This Moody, Underground Restaurant in Brisbane Has Claimed Australia's Top Interior Design Prize
The 2025 Australian Interior Design Awards have been announced — and Central by J.AR Office has been crowned the country's best-designed space.
Australia's best interiors for 2025 have been revealed — and a theatrical Brisbane restaurant has nabbed top honours. Central, the subterranean restaurant by J.AR Office, claimed the prestigious Premier Award for Australian Interior Design at this year's Australian Interior Design Awards. Celebrated for its moody, immersive atmosphere and inventive use of constraints, the venue also won the Hospitality Design Award and Best of State Commercial for Queensland.
The annual awards, now in their 22nd year, recognise excellence across residential, hospitality, retail, installation, public and workplace design, as well as achievements in sustainability and emerging practice. The program is a collaboration between the Design Institute of Australia and Architecture Media's InteriorsAu, with this year's entries honouring aesthetic impact and user-centred thinking.

Central by J.AR Office
The jury praised Central as a "highly inventive project" that's "executed with a level of cleverness that uses constraints to its advantage". In a year defined by refined aesthetics and clear design narratives, the 80-seat, Hong Kong-inspired Central stood out for its emotive interiors, with low lighting and cleverly juxtaposed accents of granite, timber and exposed rock, which all set the stage for a singular experience.
Elsewhere, southern states swept the residential awards — Montage Apartments by Studio Prineas in Sydney's Double Bay received both the Residential Design and Best of State Residential for New South Wales accolades, commended for its "strong and nuanced colour palette and detailing", while the "joyful, sophisticated and colourful" Panorama House by Sally Caroline won the Residential Decoration Award and Best of State Residential for Victoria. Design Office claimed Retail Design honours for Vic's Meats in Chatswood Chase, Sydney — the project was also awarded Best of State Commercial in NSW for its "bold and highly distinctive design" that "honour[s] the tradition of the butcher's craft through a contemporary expression".

Coopers Brand Home by studio gram
In the Public Design category, Studio SC was recognised for its moving and detailed interior at the new Australian War Memorial entrance in Canberra, which also took home Best of State Commercial in the ACT. The jury was split down the middle for the Workplace Design award, with top honours shared by both Cox Architecture's Adelaide Studio (which also won Best of State Commercial for South Australia) and the Arup Workplace Perth/Boorloo by Hames Sharley with Arup and Peter Farmer Designs — the latter also received the Sustainability Advancement Award for its conscious use of resources and sensitivity to human interaction.
The jury noted that this year's awards represented "an opportunity for our industry to stand back, take it all in and genuinely
celebrate the quality of interior design being produced in Australia today". And they're confident that the future is in good hands, too: "We can give ourselves a collective pat on the back as we continue to produce work that is inventive and sophisticated."

Good Luck Restaurant Bar by Akin Atelier

Good Luck Restaurant Bar by Akin Atelier

Melbourne Place by Kennedy Nolan

Melbourne Place by Kennedy Nolan

Melbourne Place by Kennedy Nolan

Palace Coffee by Kerry Kounnapis Architecture Practice
For more information on the Australian Interior Design Awards 2025 and the full list of winners, head to the awards' website.