Waterloo was in full swing for Saturday Indesign 2026 on 12 September, with Danks Street and its surrounds becoming a lively meeting point for design, making and plenty of memorable moments. Across the precinct, showrooms invited visitors to experiment with colour and materials, see craftsmanship in action, join some of the day’s biggest conversations and enjoy hospitality that carried the energy from morning coffee right through to afternoon drinks.
At Winnings, the program moved effortlessly between food, technology, design and wellbeing. The day began with coffee, breakfast and a gifting suite before the showroom came to life through a packed series of demonstrations and hands-on experiences. Visitors tried pottery with Love Ryan Ceramics, saw the latest Miele cooking technology in action and joined chef and wellness expert Luke Hines for a V-ZUG demonstration shaped around fresh, flavour-driven cooking.
The broader culinary program made the showroom a destination throughout the day. The Miele Airstream brought cooking demonstrations outside, Zip shifted from a morning hydration station to an afternoon spritz bar, Cantina paired wine and cheese with wine-storage technology, and Hitachi joined the chefs from Ora to serve sashimi while demonstrating its vacuum preservation capabilities.
Ideas were just as central. Winnings hosted one of the official Saturday Indesign Design Discussions, turning to the changing idea of the Australian home and the increasingly blurred boundaries between residential, hospitality and wellness design. Moderator Sophie Lanigan was joined by Grace Tham of GroupGSA, Kristen Whittle of Hassell, Emma Nunan of Winnings and Barrington Gohns of Warren and Mahoney for a thoughtful exchange on where typologies can enrich one another and where that overlap can go wrong.
Another conversation brought David Hicks and Sussex together to explore how tapware has moved beyond pure function to become a sculptural and defining part of an interior. With craftsmanship, materiality and product innovation at its heart, the session added another layer to a showroom already brimming with things to taste, try and talk about.
Nearby, Abey and CAV’ART Designer Stone created a rich meeting point between Italian product design and the enduring beauty of natural stone. Abey introduced Fima to Australia through new collections including SO, Flo, Park Lane and Outdoor, inviting visitors to explore the form, proportion, texture and finish of the pieces firsthand. Coffee and cannoli set a warm tone early in the day before The Italian Design Edit encouraged guests to create personalised material combinations.
Related: Surry Hills brings design to life at Saturday Indesign 2026
CAV’ART brought specification and storytelling together through a session on selecting and applying natural stone in contemporary interiors. From expressive statement pieces to quieter layers of texture, the conversation explored the colour directions, material qualities and practical decisions that allow stone to bring warmth and character into a space.
Stone became even more experimental at Talostone, where the 2026 theme of Alchemy took physical form. In partnership with students from Whitehouse Institute of Design, the showroom presented Transforming Matter into Meaning, a series of immersive works that pushed extraordinary stone into unexpected territory and gave emerging designers the freedom to challenge familiar applications.
The program extended from concept to construction. Renee Richmond of SAGE shared the journey involved in turning an interior vision into a resolved home, while stonemason Brooke McCartney of HB Stone Sydney revealed the surprising flexibility of stone and the possibilities of curved, sculptural surfaces. Even the hospitality responded to the material story, with Mapo Gelato translating the colours of Talostone’s Four Seasons marble into four flavours.
Few showrooms embraced colour quite like Fermob Sydney. Visitors moved from pigment and raw material through the factory stories and powder-coating processes behind the brand’s signature finish, with iced matcha and iced lattes providing a bright start to the day. The Feel the Colour roundtable looked at the psychology and emotional pull of different shades, opening up a relaxed conversation about how colour changes the spaces around us.
Guests then had the chance to mix the tone they believed was missing from Fermob’s 2027 palette, putting the design community’s instincts to the test. A striking grazing table by Stories to Gather picked up the warmth of Fermob’s Fire Colours before French Champagne and madeleines brought the day to a fittingly joyful close.
Material exploration continued at Leicht Kitchens, where the Material Bar invited visitors to build palettes using Leicht door finishes and Cosentino benchtops, then share the thinking behind their selections. The showroom itself also became part of the story as DUO Architects joined Leicht Australia to discuss the design process behind Leicht HQ, shortlisted in the retail category at the 2026 Australian Interior Design Awards.
A live cabinet assembly and disassembly revealed the precision engineering and system-based thinking beneath a finished Leicht kitchen. Meanwhile, two evolving installations encouraged visitors to look ahead and look closer, asking how we might live in 2046 and which seemingly small design detail has the power to change everything.
At KODA Lighting, light was something to test, compare and experience. The Sydney Lightspace moved through residential, workplace, hospitality and outdoor applications, while live demonstrations showed how beam angles, fixture placement and wireless controls can shift atmosphere and adapt a space. Acoustic lighting brought another dimension, combining illumination and sound absorption to create quieter and more comfortable workplaces.
KODA’s collaboration with Big Ass Fans connected lighting with air movement and environmental comfort. Technical sales engineer Michael Jouny led CPD presentations on natural ventilation and the use of air movement to improve comfort and energy efficiency in conditioned spaces, giving architects and designers practical insight into creating better-performing environments.
One of Waterloo’s biggest conversations unfolded at Special Lights, where a packed audience gathered to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on architecture and design. Jet Geaghan of Woods Bagot, Kazjon Grace of the University of Sydney and Katherine Turk of SJB joined moderator Timothy Alouani-Roby to place AI within the wider realities of politics, economics and work. This Design Discussion acknowledged the uncertainties surrounding the technology while considering how it might ultimately give designers more time for creative thinking.
Beyond the panel, Special Lights gave visitors plenty of reasons to stay and explore. Unios opened up the mechanics of architectural lighting through a hands-on experience that allowed guests to touch, assemble and test the components behind different effects. Nordlux celebrated Danish design by gifting Faye rechargeable table lamps to the first 280 participants, while European-inspired refreshments and Afterglow cocktails kept the showroom humming into the afternoon.
At Ellison Studios, design culture spilled beyond furniture and into books, music and a little friendly competition. Selected Objects brought a covetable edit of rare, out-of-print and collectible design titles to the Waterloo studio, with coffee by Artificer fuelling browsing throughout the day. The all-day ping-pong tournament introduced some spirited rivalry before the grand final raised the stakes later in the afternoon.
As the outdoor collection moved into the carpark and vinyl began spinning, Drinks and Decks transformed the studio into a neighbourhood block party. It was a brilliant expression of what made Waterloo so enjoyable: serious design and thoughtful ideas sitting comfortably alongside play, music and people simply having a great time together.
From Winnings’ expansive program and Waterloo’s two packed Design Discussions to Talostone’s immersive student installation, Fermob’s joyful colour story and Ellison Studios’ spirited finale, the precinct delivered one memorable experience after another. Abey, CAV’ART Designer Stone, Leicht Kitchens, KODA Lighting, Big Ass Fans and Special Lights added their own distinct mix of materials, expertise and interaction, creating a day that felt generous, energetic and unmistakably Waterloo.
Saturday Indesign
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