Entries to the 2025 Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) are now open, with early bird pricing available until 27 April 2025.

The road to the IDEA gala in November – a very exciting date on the Australian interior design calendar – starts today. Entries are officially open to submit your projects into IDEA, which also includes two categories celebrating the very best object, furniture and lighting design from the past year.

If you’re new to IDEA, read on to find out everything you need to know about this year’s program below, including important dates and criteria.

About the program

Launched by inside magazine in 2003, IDEA has become Australia’s leading independent design awards program. Woods Bagot principal Eva Sue, emcee of the IDEA 2024 gala, remarked on the sheer breadth of design talent who took home trophies at last year’s ceremony.

“Across all categories, the representation of excellence came in the form of individuals, small practices and larger firms – united in their commitment to finding sophisticated solutions to today’s design challenges,” she said.

The program recognises the best projects and studios across 14 categories, including: Colour; Event; Hospitality; Institutional; Public Space; Residential Single; Residential Interior Curation; Residential Multi; Retail; Workplace Over 1000 sqm; Workplace Under 1000 sqm; Outdoor; Object, Furniture and Lighting – Professional and Object, Furniture and Lighting – Rising.

IDEA also includes six Special Awards recognising the Overall Project of the Year, Designer of the Year, Emerging Designer of the Year and the IDEA Gold Medallist, a practitioner who has made an influential and enduring contribution to Australian design culture over the course of their career.

Meanwhile, the Sustainability Award is presented to the submission that provides the most holistic response to the challenges of designing sustainably and succeeds in meeting three particular objectives as completely as possible.

And finally, the Mark Robinson Community Award acknowledges the positive impact interior design and architecture have on our community or not-for-profit sectors.

Eligible projects must have been completed between January 2024 and June 2025 and must satisfy the individual project criteria. In the case of the Mark Robinson Community Award, eligible projects must have been completed between January 2022 and June 2025.

Your projects immortalised in print 

Your big moment does not start and end with ascending the stage at the gala and taking home a coveted IDEA trophy designed by a past winner.

All the shortlisted projects will feature in the annual IDEA shortlist edition of inside magazine, available in August 2025, and on the Australian Design Review (ADR) website. 

Winners and highly commended projects enjoy further exposure in the IDEA winners’ edition of inside, published in December, as well as in profiles on ADR and across our social channels, which have a combined reach of more than 100,000 followers.

Key dates to remember

Here are all the dates to plug into your calendars before you forget:

• Early bird entries ($295) close Sunday 27 April 2025

• Standard entries ($396) open Monday 28 April 2025

• Standard entries close Monday 30 June 2025

It’s important to note that the deadline for entries will not be extended this year. The good news is there’s still plenty of time to get your entries together, but we recommend taking advantage of the generous early bird discount.

View last year’s winners

To gauge calibre of winning projects and studios, take a look at all of last year’s IDEA winners here.

ADR will also be announcing the IDEA jury members over the coming weeks. Subscribe to the ADR newsletter to read upcoming interviews with the jury about what they’re looking for in this year’s entries.

What are you waiting for? Don’t miss your chance to have your hard work and creativity recognised among your esteemed industry peers at the IDEA gala this November. Enter IDEA here.

IDEA 2025 is brought to you by Overall Sponsor Miele, alongside category sponsors Crafted Hardwoods, Cult, Designer Rugs, ForestOne, MillerKnoll, Laufen and Zenith.

Lead image of Bates Smart at IDEA 2024 Designer of the Year and Overall Project of the Year.