Despite its slightly rough and ready reputation, there’s more to Redfern/Waterloo than social housing blocks and stylish hipster bars. In recent years, this inner-west creative quarter has moved beyond quirky galleries and offbeat interiors stores to bigger and slicker things, emerging from this civic transformation to become an exciting design and retail destination. Sure there’s raw creativity, energy and collaboration in abundance here, but you’ll also find a certain elegance, with sophisticated interiors players appealing to a more grown-up crowd.

Offering a chic edit of furniture, accessories, rugs, wallpaper, lighting and fittings, the PYD Building in Waterloo is beloved of interior decorators, trade specifiers and fans of trad-modern homewares. For Indesign, PYD attracted a mix of dandy silver foxes and bright young things hopping off shuttle buses to cruise the four participating showrooms. Graphic pink lines led the way, arrowing from the entry hall up to the floors above. The Country Trader signalled its newest decorative pieces with pink balloons amid its eclectic cornucopia of curiosities, including new designs from the Restoration Hardware Catalogue by Van Thiel. Door hardware was showcased at Mother of Pearl & Sons Trading, with a series of new global ranges from France, Germany, New Zealand and the US. Swoonsome Pure Interiors’ major draw card was an innovative range of waterproof wall covering by Wall&Deco. Koda Lighting’s star launch was the graphic ‘Wireflow’ pendant light range by Arik Levy for Vibia.

A skip across Danks Street, Tongue n Groove’s beautiful new flagship showroom created an immersive experience, with outsize visuals of forest scenes concertinaed along one wall, contrasting with different timber floorboards. The new kid on the block was ‘Kannelle’, formed from millefeuille-like layers of pale European oak.

Near neighbour Pure Concept was also experiential, combining gorgeous pieces from major European brands in a sensual residential-style setting in its recently launched showroom. Chefs demonstrated Italian dishes at the Arclinea kitchen, sleek Rimedesio door systems and wardrobes lined the space, an outdoor kitchen held court in an interior garden and fragrant Culti home diffusers showed the importance of scent to showroom seduction. Wall&Deco’s waterproof, custom-designed Wet System decorative membrane featured in tandem with Antonio Lupi’s sculptural bathrooms, both in a print with graphic phrases as a shower backdrop and as a chandelier motif on a bathroom wall.

A DJ entertained a packed crowd at Reece Bathroom Life, gathered for the Reece BIA (Bathroom Innovation Awards) 2015 – and graze on Spanish ham and chocolate. A judging panel including Australian interior designer Shaynna Blaze and architect/designer Roberto Palomba selected Bryce Beard as student winner and Michael Wilds as professional victor for their innovative bathroom creations. An interactive installation by Reece and 6 Hats for The Project explored bathing rituals. We also loved the new ‘Issey Z8 Butterfly’ bespoke bathroom furniture range by Australian furniture label Zuster for Reece. Sisters Wilhelmina McCarroll and Fleur Sibbel demonstrated its secret side drawers for make-up and clever tall boy with integrated laundry basket.