In November 2023, designers, architects, suppliers and design enthusiasts from around Australia gathered at Centennial Homestead in Sydney to celebrate the 2023 Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA).

Every year, IDEA shines a light on  the best of Australian interior and product design. And, every year, the designers and architects responsible for bringing these award-winning interior designs and products to life take home the coveted IDEA trophy, designed by Axolotl.

The trophies not only provide a lasting memento of the IDEA winners’ hardwork, but they’re also a tribute to the Axolotl team’s expert craftsmanship. The solid cast nickel material provides a lustrous hand-polished finish, while the delicate engraved logo and winner’s names add a personal touch to each trophy.

Axolotl has supported IDEA since 2010, and the team’s dedication and prowess have helped make the recognition program an even more prestigious event. It’s just one of the ways that the multi-disciplinary architectural products supplier supports the industry.

With the IDEA trophies now sitting proudly on shelves in studios and homes, Australian Design Review asked the winners to share a ‘shelfie’ that not only shows off the trophy in its new home, but also expresses the beauty of the trophy as an object, contextualised with the winners’ own design practice or aesthetic.

Locki Humphrey

Furniture designer and 3D artist Locki Humphrey is the newcomer behind last year’s Object, Furniture and Lighting – Rising winner, Button Stool. 

Button uses found and recycled materials to create an adorable piece of designer furniture. Made from iconic Australian public transport fabrics, woven ethernet cabling and general street rubbish, Button takes quite recognisable and undesirable elements and aims to elevate them beyond how they are often perceived.

Take a look at Button Stool here.

Ross Gardam

Repeat winner Ross Gardam took home the top prize in IDEA’s only other product category, Object, Furniture and Lighting – Professional. This award judges both the form and function of Australian furniture and lighting design.

The winning project, Volant, is a static chandelier with a mystifying ability to appear in motion. Within this design, solid brass bars are home to textured, tubular-formed glass elements, each precisely angled to give the impression of floating objects revolving around each other.

The furniture and lighting designer and manufacturer previously took home the same award in 2016 for the Ora Desk Lamp.

Read more about Volant here.

Akin Atelier

Spatial communications practice Akin Atelier received the Retail award for The Gallery Shop in the Art Gallery of NSW’s Sydney Modern building.

Developed with surfboard designer Hayden Cox, this resin installation is a luminous space of shifting perspectives and light refractions. Fluid contours of bio-resin wrap around the shop’s perimeter to form a transparent margin that serves as both boundary and display.

Have a look at The Gallery Shop here.

Kosloff Architecture

Winner of the Public Space category, the Warrnambool Library and Learning Centre by Kosloff Architecture is situated on Warrnambool’s South West TAFE campus. It replaces the existing local and TAFE libraries, and encompasses a new three-storey building connected to a refurbished, Heritage-listed building. 

The centre provides a much larger and more accessible space for the entire community, including students and staff.

Take a look at the Warrnambool Library and Learning Centre here.

Simone Haag

As the recipient of the Residential Interior Curation award, interior decorator Simone Haag brought decorative elements that responded to Neil Architecture’s renovation of Weeroona House in Hawthorn, Melbourne. 

Simone Haag studio curated furniture, artwork and objects for the home that responded to both the architectural design and the personality of the client. The result celebrates the eclecticism and indulgence synonymous with the Queen Anne style while showcasing a rich, moody colour-scape throughout.

Peek inside Weeroona House here.

See more exciting and innovative work by Axolotl by checking out its website and Instagram.