Marion Hall Best

Marion Hall Best (1905-1988), modernist designer was regarded as one of Australia’s most important and influential 20th century interior designers. She was one of the first professionals to practice interior design emerging from the period where interior decoration was provided by department stores and art furnishers of the 1920s into an independent service provided by a practitioner. According to a report published in the Sydney Morning Herald by Alex May, Marion was “the first truly international designer” in Australia.

Dubbo born and initially trained as a nurse, Marion Hall Best’s eye for colour and texture won over. Her attendance at Sydney’s arts and crafts classes in the 1920s - provided a platform for developing contacts, which transpired into a series of private commissions. After completing first-year architecture at the University of Sydney in 1938, Marion undertook a New-York based correspondence course in interior decoration.

Other examples of her entrepreneurial spirit and eye for good design were evident in Marion’s establishment of Marion Best fabrics in the late 1930s. She sourced and stocked furniture by Gordon Andrews, Clement Meadmore, and Roger McLay along with printed textiles by Frances Burke and Douglas Annand and prominent international brands. Evidence of Marion’s ability to resonate with her clients was the store’s longevity, remaining in business through to 1974. She also opened a small shop in Sydney’s Rowe Street – where the precinct’s arts and craft leaning provided a source of inspiration for the local design profession. Marion Hall Best who is commemorated on the State Heritage Register with her Regent Theatre foyer design in Wollongong (1957), was a founding member of the Society of Interior Designers of Australia. Her impactful interior work was often a topic of conversation.