Winner – Interior Design Excellence Awards 2011 - Designer Of The Year, Peoples Choice Award
“The element that will become the hallmark of this designer is apparent in his ability to create volume within an envelope of intriguing parts. And while the materials he uses translate as textural, interesting & sustainable, his underlying appreciation of the materials’ innate qualities will be an interesting aspect to watch through his careers evolution.” (inside), Issue 65, March 2011
One of the 'top ten forces and faces in design for 2011' Design Quarterly, Issue 43, Spring 2011
Although the practice is still in it’s infancy, Matt Woods & his designs have captured the attentions of the media, fellow designers and most importantly, his clients, focusing on sustainable design in his hometown of Sydney. With a degree in Industrial Design, postgraduate studies in Sustainable Design, and having worked in manufacturing, design & architecture, Matt has developed a unique & well-resolved skill set that ensures an approach to design unlike any other.
Creative, independent and fiercely design focused, Matt is eager to push and test the boundaries of modern day human environments. Matt is dedicated to produce engaging, unique, and forward thinking designs, which have a positive impact on social sustainability & the ecology of the planet. The studio has been fortunate to have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, yet regardless of the size, brief or budgetary constraints, it is focused on delivering projects that are well-resolved, exciting and stimulating environments to experience and enjoy.
In 2011 Matt Woods Design was decorated with THE DESIGNER OF THE YEAR - PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD at the Interior Design Excellence Awards, & has in the first 2 years of practice been shortlisted for projects in the Australian Interior Design Awards & the interior Design Excellence Awards. The studio has also been featured in local & international design journals including amongst others, Artichoke, DQ, Frame, Green, (inside), InDesign, InsideOut, Urbis & Venue.
BLOODWOOD RESTAURANT & BAR - 416 King St Newtown
BUDGET - $300 000
The three chef owners, Jo Ward, Claire van Vuuren & Mitch Grady, have all come from fine dining backgrounds having met plying their trade at the infamous Claudes in Woollahra. Set within a bar like environment the desire to bring the opportunity for a pretence free fine dining experience in a relaxed atmosphere to Newtown has been the major priority for the Bloodwood crew. As such the interiors have been designed to compliment the inner wests social hubs attitude and are designed to be warm, inviting, interesting and unique.
The inner Sydney urban environment has been reinterpreted through the implementation of reclaimed, recycled, or recyclable materials. Reclaimed & fsc certified plantation timbers & construction waste form feature ceilings, walls, banquette seating and tables. Every seat in the house has led another life before moving to bloodwood and paints have been selected with low or free of VOC's. Lighting plays a big part in the interior refurbishment with LED's used for bar and deck features. At night the deck's mood is enhanced through recycled jars with a simple tea light candle, while the suspended and knotted cables in the dining room are finished by dimmable cold cathode long life compact fluoro's.
De materialisation has been a focus with a conscious effort made to retain and work with the primary structure of the existing building. Further efforts have been made to ensure new interior elements do not impede the natural cross ventilation of the space.
Images By Will Reichelt & The Moment It Clicks
AVIDO RESTAURANT & WINEGARDEN - 438 Oxford St Paddington
BUDGET - $200 000
Welcome to Avido, the newest addition to the expanding Oxford St dining strip. Drawing inspiration from the well established risotteria’s in Melbourne and New York, the new dining room and wine garden is unlike any other venue in Sydney.
The primary aim of the Avido design has been to create a warm, interesting, unique and friendly environment, through the combination of reclaimed and new materials. Finishes have been based on an industrial aesthetic and selected with their environmental impact in mind.
Diners are be greeted with an intricate macramé ceiling feature, which is offset by deconstructed brick walls, warm timber counters, blasts of colour and an eclectic range of classically styled furnishings. Diners are encored to "hang their hats" and call Avido home either in the dining room, at the bar or in the 40 seat wine garden which offers the additional bonus of the theatre of an open kitchen.
The Wine garden is still a work in progress so check back soon for full detail images!
Images By Will Reichelt
FBI SOCIAL - FBI Radio 94.5fm Venue - Lvl 2, Kings Cross Hotel 248 William St Kings Cross
BUDGET - $5000
Located on level 2 of the newly refurbished Kings Cross Hotel, FBI Social was originally designed as a pop up venue, has now cemented it's place firmly on the Kings Cross strip. As you can imagine, being a supporter based underground radio station, FBI do not have a lot of coin to throw around. So the challenge here has been to create an interesting and diverse environment, on next to no budget. By drawing inspiration from my very first visit, to the what was then a construction site, almost all decorative elements have been sourced from the waste and left over materials from the other levels at the Kings Cross Hotel which is also currently being built.
Other than the base building works, which we’re, designed by Humphrey & Edwards architects, the only new feature in the place are a few licks of paint.
LEVEL 3, Kings Cross Hotel 248 William St Kings Cross
Images By Chris Corboy
INTERFACEFLOR REBIRTH - SATURDAY IN DESIGN
BUDGET - All materials supplied by IFF, construction MWD
Drawing inspiration from the IntefaceFLOR cradle to grave approach, Bar Ø follows the evolution of a modular carpet tile, highlighting the original and unadulterated forms. The brief has been to up-cycle and in the true Matt Woods Design aesthetic, the design retains the intrinsic value of the finished materials to form unique and playful components, while a bold use of colour is harnessed to create the decorative palette.
Saturday In Design happens one day a year and with recycling forming the essence of up-cylcing, the approach on this project has been to ensure that all materials have been contemplated for the deconstruction of the project and can either return to stock or conitnue on in the InterfaceFLOR after sales product loop, to be recycled, rather than simply going to landfill.
NATURES CARE BOUTIQUE - Concept Store
CHIPPENDALE LOFT APARTMENT
The existing thermally massive walls and floors (currently covered with carpet) in addition to an almost perfect orientation encouraged the implementation of a passive solar heating and cooling strategy.
Prone to overheating in summer due to the inadequate window shading & internal finishes; new awnings and internal blinds have been designed to eliminate the unwanted gains. New security front and back doors will allow the apartment to remain open at night for cross breezes to enter from the internal courtyard and out the small balconies new timber bi-fold doors.
The tight apartment footprint required some clever interior planning. The kitchen has been reconfigured to increase storage without having to alter existing plumbing & electrical services. Kitchen features clad bar backs anodised steel counter tops & splash backs and re uses the polyurethane doors from the existing kitchen.
De-materialisation has been a priority with walls treated in contrasting finishes. Existing paint brick walls have been scabbled back and repainted for prominent Melbourne artist Ha-Ha to take advantage of. The adjacent wall is re rendered and horizontally rake finished to create a textured feature wall. The existing timber beams supporting mezzanine bedroom have been exposed and left raw, with concrete filled welded metal grates welded to the existing cantilevered stair frame. Taking cues from 1960's string art, a geometric woven wire forms a ceiling to stair tread barrier and appears to effortlessly support the stair below.
BOTANY BAY HOTEL - Courtyard
A Reconfiguration of the existing courtyard, that attempts to retain the existing mature garden adjacent to the existing car parking facilities. New features to the small courtyard include an operable deck awning to take advantage of winter sun, recycled and reclaimed furniture, timbers. All bricks and blocks and permeable floor coverings are recycled with a large percentage being recliamed from the existing courtyard structures.
ENMORE HOUSE
BUDGET - $100 000
The turn of the century terrace, located in the inner western Sydney suburb of Enmore, has recently undergone alterations to the existing interior, rear garden and south eastern façade, as to open up & connect the living spaces, increase the size, & improve the usability of the bathroom, & to increase the availability of natural light into the home.
The new alterations include a new bathroom, kitchen, integrated laundry & dining room, whilst the demolition of the defunct & underused sunroom, has allowed for an increased back deck & garden, with a focus on home-grown fruit & veg.
As with all Matt Woods Designs, there is a heavy focus on the use of sustainable materials, with FSC timber floors & decking, recycled timbers utilised in a 3-tone feature wall, VOC free Porters paints, & LED lighting used throughout. The bathroom is a Matt Woods Design interpretation of a Moroccan bathhouse, a client request as a result of a recent trip to the North African country.
The overarching concept was at all times cognoscente of the existing interior architecture, and exploits the existing ceiling form, to create a unique, textural & dynamic environment. The design takes advantage of the existing pitched ceiling, mimicking its acute angle in the bathroom & kitchen areas, and forms the underlying principal for all design decisions. Penny round bathroom wall tiles have been laid at an opposing angle to the ceiling, creating a surprisingly dynamic and shifting environment, for the tiny space. The tapered dining room wall (adjacent to the kitchen) & kitchen bulkhead take this concept to another level, with the bulkheads heavy black (painted OSB) form, snaking over and framing the all white galley style kitchen. Directional, adjustable, LED spotlights (Inlite) along the edge of the bulkhead highlight the kitchens herringbone tile splashback, V-groove doors, stone counter top & timber feature wall opposite. The subtle angular nature of the renovation is capped off with a Henry Pilcher , Block 2 pendant above the dining room table.
CHAVELA
BUDGET - $70 000
Located on the outer fringes of Sydney’s Inner West, Burwood is a suburb steeped in multicultural heritage. A succinct, yet eclectic row of eateries, pubs and retail stores line Burwood Road in both directions, terminating at the local Westfield. The constant churn of the Burwood Road strip see’s an ever changing face to this lively Sydney suburb, yet very little alternative is offered to the traditional “cheap eat’ nature of the area. Chavela aims to change this, with a splash of eclectic modernity, offering a modestly priced menu in a setting that has been influenced by rustic restaurants around the globe.
The previous space was in dire need of some serious love and attention, with changes required to every single surface front of house & significant alterations required to back of house areas. On a shoestring budget, and a tight deadline in which to turn around the 60 square metre refurbishment, attention was placed on achieving a comfortable, textural and eclectic canvas, from which further refinement could be achieved over the course of the Chavela legacy. It was imperative however that the venue was engaging as soon as it’s doors opened and as such the palette employs subtle contrasts between matte & gloss surfaces & highlights are emphasised in copper tones., focusing on the Mr Cooper pendants courtesy of Coco Flip.
As with all Matt Woods Design Projects, there is a heavy focus on the use of sustainable materials with FSC certified plywood used as table tops, recycled fence pailings forming the bar front, recycled blackbutt bar top, bamboo flooring, Low VOC & VOC free paints throughout, and LED feature lighting. The design team has also managed to salvage yet another old terrace door, however this one has remained on it’s hinges, fulfilling its intended purpose.
insideout avido.pdf
The Rough Goods.pdf
DQfeatures pages.pdf
lexus cover story.pdf
VENUE_41_AVIDO.pdf
InDesign 45 Avido.pdf
DQ SID-pg50.pdf
avido.pdf
inside magazine IDEA awards.pdf
QANTAS Mag.pdf
bloodwoodframe.pdf
Green-Issue-14.pdf
timeout-aug10.pdf
gt0610sydreview.pdf
BLOODWOOD.pdf
SydneyMag.pdf
MR - bloodwood.pdf
