So the year is quickly drawing to a close, but not before we have the honour and privilege to present the shortlisted projects and objects for the 2015 Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). This bumper issue will delight you with the myriad projects and products designed by the best designers, architects and object makers in the country and what an array there is!

Entries this year exceeded all expectations in quality and quantity proving that 2015 was a sensational one for the built environment. The Residential Single category received the most submissions and proved that indeed our homes are our castles, be they small and carefully curated or large and opulent. As you will see in the following pages, however, all other categories showcase projects that feed our design souls and once again mark our Australian design community as a force to be reckoned with throughout the world.

Along with the IDEA shortlist our regular features are a prolific delight with profiles and exhibitions, discussions and projects that push the design boundaries. We profile Tasmanian born Brodie Neill (p38) and his exquisite products from the Made in Ratio collection, while in Practice we investigate the Latitude Group (p28) and see how it is contributing to the business of design. In Discourse, we speak with David Rockwell (p42) and discover what makes this great designer and architect tick. With smartphones at the ready, we rate the best eight apps available that help make life a little easier for the designer (p51). In Review (p32) looks at the amazing work of Grayson Perry with FAT and in Craft to Completion (p46) The Invisible Store of Happiness is expounded.

The projects in this issue range from a hairdresser’s salon in Canberra called Roji (p54) to Breville, a workplace with style and substance in Sydney (p66). Two houses are featured, one
in Melbourne, Abstract House (p72), a sensitive renovation and addition, and the other in Sydney, House of Dalley Avenue (p60) where European luxury marries a Sydney lifestyle.

With summer around the corner, Insight (p81) investigates refrigeration – where it has come from and where it is going. The journey is a model for best practice and innovative technology.

In all, there is so much to read, see and enjoy in this issue, we suggest that you make a cup of coffee now, put your feet up and enjoy the best that Australia has to offer in design.

And we look forward to seeing you at the IDEA gala party at the Melbourne Museum on 20 November when we announce the winners of IDEA 2015 and can share the evening with you all.

Jan & Gillian