australian house and garden – The Interiors Addict

Australia’s 2021 ‘Room of the Year’ doubles as kitchen too

Always anticipated, Australian House & Garden’s 2021 Top 50 Room Awards have just been unveiled revealing some of Australia’s best residential architecture and interiors of the year. An annual event, the award celebrates the breadth and creativity found in the Australian residential interiors scene today.

The prestigious ‘Room of the Year’ award went to Sydney architect Jeremy Bull of Alexander & Co. for his glorious kitchen design that features a monolithic cast-concrete island in pale pink which can double as a colossal dining table.

Jeremy Bull won ‘Room of the Year’ and ‘Best Kitchen’ for this gorgeous, multi-purpose space

The room features compartmentalised work areas that could be mistaken for shelving units in a living room, but form functional cooking zones. The kitchen features a Calacatta Viola splashback as well as American Oak joinery that conceals an integrated fridge and pantry. Unsurprisingly, the project won the ‘Best Kitchen’ award too.

“I am deeply grateful to be able to receive this award on behalf of our team and of course I am also so proud of the work we have done. We intended for this house and all its spaces to inspire both our team and clientele to think beyond the traditional. More so, after another year of lockdowns perhaps even to challenge the conceptions we may have about how our homes can be used at large,” says Jeremy.

This year saw more than 200 rooms submitted across eight categories and Interiors Addict favourite Greg Natale took out the ‘Best Bedroom’ award for his beautiful project that features the stunning Gucci Heron print wallpaper in green.

Other celebrated beauties including a clifftop bathroom, a cohesive indoor/outdoor living space, contemporary living room, luxurious outdoor retreat, lovely yet functional laundry and a glowing living room with surprising use of colour.

Australian House & Garden’s Top 50 Rooms Awards winners include:

Room of the Year: Jeremy Bull, Alexander & Co

Best Kitchen: Jeremy Bull, Alexander & Co

Best Bathroom: Rob Mills, Rob Mills Architecture & Interiors

Best Laundry: Lauren Mahoney, Studio Trio

Best Indoor-Outdoor Connection: Petra Pantano, Studio Petra & Ben Robertson, Tecture

This project won the ‘Best Indoor Outdoor Connection’ award

Best Bedroom: Greg Natale, Greg Natale Design

Best Outdoor Room: Darin Bradbury, Mint Pool and Landscape Design & Mike Cannington, MIL construction.

Best use of soft furnishings: Kate McCluskey, McCluskey Studio & Matt Hainsworth, Cera Stribley

Best use of colour: Brooke Aitken, Brooke Aitken Design

The 'Best use of colour' award went to this beautiful space by Brook Aitken — The ‘Best use of colour’ award went to this beautiful space by Brook Aitken

You can check out all the rooms and the full list of winners in the January issue of Australian House & Garden, on sale today (Monday 20 December).

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Retrospective: A look at 70 years of Aussie interiors

A stalwart of the magazine scene, Australian House & Garden marks its 70^th anniversary this month which is no small achievement in the merciless publishing world. To mark the occasion, a celebratory edition hits stands on Monday (March 5), with the magazine opening the archives to reveal the way that Australian homes and gardens have evolved over the last seven decades. In anticipation of the launch, our friends at Australian House & Garden have shared insights into the trends that shaped the decades as well fabulous imagery from inside the publication too.

1950’s

1948 to 1957 saw the debut of the iconic Parker furniture as well as plenty of plywood plus white wrought iron and glass-topped furniture. Fibreglass furniture also appeared on the scene for the first time alongside Eames’ kidney shaped coffee table and butterfly chairs. Cocktail bars, floral fabrics, indoor plants, modular sofas and sideboards were also in vogue. It would seem some things never change!

1960’s

The period from 1958 to 1967 saw the arrival of Scandinavian-designed chairs including the ‘tulip’ and ‘ball’ chairs as well as classic Panton chairs too. Laminate table tops, stackable plastic furniture, powder-coasted metal-framed furniture, DIY furniture and modular corner lounge suites were also on trend. Pendant lighting had a moment and lava lamps were some of the most coveted things around.

1970’s

The 2017 Pantone colour of the year was a recurring theme throughout the seventies and the decade also saw the arrival of Kartell’s classic ‘Companibili’ storage units.

Beanbags, director’s chairs, white rattan sofas, peacock chairs and chrome tubular chairs reigned on the seating front while IKEA furniture, track lighting and rice paper lampshades were also big news.

1970's lounge room — A 1970’s lounge room

1980’s

The 1980’s saw the revival of classic designs such as the Le Corbusier lounge and armchairs as well as a propensity of pine dressers and entertainment units, wicker furniture, waterbeds, florals and glass-topped tables. Harry Bertoia chairs were a popular look too.

1990’s

The period from 1988 to 1997 saw a plethora of white sofas (particularly leather) as well as the emergence of the kitchen counter bar stool. Le Corbusier lounges and Mies van der Rohe’s ‘Barcelona’ white leather arm chairs were on trend too while hammocks, home computers and coffee machines made their way into most Australian homes.

Nineties kitchen with bar stool — A nineties kitchen wouldn’t have been complete without bar stools

2000’s

The noughties saw a much more minimal aesthetic arise. King Living modular sofas, Philippe Starck’s Louis-inspired ‘Ghost’ chair, anything by Eames, and Vernon Panton’s plastic chairs were popular (often paired with rustic dining tables). This period also saw the rise of the ottoman as a coffee table, tables with frosted glass and aluminium legs, butler’s trays, floor cushions and the proliferation of kitchen bar stools.

Noughties interior — The ottoman as coffee table was a strong look in the much more pared back noughties

Check out stylist Mr Jason Grant’s tips on how to mix old with new