With holidays just around the corner, we’ve compiled a last minute Christmas gift guide for architects and designers. It includes books from two Australian design legends, some very special gin and a soy sauce-shaped lamp.

Koichi Takada Architecture, Nature and Design by Koichi Takada Architects

The first monograph on the Japanese-born, Sydney-based architect Koichi Takada is a love letter to organic architecture, humanistic values and holistic design.

Form follows nature in the projects that grace its pages – a smattering of the many Takada has completed to date, scattered across Australia, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East.

It’s perfect companion to recharge the brain cells and get yourself in the right frame of mind for what promises to be a new year of even better – and hopefully more environmentally and socially conscious – architecture.

Read our review of Koichi Takada Architecture, Nature and Design.

ADR X Archie Rose Limited Edition Gin and Vodka

Earlier in the year, ADR teamed up with Sydney spirit mavericks Archie Rose for the ultimate design collaboration, calling on three of the country’s best interior designers to create bespoke labels for its insanely good Tailored Spirits collection.

Mim Fanning, Brendan Wong and Hana Hakim all stepped up to the plate, penning three gorgeous labels with signature blend of botanicals to match.

All three limited edition labels will be available until the end of February 2022.

Order yours on the Archie Rose website

Country Road Sand Picnic Basket

A new take on the Australian brand’s iconic picnic basket, this little tote is perfect for all those lazy summer days when wine and cheese somewhere beautiful counts as a meal.

Featuring a rounded profile and branded jacquard straps, it’s designed to fit all your picnic essentials without breaking your back… or your look.

And if you need a quick stocking stuffer while you’re at it, we couldn’t get past Country Road’s Alfie bowl. Simple, but adorable, it’s a gorgeous little treat for that beloved four-legged friend, even if they probably won’t appreciate the high gloss finish as much as you do!

Pick up the Alfie Bowl and Sand Picnic Basket at Country Road.

WORDBITS

In a game of word association, we’d pair 2021 with déjà vu, followed very closely by nostalgia… because in times of uncertainty, there are few things more comforting than the Good Ol’ Days.

Enter WORDBITS. These gorgeous alphabet magnets designed by Danish typography experts are not the love children of COVID-19. They were actually launched in Denmark in 2019 by Annabel Weber and Shanna Hermansen, but they’re landing in Australia for the first time in Christmas 2021.

Available in charcoal black, classic bone, retro-rich mustard and soft rosy blush, this set of 60 letters retails for $54, making it the perfect stocking stuffer or KK gift.

Pick one up online or at selected retailers.

Tickets to IDEA 2021

The winners of IDEA 2021 will be announced in person at our gala evening to be held at the Winx Stand, Royal Randwick in Sydney on Thursday 24 February 2022!

The IDEA gala promises to be a night of sumptuous food, amazing live music, great company and the very best of Australian architecture and interior design.

Oh and did we forget to mention incredible drinks provided by Archie Rose gin distillery and Moo Brew beers, along with plenty of free flowing red, white and bubbly?

So join us as we celebrate the year that’s past (in all its ups and downs) and the year to come!

Buy your tickets now.

Works 2000-2001 by Mim Design

Koichi Takada wasn’t the only Australian designer to put pen to paper this year. Melbourne’s Miriam Fanning also celebrated 21 years of Mim Design with her first book.

Works 2000-2001 hit stores in November and features richly illustrated pages packed with photography, drawings and personal anecdotes.

Fanning curated each page of the book herself, working with a local publisher and graphic designer friends. The collection will feature some of the studio’s most iconic projects from the renovation of Christopher Skase’s Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort to the $30 million Horizon mansion at Flinders.

Order a copy from the Mim Design website.

Morphée

It’s a Catch 22. You need your phone to play whale sounds to fall asleep, but if you’re anything like 89 per cent of Australians, it’s your phone (and other technology) that’s preventing you from falling asleep in the first place.

Say hello to Morphée – the French sleep device that combines meditation and sophrology (a relaxation therapy method that eases anxious thoughts and promotes a mind/ body connection) to allow users to fall asleep quickly and sleep deeply.

The non-digital design means there is no need to connect the device to an app or wall plug, so you can spend the time leading up to sleep in a digital detox.

Pick one up at JB HIFI, Amazon AU, Temple & Webster and Officeworks.

inside magazine subscription

Yeah, yeah, we know! But if you want to give the gift that keeps giving throughout 2022, you can’t go past a subscription to inside magazine.

And yes, beauty is subjective, but we have plenty of beautiful projects planned for next year’s editions that we’re pretty sure will have you green with envy and aglow with inspiration.

You can subscribe to inside magazine online

Light Soy by Heliograf

Shaped like the iconic fish-shaped soy sauce packet, this piece from Sydney studio Heliograf celebrates a fun design while also raising awareness of the problem that single-use plastics present to marine life.

In 2021, the team updated the product so it’s now made from 75 per cent recycled polypropylene, with plans to raise that to 100 per cent across all components and products as it gets more familiar with the material.

The rechargeable table lamp is modular, which allows parts to be swapped out and upgraded, and has an aluminium base and USB-C charging battery. 

Pick one up on the Helograf website.

Vinomofo The Mofo Club membership

For those in your life who love a good drop, a Vinomofo club membership is a match made in the Christmas heavens.

With two different clubs on offer, Vinomofo sets itself apart as having a club that doesn’t have “any crap because we only sell wines [they] love,” all the while bringing wine lovers bottles that don’t break the bank.

Sign up on the Vinomofo website.

Leif limited-edition gold Buddha Wood hand wash

Luxe handwash has emerged from the pandemic as a must-have household item. And Australian vegan, cruelty-free brand Leif’s limited-edition Buddha Wood hand wash is anything but boring.

Packaged in an intuitively designed opulent metallic gold bottle, it’s a nourishing handwash that contains a blend of four oils: earthy Buddha wood oil, calming sandalwood oil, uplifting sweet orange oil, and cedarwood, a natural antiseptic.

Made in Oz, it’s gentle enough for frequent use and suits all skin types. It’s a gift that elevates everyday rituals.

Grab a bottle from the Leif website.

Rock Bottom set by Anissa Kermiche

Bring your style up from rock bottom with this set of three candle holders from Anissa Kermiche.

The Paris-born jewellery designer loves natural, imperfect beauty and her homeware celebrates the lumps, bumps and delicate irregularities of the female form.

Cast to resemble a cheeky derrière, these three ‘Rock Bottom’ tea light holders are made from speckled gray ceramic and don’t follow any proportional formula, so no two are exactly the same. 

They’re the perfect gift for those with a cheeky taste.

Get a set from NET-A-PORTER.