Interior Design
Winners of the 2018 Australian Interior Design Awards Announced
Feast your eyes on these spectacular, award-winning homes from around the country
The jury has cast its vote and the winners of the 2018 Australian Interior Design Awards have been revealed. An eight-strong panel sifted through over 600 entries from Australian designers to select the very best in residential design, decorating, hospitality, public and retail interiors.
The jury remarked; “This year marks the 15 year anniversary of the Australian Interior Design Awards and, like every year before it, the standard of entries was high. If there was any idea that the country’s architecture and design industry isn’t progressive, relevant or inventive, a quick glance at the 2018 shortlist will set that straight. These projects are characterised by conceptual rigour and compelling design expression, with a human-centric focus and strong desire to contribute new ways of thinking to their respective sectors and beyond”.
Here, we present the seven residential award winners for your viewing pleasure. You can find the full list of winning projects and more photos at Australian Interior Design Awards.
The jury remarked; “This year marks the 15 year anniversary of the Australian Interior Design Awards and, like every year before it, the standard of entries was high. If there was any idea that the country’s architecture and design industry isn’t progressive, relevant or inventive, a quick glance at the 2018 shortlist will set that straight. These projects are characterised by conceptual rigour and compelling design expression, with a human-centric focus and strong desire to contribute new ways of thinking to their respective sectors and beyond”.
Here, we present the seven residential award winners for your viewing pleasure. You can find the full list of winning projects and more photos at Australian Interior Design Awards.
Black is used effectively throughout to punctuate the interior and, along with white walls, provides a neutral backdrop for the family’s thoughtfully edited collection of art, objects and furnishings.
The jury commended the project for being a very liveable home that’s not static, but rather allows change through a palette that is flexible.
One jury member imagined the family travelling and bringing back new objects for the home without upsetting the current arrangement, but rather adding to it. In this respect, Curatorial House is full of narrative and a sense of emotional connectedness. Although it is immaculately styled, it’s very much a lived-in home.
This project demonstrates self-assuredness in the category through a boldness that quietly champions a less-is-more aesthetic.
WINNER RESIDENTIAL DESIGN AWARD AND WINNER BEST OF STATE RESIDENTIAL AWARD – VICTORIA
Project: Canning Cottage, Victoria
Designer: Bicker Design
Photography: Nikole Ramsay
Project description: This converted 1874 worker’s cottage has a 32-square-metre footprint, and makes use of a consistent, tonal palette to maximise the sense of space.
Jury comments: Canning Cottage is an extremely strong project that demonstrates effective planning in a small space measuring only 32 square metres. Every design move has been well considered, with materiality, spatiality and detailing displaying equal strengths in a scheme that is simply immaculate and undeniably innovative.
Project: Canning Cottage, Victoria
Designer: Bicker Design
Photography: Nikole Ramsay
Project description: This converted 1874 worker’s cottage has a 32-square-metre footprint, and makes use of a consistent, tonal palette to maximise the sense of space.
Jury comments: Canning Cottage is an extremely strong project that demonstrates effective planning in a small space measuring only 32 square metres. Every design move has been well considered, with materiality, spatiality and detailing displaying equal strengths in a scheme that is simply immaculate and undeniably innovative.
There’s a real delight to this project, from its conceptually pure diagram to the uncomplicated, polished resolve of its aesthetic, making it a thoroughly welcoming, playful little gem of a house.
The jury unanimously agreed that Canning Cottage is going to be influential in creating a benchmark for what architects or designers can achieve with small spaces. And while it questions the possibilities for residential design in the inner-city suburbs of Australia, it positively promotes Australian interior design on a world stage.
The beauty of Canning Cottage lies not only in its elegant detailing and thoughtful layout, but in its ability to effect change by setting an outstanding example.
WINNER EMERGING INTERIOR DESIGN PRACTICE
Project: Highbury Grove, Victoria
Designer: Ritz & Ghougassian
Photography: Tom Blachford
Project description: This renovated Victorian semi in Prahran features concrete-block walls that create a seamless flow between the interior and exterior. The apertures between the walls create framed views of a courtyard garden and neighbouring trees.
Jury comments: The breadth and maturity of Ritz & Ghougassian’s portfolio impressed the jury, especially as the Melbourne-based practice was only established in late 2015. Co-directors Gilad Ritz and Jean-Paul Ghougassian’s refined, architecturally rigorous work is notable for its strong adherence to a set of shared design values and its avoidance of anything faddish or trendy, making them very deserving award recipients.
Project: Highbury Grove, Victoria
Designer: Ritz & Ghougassian
Photography: Tom Blachford
Project description: This renovated Victorian semi in Prahran features concrete-block walls that create a seamless flow between the interior and exterior. The apertures between the walls create framed views of a courtyard garden and neighbouring trees.
Jury comments: The breadth and maturity of Ritz & Ghougassian’s portfolio impressed the jury, especially as the Melbourne-based practice was only established in late 2015. Co-directors Gilad Ritz and Jean-Paul Ghougassian’s refined, architecturally rigorous work is notable for its strong adherence to a set of shared design values and its avoidance of anything faddish or trendy, making them very deserving award recipients.
There’s consistency and originality across each project, regardless of typology, and each displays genuine innovation and sophistication. This is especially evident in two of the practice’s most recent projects – the highly polished Highbury Grove residence (pictured here) and Fitzroy’s stylish Bentwood cafe.
Ritz & Ghougassian’s commitment to build upon the architects’ combined experience working at Hassell, Room 11 and Woods Bagot makes it a name to watch. The practice is already prodigious in delivering over 15 projects and, as one jury member commented, what makes this young practice particularly refreshing in an age of social media is that its co-directors are “designing by principles not Pinterest.”
WINNER BEST OF STATE RESIDENTIAL AWARD – NSW
Project: Coogee House II
Designer: Madeleine Blanchfield Architects
Photography: Robert Walsh
Project description: This new house in a busy beachside Sydney suburb required clever management of privacy and views. Internal courtyards, lofty spaces and muted materials were used to create a sense of openness and lightness in what would otherwise have been a tunnel-like home.
Project: Coogee House II
Designer: Madeleine Blanchfield Architects
Photography: Robert Walsh
Project description: This new house in a busy beachside Sydney suburb required clever management of privacy and views. Internal courtyards, lofty spaces and muted materials were used to create a sense of openness and lightness in what would otherwise have been a tunnel-like home.
WINNER BEST OF STATE RESIDENTIAL AWARD – QUEENSLAND
Project: Crescent House
Designer: Deicke Richards
Photography: Christopher Fredrick Jones
Project description: The renovation of this post-war house creates a generous home for a young family. Its living spaces boast a warm, natural palette that is layered with connections to the landscape outside. The home originally belonged to its owner’s grandparents, so its renewal is powerfully tied to family memories.
Project: Crescent House
Designer: Deicke Richards
Photography: Christopher Fredrick Jones
Project description: The renovation of this post-war house creates a generous home for a young family. Its living spaces boast a warm, natural palette that is layered with connections to the landscape outside. The home originally belonged to its owner’s grandparents, so its renewal is powerfully tied to family memories.
WINNER BEST OF STATE RESIDENTIAL AWARD – SA
Project: Millswood House
Designer: studio-gram with Kate Russo
Photography: David Sievers
Project description: The existing Percy Street residence is a turn-of-the century double-fronted cottage. The aim of the design was to maintain the current character by using the roof form as the basis for the extension.
Project: Millswood House
Designer: studio-gram with Kate Russo
Photography: David Sievers
Project description: The existing Percy Street residence is a turn-of-the century double-fronted cottage. The aim of the design was to maintain the current character by using the roof form as the basis for the extension.
WINNER BEST OF STATE RESIDENTIAL AWARD – WA
Project: King George Cottage
Designer: Robeson Architects
Photography: Dion Robeson
Project description: King George is a little historical jewel of a cottage in East Fremantle’s happening George Street. It has undergone a conversion into a truly modern home for a young working family.
You can find the full list of winning projects and more photos at Australian Interior Design Awards.
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Project: King George Cottage
Designer: Robeson Architects
Photography: Dion Robeson
Project description: King George is a little historical jewel of a cottage in East Fremantle’s happening George Street. It has undergone a conversion into a truly modern home for a young working family.
You can find the full list of winning projects and more photos at Australian Interior Design Awards.
Tell us
If you enjoyed this story, like it, save it, save the photos and share your thoughts below. Join the conversation.
More
Find an interior designer on Houzz
Project: Curatorial House, NSW
Designer: Arent & Pyke
Photography: Felix Forest
Project description: In reconfiguring and returning weight to this classic P&O home, the design references the 1930s era through subtle nods to Hollywood’s glamour days. Black Japanned floorboards and stark white walls provide a backdrop for thoughtful detailing and constantly changing art.
Jury comments: Curatorial House is confident in its restraint and the jury was impressed by the project’s refined detailing, where motif is suggested rather than shouted.