South African designers nominated for awards

Recognizing the designers and studios influencing South African interiors, the 2026 House & Garden Designers of the Year Awards highlight the diverse range of local design. This year’s nominees range from carefully planned residential homes to spaces where architecture, art, and daily living intersect.

Meet the Nominees

Bone Studio, founded by Nicola Orpen and Hayley Turner in 2011, is a studio built around a passion for transparency, collaboration, and “design with spine”. With over 40 years of collective experience, Orpen and Turner have led the studio across more than 200 projects spanning residential, hospitality, retail, and commercial spaces.

One of Bone Studio’s defining qualities is its refusal to follow a single aesthetic. Instead, the studio approaches each space individually, allowing the architecture, brief, and people behind it to shape the final result. No two Bone projects are intended to be the same.

Diverse Approaches

Marie-Louise Koen Interiors, founded by Marie-Louise Koen, brings experience from both Cape Town and New York City, alongside her fine-art practice, to create interiors that are thoughtful, personal, and cohesive. Her approach is guided by the belief that every project should be treated like a painting, with creativity, functionality, and meticulous attention to detail considered together.

Room31 Interiors, a South African interior design studio, creates contemporary interiors defined by timeless design, refined detail, and a strong sense of individuality. The studio offers a design service that includes interior design and decoration, spatial planning, styling, custom furniture and joinery design, as well as art sourcing.

Zeanne Duminy, with a background in architecture, brings a considered approach to residential interiors. Her work reflects an appreciation for the architectural framework of a space, while placing equal importance on how it feels to live in. Natural light, environment and materiality are recurring influences in her interiors.

Awards and Recognition

The 2026 House & Garden South Africa Designer of the Year Awards will take place, where the winner of the Designers of the Year will be revealed.

Together, this year’s nominees reflect the breadth of contemporary South African interior design. From Bone Studio’s collaborative approach to Marie-Louise Koen’s artful interiors, Room31’s emphasis on timeless craftsmanship, and Zeanne Duminy’s architecture-led spaces, each offers a distinct perspective on what design can be.