Best Interior Design: Individual Home (over 2,500 sq ft)

Rusty Oak by Mallett

Rusty Oak presents a considered interior design scheme for a substantial private home, centred on a restrained material palette that uses oak as the defining element. The design aims to create a warm, contemporary and family-friendly atmosphere while respecting the character of the property and its setting. The work is presented as a transformation that balances the old and the new, with space planning and finishes used to support a calm, coherent whole.

The scheme is shaped by a strong emphasis on texture, natural materials and careful detailing. The interiors are described as clean and modern, yet comfortable and adaptable for everyday living, with rooms intended to feel flexible and appropriate to modern family use. The submission also suggests that the design responds to the architecture rather than sitting separately from it, with furnishings and finishes supporting a sense of continuity throughout the home.

Judges praised the oak-led materiality, the understated palette and the way the design captures a genuine sense of place. They highlighted the thoughtful planning, sensitive handling of the relationship between existing and new elements, and the authenticity of the finished interiors. Overall, the project was regarded as well resolved, refined and closely attuned to its context, with strong attention to detail across the interior scheme.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID:

Cinematic spatial experience created with a refined, yet characterful material palette. Beautiful connection of spaces, carefully zoned spaces create a home that feels simultaneously more open and more intimate.

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My personal standout in all the categories. Immediately get a sense of who the client is, what they wanted and the response answers that brief in a really elegant way. The new curved desk area and hallway is beautifully done and overall the new layout completely transforms the apartment into the open yet intimate home the clients wanted.

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The client saying it's now transformed how they live is what interiors and architecture should be about.

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