Australian House & Garden’s Top 50 Rooms award winners have been announced with first time entrant, Sydney interior design studio Lawless and Meyerson, taking out the coveted Room of the Year prize in a unanimous judges’ vote.

The magazine awards, now in their 18th year, are once again supported by key sponsor Warwick Fabric, in addition to category sponsors including Winning Appliances, Blum and Holman Industries.

The Top 50 Rooms edition is House & Garden’s annual design industry celebration and showcases the best rooms in the country completed over the past 12 months.

This year’s entries were judged by a panel of leading experts including House & Garden columnist and The Block judge Darren Palmer; Cameron Warwick, joint managing director, Warwick; design blogger Dana Tomic-Hughes of Yellowtrace; Lucy Sutherland, International School of Colour and Design; Annalisa Capurro, head of Design at Enmore College and Lisa Green, editor-in-chief of House & Garden.

Speaking of the 2016 Room of the Year winner, Green said: “The winning room by Joanne Lawless of Sydney firm Lawless and Meyerson is a serene family room which combines the raw materials of concrete and timber with soft furnishings in linen, wool and silk. It is architecturally striking, and the earthy palette is sophisticated yet practical.” Cameron Warwick added: “Symmetrical, with a multi-layered use of natural products, this room is highly contemporary without being austere.”

Green continued: “Our readers love and anticipate this special issue full of amazing homes. On a very practical level the Top 50 Rooms edition provides home decorators and renovators with expert insights from the industry’s best practitioners – along with a shopping list of cutting edge material finishes, design ideas, colour palettes and furnishings.”

Winners were announced at an awards lunch at Sydney’s Dolphin Hotel, with the Room of the Year winner earning a trip for two to Maison & Objet trade fair in Paris.

A People’s Choice vote launches on Monday September 5th at Bauer Media’s digital homes destination homestolove.com.au, giving voters the chance to a $3000 voucher from Warwick Fabric and weekend at an Art Hotel of their choice.

House & Garden’s bumper 244-page Top 50 issue goes on sale Monday September 5th. 

WINNERS

ROOM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Lawless and Meyerson – Sydney

 
BEST USE OF SOFT FURNISHINGS
Winner: Adelaide Bragg – Melbourne

BEST USE OF COLOUR
Winner: Chelsea Hing – Melbourne

BEST USE OF MATERIALS
Winner: Lawless & Meyerson – Sydney

BEST INDOOR-OUTDOOR CONNECTION
Winner: Williams Burton Leopardi – Adelaide

BEST KITCHEN
Winner: Amanda Lynn Design – Melbourne

BEST BATHROOM
Winner: Drew Heath Architect – Sydney

BEST USE OF LIGHTING
Winner: Williams Burton Leopardi – Adelaide