IN-PERSON London Heritages. Section B

Abstract

This practice-based paper presents a unique commission to design the lace curtains for Government House, Sydney, Australia, a working heritage site. The house is an active political space hosting key official meetings, international guests and dignitaries. The project was part of the Historic Houses Trust To Furnish a Future Program, a five-year refurbishment plan to redesign the interior of Government House, Sydney, 2007. Five designers were awarded commissions to design furniture, carpets, and upholstery. The following discussion centres on how the author engaged with the site to design a contemporary lace for the State Rooms. To do this, they drew from their industry experience designing in textile studios in London and New York. The motivation behind the project was to bring the qualities of lace into the world of modern textiles while paying homage to the interior’s historic design and architecture. The author worked closely with the Scottish mill Morton Borland and Young to produce a lace that combined technical and aesthetic innovation. The significance of this research is that it stands alone in its field as a contemporary Australian lace, one that is unique to our culture and times. The scale and composition break away from the high decoration associated with European lace to embody a lighter, more spacious aesthetic closer to the Australian landscape. The considerations the author engaged with produced a timeless lace that to this day serves as a narrative for regular public tours and quietly bears witness to the private meetings of the drawing room.