[caption id="attachment_3715" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Apollo Restaurant - George Levissianis"][/caption]

"Chateau Marmont light" were the words BELLE's Managing Editor Tanya Buchanan used to describe the luscious surrounds for the second BELLE Interior Design Awards in Sydney last night. Interior Design Editor and super-stylist Steve Cordony created a brilliantly evocative space for the evening that upon entry whisked you from a cold night in Alexandria to a cosy night garden party, evoking an air of old Hollywood glamour with ferns, suspended candles, mirrors and dry-stone walls. Only in its second year, the BELLE Interior Design Awards are already one of the most hotly contested design competitions in Australia reflected by the number of high-profile and talented guests at the venue and shortlisted for awards. [caption id="attachment_3716" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Smart Design - Tusculum Residence"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_3717" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Russell & George - Aesop, Claremont"][/caption]

Finalists across a number of categories included David Hicks, Jonathan Richards and Kirsten Stanisich at SJB Interiors,  Smart Design Studio and many more. Winners were applauded for their experimentation, pushing of boundaries and evidence of sophisticated design decision making.  The 2012 judging panel was made up of Kelly Hoppen, Jean Wright, Neale Whitaker, Anthony Spon Smith, Margie Attard, Mitchell Oakley-Smith and Steve Cordony. Winners:
  • Commercial Interior:
Russell & George for Aesop, Claremont - Perth
  • Hospitality Interior:
George Livissianis for Apollo Restaurant, Potts Point - Sydney
  • Corporate Interior:
Russell & George for Paper Stone Scissors, Windsor - Melbourne
  • Residential Interior:
Smart Design Studio for Tusculum Residence, Potts Point - Sydney
  • Belle Interior Designer of The Year
Iain Halliday from BKH, Sydney & New York.