Following our exploration of the 2019 Australian Interior Design Awards Residential Decoration shortlist, we’re looking into the innovative and exciting sphere of Residential Design. It’s a compilation of interiors from within new builds and heritage transformations, all successfully catering to their residents.

Some of the stellar projects found their way into both categories like the Peppertree House showcased within est magazine issue #32 and Casa Atrio by Biasol. Iconic projects featured on est in the past year such as Sarah Wolfendale’s Kew Apartment, Edsall Street by Ritz & Ghougassian (another home explored in issue #32), Sally Caroline’s Sorrento Home and Her Majesty’s Apartment by Nexus Designs have all been listed as candidates for the award. We’re also excited to see the familiar favourites of Studio Esteta, Madeleine Blanchfield and Templeton Architecture gaining recognition for their work.

Just as we did for the residential decoration category we explore six front-runners in residential design, fresh to our eyes at est. While waiting for the 2019 AIDA Awards to be announced on the 31^st of May, keep an eye out for other shortlisted projects tour on est in full over the coming weeks.

Darlinghurst by Tom Mark Henry

With their milky and minimal Bondi Residence, Tom Mark Henry was a studio that we said to watch in 2018. Starting the year right with their Clovelly Residence by the beach, we’re excited to see them recognised for another warm and refreshing entry in this year’s shortlist. Tom Mark Henry painstakingly restored this run down, three-storey terrace in Darlinghurst, paring back its original features to reveal their tactile beauty – most poignantly the stone detail.

Penthouse 1 by Lawless and Meyerson

It’s been a little while since we shared the work of Sydney studio Lawless & Meyerson, one of our recommended Australian designers. They’re the ones to call on for a chic Sydney apartment – this time levelling up with a penthouse host to front-row seats of the Sydney Harbour. The original 1970s penthouse needed a substantial renovation, which Lawless & Meyerson delivered twofold in a now clean, modern and light-filled home.

Arc Side by Jolson

Cocks Carmichael originally designed this Bayside home in 2004, responding to the neighbouring neo-Italianate terrace houses. More than a decade later, Jolson stepped in for the same owners to meet their changing needs, retaining elements of the front façade and drawing from the arched forms throughout. What really captured our attention in their design was the ribboning staircase – the symbolic centrepiece of a subdued and sculptural abode.

Hawthorn House by Edition Office

Recently captivated by the cast concrete exterior of the Hawthorn Home by Edition Office, we were curious to see the interior. Just like on the outside, it makes a strong impression with vast concrete structure forms, enveloping the open plan living area while being sensitive to space and natural light. Designed to be a Brutalist refuge with repeated archway openings, it really is a welcome challenge to the status quo.

SAR Residence by Mim Design

European notes and Japanese living philosophies collide inside the SAR Residence by Mim Design. The design firm have made two appearances in the AIDA Shortlist – the SAR Residence being a heritage restoration of an old Victorian, balancing contemporary design with period features. Mim design has opened up the relatively small home with clever spatial configuration, lending itself to the Japanese aesthetic signature of uninterrupted flow and restorative calm.

Caroline House by Kennedy Nolan

One of two projects to make the AIDA Residential Design shortlist, the Caroline House by Kennedy Nolan is a standout for its individuality and bid to break away from the interior mould. The Melbourne-based team restored the existing Edwardian house and added a pavilion separated by an internal courtyard and swimming pool. What then evolved inside are interiors that shout ingenuity in their exploration of texture, colour and pattern.