It was a joy to attend the 2025 Belle Interior Design Awards, celebrating inspiring Australian designers, studios and creative forces in interiors.
This year, The Montauk Lighting Co. collaborated with the brilliant Steve Cordony, Belle’s Style Director-at-Large, to curate feature lighting for the event’s theme, Dark Glam. As proud sponsors, it was terrific to team up with &Tradition, and see each winner awarded a glistening gold Flowerpot VP9 Portable Lamp by Verner Panton as their trophy.
Steve Cordony shared with us his inspiration behind the shift in mood from last year’s lighter palette to something deeper and more enveloping. Influenced by what he saw in Milan, the palette leaned into rich, chocolatey tones and masses of velvet to create a glamorous, cocooning atmosphere.
"The lighting embraced a brutalist feeling with bold materials, expressive textures, deep bronze hues, crackled glass and striking brass forms."
Each piece carried a subtle nod to the past while remaining unmistakably contemporary, with Kelly Wearstler’s collection symbiotic with the theme: Dark Glam.
The Montauk Lighting Co. was also proud to sponsor the Best Hospitality Interior category, with SJB celebrated for The Eve Hotel and its distinct Australian design influence. Our warmest congratulations to all of the Belle Interior Design Awards winners for 2025:
Best Commercial Interior: Sarah & Sebastian Armadale – Richards Stanisich
Best Hospitality Interior: The Eve Hotel – SJB
Best Residential Kitchen Design: Lillelund – Madeleine Blanchfield Architects
Best Residential Bathroom Design: Botanical House – Mim Design
Best Work with Colour: Billy’s, Ayrburn – Alexander &CO.
Best Residential Interior: Rosherville House – Kennedy Nolan
Best Residential Interior: House on a Hill – Leeton Pointon Architects + Allison Pye Interiors
Emerging Design Star: Shona McElroy – SMAC Studio
Interior Designer of the Year: Richards Stanisich
Hall of Fame: Greg Natale
See more highlights from the night. Photos above by Esteban La Tessa, and captures below by Fiona Sustanto and The Montauk Lighting Co.
