Jury comment
What struck the jury most about this extremely confident and beautiful interior styling is the designer’s sensitive and thoughtful approach in delivering an outcome that responds to the needs of a mature-aged client. With this in mind, the scheme eschews trends and instead celebrates the building’s grand heritage.
The interior’s timeless quality resonates with a sense of luxury, which is best expressed in the generously proportioned yet finely detailed bathroom. Furnishings in the living areas embrace the Victorian period and each room is given its own character through a distinct furniture selection. The different styles include such covetable pieces as a lushly patterned rug in the dining room, opulent burgundy lounge chairs in the sitting room and minimalist blonde joinery in the kitchen.
It’s a very well considered arrangement that appears eclectic at first glance, but on closer inspection, is utterly balanced and harmonious. This home reflects the client’s personality, representing her in a way that is fabulous, comfortable and highly functional.
Design statement
The restoration of this grand heritage terrace signals a return to the elegant grandeur of the period, but without the colonial or heritage thematics. Instead, an emotionally responsive interior was created that wholly reflects the vibrant and unique nature of the client. Providing a foundational layer, existing blackbutt floors were returned to their former glory, and large Anatolian rugs create framed portions that contain dining and lounging areas while flowing seamlessly. Furnished with opulent pieces in rich tones and textures, the interior decoration in these areas is intentionally sophisticated. Foregoing all reference to the fashionable trends of contemporary interiors, the design repeatedly pushes material choice and design execution to defy belonging to a particular era. A Private Residence was designed to be reflective of the owner’s richly layered life and appreciation of an expansive aesthetic. The inherent sustainability of the design lies in the fact that it has never been driven by fashion, and therefore will never become unfashionable.
The Award for Residential Decoration is supported by Smeg. The Australian Interior Design Awards are presented by the Design Institute of Australia and Artichoke magazine. For more images of this project, see the Australian Interior Design Awards gallery.
