Australian Design Review is thrilled to reveal that Meryl Hare, founder and design principal of Hare + Klein, is the final judge announced for the 2025 Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA).

Celebrating 23 years of IDEA

Now in its 23rd year, IDEA is Australia’s largest and most successful independent design awards program. Honouring the best of Australian interior and product design, IDEA is judged by a panel of industry experts from across the country.

A leading figure in Australian interior design, Hare brings over four decades of experience to the judging panel. Born in South Africa and based in Australia since 1988, she has worked across the country and abroad in London, Germany, Malaysia and Fiji. Her adopted country awarded her with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) 2024 for her exceptional contributions to interior design.

Hare + Klein, founded in 1989, is renowned for crafting interiors that are creative, authentic, practical and cohesive. Under Hare’s leadership, the practice has earned a reputation for a considered and collaborative approach – an ethos Hare continues to champion today.

“It is our strong conviction that an interior should balance aesthetics with layers of visual generosity,” says Hare. “Woven into our work is texture, warmth, refined comfort and a sense of the client’s personality.”

A long relationship in design

This will be Hare’s second time judging IDEA, having served on the panel in 2021. In 2020, she was honoured with the IDEA Gold Medal, the program’s most prestigious individual award, recognising her exceptional and steadfast contribution to Australian design.

“Recognition by IDEA has been extremely valuable, especially within the profession,” she reflects.

As an IDEA judge, Hare will draw on her extensive experience to evaluate entries with both objectivity and a critical eye for originality and innovation.

“I’ll be looking for innovation and originality but also interiors that have a timeless quality,” she says. “Evaluating work by other designers requires objectivity and the ability to assess each entry based on the required criteria and originality.”

With a particular interest in the Single Residential category, Hare encourages emerging designers to focus on doing their best work for their clients.

“And always photograph your top projects,” she adds.

Enter your projects into IDEA 2025

Entries for IDEA 2025 are open until midnight Sunday 20 June 2025, with no extensions this year. 

Learn more about IDEA here.

Submit your entry here.