value through every cycle.
In Brisbane, the river and city-view corridors continue to outperform. These are tightly held, highly liveable suburbs that balance connection and calm: walkable to local amenity and major precincts, yet private and residential in feel. Infrastructure investment and the city’s ongoing evolution ahead of 2032 are only strengthening that desirability.
The Sunshine Coast has also matured into a sophisticated prestige market, particularly along the Maroochydore River, Cotton Tree and oceanfront corridor.
The mix of natural beauty, limited developable waterfront land, and the emergence of a vibrant new CBD has created genuine long-term demand. Buyers are drawn to its balance of connection and calm; the ability to live on the water’s edge with access to strong local amenity and year-round liveability.
Ultimately, these are end-user-driven markets, not speculative ones. They attract people buying for lifestyle, and that’s what underpins long-term stability and growth.
Q: Define Australian luxury in 2025. How does that identity show up in Mosaic’s latest projects?
Australian luxury has matured. It’s less about statement and more about detail and quality, a quiet confidence built on space, natural light, clever design, craftsmanship, and connection to place. The new benchmark isn’t excess; it’s effortlessness. It’s how a home makes you feel every day – calm, confident, comfortable, and intuitively functional.
True luxury in Australia is deeply contextual. Our climate, our landscape, and our way of life demand homes that breathe, that blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, and that are as enduring as they are beautiful. It’s architecture that sits lightly in its environment but delivers a richness of experience through proportion, materiality, and detail.
At Mosaic, that philosophy defines everything we do. Our approach to design is grounded in longevity, homes crafted for permanence, not fashion or social media likes.
Because we design, build and manage our buildings end-to-end, we see how they perform over time, and that accountability sharpens our focus on what genuinely matters: enduring materials, intelligent layouts, acoustic privacy, and a sense of calm that comes from considered design.
You see that in every Mosaic address, = luxury residences that feel inherently Australian, refined yet relaxed, built for real living and for the long term. That’s the future of Australian luxury: less show, more soul.
Q: What quiet inclusions deliver the biggest lift in comfort, privacy and resale?
The features that have the greatest impact aren’t always the ones people notice first;they’re the ones you feel. Acoustic performance, for example, makes an enormous difference to day-to-day comfort. The ability to live in peace, to hear nothing but what you choose, is one of the greatest luxuries there is.
Proportion and planning are just as powerful. Well-considered layouts that separate living and sleeping zones, generous storage, and logical flow elevate liveability in a way that’s immediately intuitive. When a home simply “works”, buyers sense it.
Then there’s climate control through passive design, orientation, advanced glazing systems, and cross-ventilation that make a space comfortable year-round without overreliance on mechanical systems. It’s a smarter, more sustainable form of comfort that Australians instinctively value.
These are the quiet qualities that underpin both enjoyment and long-term value. They’re not about embellishment; they’re about thoughtfulness. A well-designed home ages gracefully and that’s what ultimately protects resale.
Q: Materials are having a truth moment. Which finishes or systems have proven their worth over ten years of Queensland sun and salt?
You can’t outlast Queensland’s climate without respect for it. The combination of heat, humidity and salt is unforgiving. It exposes every weakness in design and material choice. Over time, we’ve learned that honest, well-detailed materials always win.
We continue to rely on solid masonry construction, high-performance glazing systems, and powder-coated aluminium for their resilience and low maintenance. Natural stone, when correctly specified and detailed, weathers beautifully.
But the real difference isn’t the material itself, it’s the way it’s resolved. Longevity lives in the detailing: fixings, joints, drainage and protection from the elements.
Because we design, build and then manage our projects for up to 25 years post completion, we see how every decision performs over time.
The customer feedback loop has also shaped a culture of accountability and refinement. We’re constantly learning from what we’ve delivered. Ten years on, the buildings that still look and function as they did on day one are the ones that were designed with restraint, built with care, and finished with authenticity.
Q: What do you think will be the impact of Brisbane 2032 on the property market?
The 2032 Games will be a defining moment for Brisbane, not just economically, but culturally. It will fast-track infrastructure, elevate global awareness, and build confidence in the city’s long-term potential. But its real legacy won’t be about short-term growth; it will be about maturity.
Brisbane is already evolving from a big country town into a genuinely international city. The Olympics will accelerate that transformation, attracting talent, capital, and global attention, but the lasting benefit will come from the way the city learns to carry itself.
We’ll see more design excellence, stronger placemaking, and a shift toward higher expectations in quality and delivery.
For developers like Mosaic, that’s an exciting challenge. It raises the bar, which is exactly what the city needs. But resilience won’t come from hype; it will come from substance – well-located, enduring homes that respond to Brisbane’s climate, character, and way of life.
That’s where we’re focused: delivering projects that will stand the test of time long after 2032.
Q: What is the strongest source of buyer demand you expect over the next two years, and how are you designing apartments to match it?
The strongest demand continues to come from downsizers and rightsizers, people at a stage in life where quality, comfort and connection matter most. They’re looking to simplify without compromise; to exchange maintenance for mastery, a home that offers the same sense of space, privacy and permanence they’ve always valued, but in a location that genuinely enhances daily life.
For this buyer, location is everything. They want to stay close to the places and communities they love, the beach, the river, the village, but in a home that delivers ease rather than upkeep.
Walkability, outlook and proximity to amenity have become defining qualities of luxury. The most sought-after sites are those with inherent, lasting value, places that can’t simply be replicated elsewhere.
We’re also seeing continued growth from professionals and families who now view apartment living as a permanent choice rather than a stepping stone.
They expect the design sophistication and amenity of a freestanding home, paired with the connection, convenience and security of well-considered, professionally managed communities.
We invest heavily in research and customer feedback to deeply understand how people live and what they value most. Insights from that process shape everything, from apartment functionality and material selection to communal amenity and building management.
It’s a constant learning loop that ensures the homes we create consistently meet the market and evolve with changing buyer expectations.
That understanding directly informs our design philosophy. Many of our residences now occupy full or half floor apartments, offering the scale and privacy of a traditional home within a secure, low-maintenance building.
Layouts are generous and highly functional, with direct lift access, thoughtful zoning between living and sleeping areas, refined acoustics and abundant storage. The goal is simple: create apartments that live comfortably, privately and intuitively.
Curated resident amenities extend that sense of comfort and belonging beyond the front door, from pools, wellness spaces and landscaped retreats to private dining areas and lounge zones that encourage genuine connection while preserving privacy.
These spaces are designed as an extension of home, reflecting the same level of care and craftsmanship that defines the residences themselves.
The homes that continue to perform, both in liveability and value. are those conceived with longevity in mind: defined by place, designed for real living, and crafted to stand the test of time.
Genuine demand always centres on where and how people truly want to live.
Q: What is one piece of advice you can give high-net-worth buyers?
Buy quality, and buy from people who stand behind what they deliver. In today’s market, trust, track record and delivery are everything.
We’ve seen too many projects falter because promises weren’t matched by execution or capability. A developer’s record of delivery, their depth of involvement, and their willingness to remain accountable beyond settlement are the clearest indicators of genuine value.
Quality isn’t about surface impressions, it’s about integrity. The way a building is conceived, constructed, detailed and maintained determines how it performs over time.
Too often, decisions are made on aesthetics or views, but true confidence comes from how a home lives: how it feels every day and how it continues to function years down the track. A well-built home should age gracefully, not visibly.
We’re unique in that we’re not just the developer, we’re also the co-designer and builder. That direct control from concept to completion safeguards quality at every stage and ensures what’s promised is what’s delivered.
Over the years, we’ve built deep trust in our brand because we’ve delivered every project we’ve ever committed to, through every cycle, without exception.
People know that we remain involved long after completion, and that level of accountability gives them confidence their investment will stand the test of time.
For buyers, the smartest decision is to align with a developer that designs and builds for longevity and legacy, not for turnover. When values and intentions align, you’re not just buying a property, you’re investing in confidence, continuity and something that will hold its worth in every sense of the word.
This interview appeared in the summer 2025 issue of Kanebridge Quarterly Magazine, which you can buy here.
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Weary of ‘smart’ everything, Americans are craving stylish ‘analog rooms’ free of digital distractions—and designers are making them a growing trend.
5 min
James and Ellen Patterson are hardly Luddites. But the couple, who both work in tech, made an unexpectedly old-timey decision during the renovation of their 1928 Washington, D.C., home last year.
The Pattersons had planned to use a spacious unfinished basement room to store James’s music equipment, but noticed that their children, all under age 21, kept disappearing down there to entertain themselves for hours without the aid of tablets or TVs.
Inspired, the duo brought a new directive to their design team.
The subterranean space would become an “analog room”: a studiously screen-free zone where the family could play board games together, practice instruments, listen to records or just lounge about lazily, undistracted by devices.
For decades, we’ve celebrated the rise of the “smart home”—knobless, switchless, effortless and entirely orchestrated via apps.
But evidence suggests that screen-free “dumb” spaces might be poised for a comeback.
Many smart-home features are losing their luster as they raise concerns about surveillance and, frankly, just don’t function.
New York designer Christine Gachot said she’d never have to work again “if I had a dollar for every time I had a client tell me ‘my smart music system keeps dropping off’ or ‘I can’t log in.’ ”
Google searches for “how to reduce screen time” reached an all-time high in 2025. In the past four years on TikTok, videos tagged #AnalogLife—cataloging users’ embrace of old technology, physical media and low-tech lifestyles—received over 76 million views.
And last month, Architectural Digest reported on nostalgia for old-school tech : “landline in hand, cord twirled around finger.”
Catherine Price, author of “ How to Break Up With Your Phone,” calls the trend heartening.
“People are waking up to the idea that screens are getting in the way of real life interactions and taking steps through design choices to create an alternative, places where people can be fully present,” said Price, whose new book “ The Amazing Generation ,” co-written with Jonathan Haidt, counsels tweens and kids on fun ways to escape screens.
From both a user and design perspective, the Pattersons consider their analog room a success.
Freed from the need to accommodate an oversize television or stuff walls with miles of wiring, their design team—BarnesVanze Architects and designer Colman Riddell—could get more creative, dividing the space into discrete music and game zones.
Ellen’s octogenarian parents, who live nearby, often swing by for a round or two of the Stock Market Game, an eBay-sourced relic from Ellen’s childhood that requires calculations with pen and paper.
In the music area, James’s collection of retro Fender and Gibson guitars adorn walls slicked with Farrow & Ball’s Card Room Green , while the ceiling is papered with a pattern that mimics the organic texture of vintage Fender tweed.
A trio of collectible amps cluster behind a standing mic—forming a de facto stage where family and friends perform on karaoke nights. Built-in cabinets display a Rega turntable and the couple’s vinyl record collection.
“Playing a game with family or doing your own little impromptu karaoke is just so much more joyful than getting on your phone and scrolling for 45 minutes,” said James.
Screen-Free ‘Escapes’
“Dumb” design will likely continue to gather steam, said Hans Lorei, a designer in Nashville, Tenn., as people increasingly treat their homes “less as spaces to optimise and more as spaces to retreat.”
Case in point: The top-floor nook that designer Jeanne Hayes of Camden Grace Interiors carved out in her Connecticut home as an “offline-office” space.
Her desk? A periwinkle beanbag chair paired with an ottoman by Jaxx. “I hunker down here when I need to escape distractions from the outside world,” she explained.
“Sometimes I’m scheming designs for a project while listening to vinyl, other times I’m reading the newspaper in solitude. When I’m in here without screens, I feel more peaceful and more productive at the same time—two things that rarely go hand in hand.”
A subtle archway marks the transition into designer Zoë Feldman’s Washington, D.C., rosy sunroom—a serene space she conceived as a respite from the digital demands of everyday life.
Used for reading and quiet conversation, it “reinforces how restorative it can be to be physically present in a room without constant input,” the designer said.
Laura Lubin, owner of Nashville-based Ellerslie Interiors, transformed a tiny guest bedroom in her family’s cottage into her own “wellness room,” where she retreats for sound baths, massages and reflection.
“Without screens, the room immediately shifts your nervous system. You’re not multitasking or consuming, you’re just present,” said Lubin.
As a designer, she’s fielding requests from clients for similar spaces that support mental health and rest, she said.
“People are overstimulated and overscheduled,” she explained. “Homes are no longer just places to live—they’re expected to actively support well-being.”
Designer Molly Torres Portnof of New York’s DATE Interiors adopted the same brief when she designed a music room for her husband, owner of the labels Greenway Records and Levitation, in their Lido Beach, N.Y. home. He goes there nightly to listen to records or play his guitar.
The game closet from the townhouse in “The Royal Tenenbaums”? That idea is back too, says Gachot. Last year she designed an epic game room backed by a rock climbing wall for a young family in Montana.
When you’re watching a show or on your phone, “it’s a solo experience for the most part,” the designer said. “The family really wanted to encourage everybody to do things together.”
Analog Accessories
Don’t have the space—or the budget—to kit out an entire retro rec room?
“There are a lot of small tweaks you can make even if you don’t have the time, energy or budget to design a fully analog room from scratch,” said Price.
Gachot says “the small things in people’s lives are cues of what the bigger trends are.”
More of her clients, she’s noticed, have been requesting retrograde staples, such as analog clocks and magazine racks.
For her Los Angeles living room, chef Sara Kramer sourced a vintage piano from Craigslist to be the room’s centerpiece, rather than sacrifice its design to the dominant black box of a smart TV. Alabama designer Lauren Conner recently worked with a client who bought a home with a rotary phone.
Rather than rip it out, she decided to keep it up and running, adding a silver receiver cover embellished with her grandmother’s initials.
Some throwback accessories aren’t so subtle. Melia Marden was browsing listings from the Public Sale Auction House in Hudson, N.Y. when she spotted a phone booth from Bell Systems circa the late 1950s and successfully bid on it for a few hundred dollars.
“It was a pandemic impulse buy,” said Marden.
In 2023, she and her husband, Frank Sisti Jr., began working with designer Elliot Meier and contractor ReidBuild to integrate the booth into what had been a hallway linen closet in their Brooklyn townhouse.
Canadian supplier Old Phone Works refurbished the phone and sold them the pulse-to-tone converter that translates the rotary dial to a modern phone line.
The couple had collected a vintage whimsical animal-adorned wallpaper (featured in a different colourway in “Pee-wee’s Playhouse”) and had just enough to cover the phone booth’s interior.
Their children, ages 9 and 11, don’t have their own phones, so use the booth to communicate with family. It’s also become a favorite spot for hiding away with a stack of Archie comic books.
The booth has brought back memories of meandering calls from Marden’s own youth—along with some of that era’s simple joy. As Meier puts it: “It’s got this magical wardrobe kind of feeling.”
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