Popular Queenstown restaurant Billy's said it was proud to have taken home a coveted prize at the 2026 Dulux Design Awards.
Acclaimed Ayrburn restaurant Billy’s has been named the winner of the Commercial Interior - Public & Hospitality category at the 2026 Dulux Colour Awards.
In a fittingly colourful gala event, the winners of the prestigious 40th Dulux Colour Awards celebrated the milestone occasion at the Sydney Opera House. The symbolic moment honoured four decades of awarding exceptional colour use in the built environment, as well as the extraordinary winning projects chosen from a record number of entries across New Zealand and Australia this year.
Judge Simone Haag said the architects have fully embraced the brief to transform Billy’s setting within a restored 1890s homestead in Queenstown.
The building’s Victorian character is overlaid with a confident contemporary vision, creating a richly immersive environment well suited to the luxury dining experience it offers.
“The outcome is deliberately transportive: a layered, high-impact interior defined by a maximalist approach to colour, texture and materiality, underpinned by a rigorous level of specification,” said Haag.
“Drawing inspiration from the richly decorated interiors of European members’ clubs, colour operates as a central narrative device, clearly differentiating the five dining rooms, bars and external conservatory. Each space is imbued with its own identity, informed by the female figures associated with the original homestead.”
Haag added that there was no end to detail, from a rust red room referencing the celebrated tale of a daughter’s red beret, to a sage-toned interior supporting floral wallpaper in homage to the matriarch’s love of gardening.
“High gloss paint finishes introduce reflection and movement, amplified by marble, metal and mirrored surfaces, while painted ceilings and structural elements heighten the sense of immersion. Though distinct in character, the sequence of spaces is carefully calibrated to feel interconnected. Executed with confidence and restraint, this is maximalism at its most resolved, richly expressive yet composed, refined yet welcoming.”
She said the result is an extraordinary atmosphere shaped by assured and deeply considered use of colour.
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