Dulux Colour Awards 2026

What the judges said...

“Prioritising colour as the primary design driver in the reimagining of this Yarra Valley treetop home sees it determine not only the architectural language but also set the emotional tone. Its rich, earthy palette, derived from the neighbouring landscape, is evocatively applied and underpinned by masterful colour theory and conviction. The design practice chose Dulux hues for their ‘nuanced tonal depth and capacity to shift through calibrated tints and shades’, echoing the hues of oxidised earth, eucalyptus canopy, dry grasses and shifting skies to create an interior that is symbiotic with its natural context. Colour is ingrained in structural and joinery elements, so its presence is felt as much as seen. It is a mature palette, featuring unlikely pairings of chartreuse and olive, burgundy and earthy red, yellow and murky green, applied in subtle shifts that build a cohesive tonal narrative throughout the home. Again, drawing upon nature’s organisation, the deeper, grounding tones are applied at lower levels and tempered with a powdered blue on the ceiling, with the elevating impact of a vast open sky. The tone is precise, its placement unifying, and the cohesion that is struck with clever inclusions such as this demonstrates how colour can enhance everyday life. Saturated in colour, individual spaces are immersive yet seamlessly connected to tell a story about the way paint can do the heavy lifting in a low-budget project with unremarkable structural beginnings. In reflecting the character of its inhabitants, this scheme also represents something uniquely Australian – humble, unscripted, accessible.”

Sarah-Jane Pyke, judge