The creation of a luxurious interior space that is rich with intrigue has seen Melbourne-based design firm Carr crowned Overall Winner for its work on the Jackalope Hotel at this year’s Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), while SJB has secured the prestigious Designer of the Year award.

At a sold-out gala event at Melbourne’s Heritage-listed Meat Market, Carr was recognised for its work on Jackalope, a 46-room boutique hotel on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, while design excellence across a total of six shortlisted projects saw SJB top a list brimming with Australia’s premier design talent.

The other big winner was HASSELL’s Rob Backhouse who received the prestigious Gold Medal award at the event hosted by architect and television presenter, Peter Colquhoun.

Guests arrive at the event held at Melbourne’s Meat Market. For more photos from the event, visit the IDEA website

Now in its 15th year, the competition was particularly tight, with event organiser, Niche Media, receiving 533 entries – a record number.

The program celebrates the best of Australian interior and product design across 14 categories and five special awards. Testament to the quality of entries, this year more than 250 projects were shortlisted.

Paul Lidgerwood, managing director of Niche Media, says IDEA grew out of a desire to celebrate Australia’s vibrant and highly skilled design community. “When we established the IDEA program back in 2003, nothing at that time recognised excellence in interior design and architecture. We wanted to change that,” says Lidgerwood. “Over the last 15 years, we’ve been amazed by both the quality of the thousands of submissions we’ve received, and the way in which the design community has embraced the awards. This year we’ve seen more entries than ever before, and tickets for the awards dinner sold out more than a month before the event.”

Catered by Blakes Feast with wine by Vinomofo, the gala dinner was again a high point on the design community’s social calendar. This year the Balvenie Bar made another appearance with William Grant serving up quality whisky. The bar was designed by Woods Bagot Perth as part of a design competition staged earlier in the year for Balvenie.

See list below for all winning and highly commended entries:

Overall Winner: Jackalope Hotel – Carr

Designer of the Year: SJB

Gold Medal: Rob Backhouse, HASSELL

Emerging Designer: Biasol

Biasol’s Clerkenwell Grind project

Editors’ Medal: Amber Road

Sustainability Winner: Wynyard Walk – Woods Bagot

Woods Bagot’s Wynyard Walk development

Highly Commended: Hill Plains cottage – Wolveridge Architects |  Jackalope Hotel – Carr

Hospitality Winner: Jackalope Hotel – Carr

Highly Commended: 12-Micron – SJB | Little Bang Espresso – ZWEI Interiors Architecture

Residential Single Winner: Brick house – Andrew Burges Architects

Andrew Burges Architects’ Brick House

Highly Commended: A Private Park – SJB | Freshwater apartment – John Wardle Architects

Residential Multi Winner: 107 Cambridge – Elenberg Fraser | Cirqua apartments – BKK Architects | Toorak residences – Carr

Residential Decoration Winner: Pyrmont apartment – Arent&Pyke

Highly Commended: A private residence – SJB | Clovelly house – Madeleine Blanchfield Architects

Workplace Over 1000sqm Winner: Maddocks – Bates Smart

Bates Smart’s Maddocks project

Highly Commended: Ashurst – HASSELL | Financial Services – Futurespace Workplace

Under 1000sqm Winner: Woods Bagot Perth studio – Woods Bagot

Highly Commended – Greg Natale HQ – Greg Natale Design | Gwynne Street Studio – Biasol

Public Space Winner: Wynyard Walk – Woods Bagot

Highly Commended: Chifley – SJB

Highly Commended: Crown Towers Perth – Bates Smart

Institutional Winner: Murdoch University Peel Campus activation – CODA Studio

Murdoch University’s Peel Campus activation by CODA Studio

Highly Commended: University of Sydney Business School – Carr

Highly Commended: University of Queensland, Forgan Smith – BVN

Retail Winner: Viktoria + Woods – Fiona Lynch

Fiona Lynch’s design for Viktoria + Woods

Highly Commended: Farage flagship store – Greg Natale Design | Handpicked Wines cellar door – DesignOffice

Object – Furniture & Lighting (Professional) Winner: Settlers chair – Jon Goulder

Highly Commended: Baker extension table – DesignByThem | Brightgreen surface-mounted wall light collection – Brightgreen

Object – Furniture & Lighting (Rising) Winner: Igneous wall light – Ash Allen and James Walsh

Highly Commended: Red Block chair – Red Block | Glacier range – Geoffrey Cameron Marshall

International Winner: 12,000 Francs – Emma Maxwell Design

12,000 Francs by Emma Maxwell Design

Highly Commended: Clerkenwell Grind – Biasol | The Pool: Architecture, Culture and Identity in Australia – Aileen Sage Architects with Michelle Tabet

Event Winner: Watchmaker – Folk Architects

Highly Commended: Admonter stand – Carole Whiting | Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives – studioplusthree