VELA Life Have Chosen Our Top 19 Inspirational Australian Design Studios of 2019!

Applause! 

Design Awards season is drawing to a close having named the best in Australian Interiors for 2019. With this comes a bounty of swoon-worthy interior design and home decor ideas to bolster your lovingly-curated Pinterest boards. 

These lifestyle virtuosos are pushing design boundaries, setting trends, and cementing themselves as the designers of the future. Contemporary colour palettes, bespoke furniture, cutting-edge artwork, and cool accessories - you'll want these inspirational designs on your walls online and at home. 

Beautiful Design Inspiration

At VELA.life, we want to share some of the awesome work we get to see every day, so we have crafted a handy list for your visual pleasure. You’ll find our top picks for the 19 most inspirational, Australian-based Interior Design Studios, leading the way for 2020.

Complete with Pinterest and Instagram links plus project recommendations, this list can serve as your treasure trove of interior design, lifestyle, and home decor ideas - and make sure you're following our social accounts for more live updates! 

Design Trends for 2020 

Before we introduce our top picks, we want to answer a couple of questions.

Q: How could you possibly select just 19 from the ever-expanding list of amazing designers in Australia?

A: Choosing only 19 was not an easy task, but we’ve curated our list based on cohesive aesthetics, new concepts, and Award-worthy work.

Q: What does the future of lifestyle interiors look like?

A: Trends for 2020 are coming through now, we've highlighted our top three to look out for...

Multifunctional

Movable spaces with multifunctional items are becoming more utilised. This means living rooms can turn into bedrooms, tables can fold into walls, walls can fold out into beds. 

With a growing population, residences are, on the whole, getting smaller, so designers are having to use their ingenuity to use the space available wisely.

Be prepared to see more clever partitioning systems, more items to accentuate light and garden space, meaning both the pieces themselves and the spaces are multifunctional

Handcrafted

Bespoke designer-maker pieces are taking over, and here at VELA Life this makes us very happy! Interior Designers and their Clients, alike, are realising how special it is to have a unique, custom piece in the home.

The wonderful offshoot of this is that both are then supporting local designers and beautiful craftsmanship. They own a piece that can be passed down through the family and treasured for generations to come. This is a trend we’re totally on board with. 

Eco-Friendly

Eco-friendly design is the buzz word - with the climate emergency looming ever closer, designers are investigating manufacturing methods, recycled and repurposed materials, and using products that are kind to the earth.

There is also a trend toward more environmentally inspired aesthetics, with natural blues and greens taking over the home alongside beautifully carved and oiled natural wood, plus minimalistic yet sumptuous materials. 

A-List

Some of these designers are already well-known in the industry, some are up and comers to look out for in 2020 and beyond, but all are talented, Australian-based, Interior Designers and Architects who are masters of their craft and of curating the spaces around us. 

Hands up, who wants to have a peek into one of these homes?!

TOP 19 Inspirational Australian Design Studios in 2019

Alwill Interiors 

This Sydney-based studio is crafting stunning Interior Design work in 2019 and were finalists for an incredible 11 awards this year. They specialise in bespoke residential and boutique commercial projects, six Architects and Interior Designers collaborate to make Alwill Interiors one to watch - we can't wait to see what 2020 will bring for this talented group!

Amber Road

From product design to commercial interiors, this design collective has tackled it all with a bold style. Named after the ancient Amber trade route and founded by co-directors of both European and North African cultural heritage, their celebration of travel and nature shines through in their work. Working from the client's perspective, Amber Road creates thought-provoking spaces you want to stay in. We predict award-worthy work in 2020 - watch this space!

Arent & Pyke

Winners of the 2019 Residential Interior Design Awards, Arent & Pyke's stunning "Under the Tree" combines classic aesthetics, natural finishes and that contemporary Blue/Green colour palette trend we've picked up on. Formed in 2007 by design duo Juliette Arent and Sarah-Jayne Pyke, this studio has been winning awards for the last three years and is going from strength to strength.   

Biasol

Chelsea Hing

Commended as “one of the most original designers” by Australian Interiors legend, Neale Whitaker, Chelsea Hing is continuing to forge new pathways on the journey to design excellence. Charm, charisma, and bold colour palettes characterise the spaces she curates. Our favourite is her most recent work, Yarra Valley House, which radiates cool comfort and style - shortlisted for a 2019 Australian Interior Design Award.

Doherty Design Studio

Founded by Mardi Doherty, this residential design studio based in Melbourne puts collaboration at the fore. Sculpting forms to reflect the natural surrounds and crafting interiors to celebrate their clients, Doherty Design Studio keeps creating considered works with Aussie charm. An established name in the industry, Mardi was a judge at this year's Dulux Colour Awards. 

Fiona Lynch

 What would our list be without Fiona Lynch. Often ahead of the curve, perhaps setting the trends, Fiona was using Blues and Greens in her palette years ago. Luxe fabrics billowing against hard metallic finishes define her artistic style. If we wanted a sleek and sumptuous designer home, we'd head straight to her Melbourne offices.   

Flack Studio

The cool kid of the Australian Design Scene, founder, David Flack, and his team have their own verb for their design work, to "Flackify". Tongue in cheek, eclectic, off the wall, however, you put it, you'll never be bored by a Flack Design. Flackify your life, get them on your wall, board, and in your home! 

Golden 

Design By Golden, formerly known as We Are Huntly, is the design-child of Kyle Dorotic and Alicia McKimm. Focussed on creating physical environments for internal wellbeing, their intelligent Interiors, and holistic design approach means streamlined and yes, we said it, #blissfull interiors for their lucky clients. Shortlisted for many Awards, including for Residential Decoration by the AIDA, this pair is on course for a win next year.

Hare & Klein 

Madeleine Blanchfield Architects

With integrity, depth, and a lightness of touch, Madeleine's team craft stunning interiors that enhance their surroundings. A team of 8 Architects and Interior Designers work together to create stunning visuals that surprise and delight. A big fan of mirroring nature in their work, this practice epitomise the coming trends and create future-proof work set to last. 

Mim Design  

Founded by Miriam Fanning, this five-strong, award-winning, interior design practice is known for mastering those devilish details. Clean lines, sleek surfaces, and masterful fabric use adds sumptuous elegance to each residence they breathe life into. We recommend taking a look at their most recent work, SAR Residence, which has been shortlisted for a 2019 Interior Design Award.

NTF Architecture

Okay, firstly, you have to check out their website - a live satellite feed of Australian landscapes, currently the ocean waves crashing onto the beach - kudos on the web-design! Back to the interior design, this team are adept in using timeless colour palettes and natural finishes to create homes with architectural elegance and beauty.

Pierce Widera 

Fresh from winning the award for 'Emerging Interior Design Practice', this up-and-coming studio, has been applauded for creating atmospheric and edgy interiors. Founded in 2017 by Amy Pierce and Nat Widera, they have already crafted 6 commercial interiors that provide great inspiration for residential homes of the future. Check out Shinbashi Restaurant Project, one of our favourites!

Ritz & Ghougassian

Natural light and stunning sustainable materials create a minimalist style that has led to this design-duo picking up the Award for Residential Design in 2019. With more commercial and residential projects in the pipeline and an appreciation for meshing classic architectural detail with unique design features, this is a studio to watch in 2020 - check out the stunning restaurant project, Bentwood.

Robson Rak

Placing sustainability as a top priority, Robson Rak is a forward thinking Melbourne design staple that effectively infuses heritage buildings with contemporary design edge and creates new homes with timeless style.  We recommend a look at their Brighton Homestead. One of our top picks for 2019, and based on their track record, probably for all of the 2020's too!

Simone Haag 

 Simone Haag has been busy this year. With three projects shortlisted for an Interior award, our favourite is Armadale III. Her layering of materials, natural finishes and luxurious palette make her the queen of living room chic. If you want to know what's going to be in vogue in 2020, check out Simone's work now.  

Studio Gorman

Sydney-based, Studio Gorman, understands details. Using eclectic objects to compliment rich textured finishes in this delight for the senses. Textiles can be found in the most unexpected places, sumptuous sofas and personal touches create homely and thoughtfully curated spaces full of personality. One of our top picks for 2019, we look forward to seeing what's in store for 2020. 

Studio Quarters 

North Bondi is a project so resolved that it was nominated for a Residential Design Award in 2019. Encapsulating elements of natural materials, calming greens, combined with strong curvilinear wooden elements and art-deco detailing, this project is one of our favourites from Studio Quarters and has cemented them as one of the Top 19 Studios for 2019. 

That brings us to the end of our Top 19 Inspirational Interior Design Studios for 2019. 

Chosen Your Favourite?

We’ve chosen our favourites, have you?

Give the article another read or share with your friends for some fresh inspiration!

And remember to follow us for more lifestyle and design news.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on our top picks - shoot us a message on our socials! 

ABOUT VELA

Explorers of the new, purveyors of the beautiful; we bring you our curation of exceptional lifestyle pieces. Developed by the world’s leading designers and artisans, every one of our hand-selected items aligns with our core values and is ethically manufactured from sustainable materials. Carefully crafted to stand the test of time, enjoyed by generations, and loved for a lifetime.

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