Ensemble Wins a 2026 Australian Good Design Award
Ensemble has been recognised as a Winner in the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards, in Product Design: Hardware and Building. The story behind our entry, the detail at the centre of the system, and the full jury citation.
We are enormously proud to share that Ensemble has been recognised as a Winner in the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards, in the Product Design: Hardware and Building category.
This one means a great deal to us. The Australian Good Design Awards have been running since 1958 — they are Australia’s longest-running international design awards — and every entry is assessed by an independent jury of more than one hundred Australian and international design experts, against three criteria: Good Design, Design Innovation and Design Impact. To have Ensemble looked at closely by that room, and to come away with a Winner accolade, is a genuine honour.
What we entered
The words below are taken from our submission — Entry 10222 — largely as we wrote them.
Ensemble is a modular cabinet handle system composed of interchangeable components in metal, marble, and timber. It enables over 400 combinations, allowing materials to be paired and coordinated to reflect surrounding surfaces and finishes with clarity and intent.
The challenge
Material diversity has become central to contemporary interiors, particularly within kitchens and bathrooms, yet cabinet hardware remains largely constrained to fixed forms and single-material finishes. This limits its ability to integrate with surrounding surfaces and often results in compromise at the final stage of specification. While bespoke hardware can address this, it is often inaccessible due to cost, lead times, and complexity, highlighting a gap within the current market.
The solution
Ensemble responds to this gap by repositioning cabinet hardware as a modular system. Components were developed across metal, marble, and timber, each resolved to a consistent geometry to enable interchangeability. The design process focused on proportion, connection, and how materials meet. Iterative prototyping refined alignment across variations.
The detail at the centre
Holding the whole thing together — literally — is the pin and button. Machined from solid aluminium, it is the point where two materials meet, and the detail that makes a piece recognisably ours. It took the longest to resolve: the same junction had to sit perfectly whether it was landing on stone, timber or metal, and each of those behaves a little differently.
Everything around it is deliberately quiet. The premise was to reduce the handle to its essential parts, then let those parts be put together with precision. Because the form is minimal, material and proportion do the talking — which means a piece can sit quietly within a room, or stand in contrast to it, depending entirely on what you pair it with.
The impact
Ensemble establishes a considered yet adaptable approach to hardware specification. Its modular structure brings individual components together as a cohesive whole, allowing materials and finishes to be coordinated to reflect the surrounding interior palette within a consistent framework of form and proportion. Components can be reconfigured or replaced over time, extending product lifespan and maintaining relevance as interiors evolve.
What we hoped for — and what we enjoy most when we see it — is a direct connection between someone and the materials in their own space. Room to be restrained, or to experiment, and to end up with something genuinely tailored without the cost and complexity that usually comes with it.
Key features
- Modular hardware system with interchangeable components
- Offered as pull handles, knobs, and wall hooks
- Over 400 combinations across formats, sizes, and materials
- Designed to coordinate with surrounding interior materials and finishes
- Consistent geometry and proportion across all configurations
- Refined connection detailing for precise assembly across varied materials
- Assembled and configured in Melbourne, with timber elements manufactured in-house
- Designed for longevity through replaceable and reconfigurable components
The Ensemble design story, submitted as part of our entry.
What the jury said
“The Jury recognises Ensemble as a refined and beautifully resolved modular cabinet hardware system that demonstrates thoughtful attention to visual detail and material quality. The mix-and-match approach across metal, marble and timber components offers a strong level of personalisation, enabling over 400 combinations that allow hardware to be coordinated with surrounding interior palettes. The flat handle profile creates a clean, contemporary appearance, while the consistent geometry across variations reflects a disciplined design process. The Jury commends the aesthetically refined product suite for its desirable offering and commercial appeal, congratulating the team on creating a versatile solution for customers seeking individual specification. Well done.”
The line we keep coming back to is the last one: a versatile solution for customers seeking individual specification. That is precisely what we set out to make, and it is a quiet thrill to have it described back to us in someone else’s words.
A little about us
Twelve months ago, Ensemble was the spark of an idea. Where it has taken us between then and today is beyond anything we could have imagined.
We can’t wait to see, and to share with you all, what the next twelve months bring.
Pieces are assembled and configured here in Melbourne, and our packaging is made locally, fully recyclable and free from plastic.
Underneath all of it is a fairly simple idea. Cabinet hardware is one of the few things in a room you touch every day, and it is usually decided last, from a narrow range, in a finish that nearly works. We wanted the final decision to belong to the person living with it. Hence the two-part system. Hence the restraint in the form. Hence, in the end, our line: materials, handled.
The entry
- Project — Ensemble
- Entry number — 10222
- Category — Product Design: Hardware and Building
- Accolade — 2026 Australian Good Design Award Winner
- Designed by — David Sloan Kruse and Nigel Robert Brown
- Commissioned by — Sloan Roberts
- Designed in — Australia
About the awards
Established in 1958 under the Industrial Design Council of Australia, the Australian Good Design Awards span thirteen design disciplines and more than thirty categories. The 2026 awards are presented under the theme Design that Leads, with the ceremony at ICC Sydney on Friday 9 October.
