2007 Lace Commission Government House, Sydney

To Furnish a Future, State Rooms Government House

The project, To Furnish a Future, was a five-year refurbishment plan by the Historic Houses Trust to redesign the interior of Government House. Throughout a three-year interview period, I developed concepts and designs for a lace curtain for the State Rooms to a series of judging panels consisting of leading architects, historians, curators and design experts.

The final design pays homage to botanical illustrations by the Scott sisters, who lived in Darlinghurst, Sydney, in the 1920s.The lace design references flora unique to New South Wales. The treatment of the floral is contemporary in its layout, scale and open repeat. These investigations combine technical and aesthetic innovation.

The lace was woven by the Scottish mill Morton Young & Borland, which houses one of the widest lace handlooms in the world linked to a CAD system. The curtains are still in use in Government House, an active public space. Visitors warmly respond to the lace, which serves as a narrative for the Historic House guides to share local flora and fauna represented in the lace motifs.

Dimensions: One hundred meters of lace was woven, width 150 cm

Materials: cotton

Photo Credit: Paul Pavlou, Morton Borland & Young