Meet The Interior Designer: Alex Dauley

A creative fashion stylist in South London looking for a calm, grounded sanctuary that reflected their lifestyle.

I was briefed to create a warm, modern home that encouraged slow living and deeper connection, and acted as an escape from hectic schedules and high-pressured work environments. The home needed to transport you to an oasis of calm and tranquillity.

Working with an Edwardian canvas, we needed to celebrate the traditional, modern and vintage – in a way that felt authentic and relaxed. As always, we led with a lifestyle-first direction, using gentle textures, softened silhouettes and an earth-toned palette to create emotional warmth and everyday ease.

The property has a minimal colour palette consisting of warm neutrals, cream, inky blue/black, green and taupe. We showcased natural materials throughout, with heavily veined marbles, reclaimed wood floors, rich walnut and aged brass. The neutral walls were treated in a limewash finish which adds a depth of texture and movement. Furnishings were predominantly a mix of mid-century modern designs and vintage and antique finds. We tried to keep the new pieces to a minimum, so we could find some real gems with patina and a sense of history. The result was a scheme that showcased how moving from light to dark spaces added to the sensory experience.

The home feels restorative: a sanctuary shaped around the clients’ real routines and emotional needs. It doesn’t fight against the home’s architecture, despite extensive construction and remodelling. The space feels rooted and easy.

I love this bathroom. It manages to be full of drama despite having a very minimal material and colour palette. We positioned a skylight above the bath, so you can soak and look at the stars with a glass of fizz.

A couple wanting a practical yet elevated kitchen/diner that supported connection and calm.

Using the principles at the heart of my developing framework, I looked at how this family actually lived: their movement, rituals and energy flow. Spaces were created to nurture both ease and togetherness. The client loved Japandi (Scandinavian/Japanese) inspired interiors that balanced functionality and texture, and a side return extension provided the extra space required for the optimum layout of a family-friendly, kitchen diner. 

The design was minimal and focused on craftmanship, precision. We flooded the space with natural light and used materials that had a connection to nature. When planning a kitchen, function and optimum layout are always the first priorities to establish. 

I knew I wanted custom joinery, with clean lines and crisp edges. The star of the show and my first decision was the choice of timber we would use, as it was such a focal piece in the space. I chose maple, a light wood, with subtle graining, which spoke to the Scandi design direction and our accent colour was green, which we would weave into the tiles and soft furnishings. Soft neutrals, light woods, warm metallics and layered textiles – all practical yet stylish finishes.

It is a future-proofed design, so it’s functional without losing sophistication and a testament to the idea that family homes can feel both beautiful and deeply practical. The layout makes the most of the narrow space and the colour palette increases the sense of space, calm and relaxation.

A conceptual room designed for WOW!House, themed around date night.

The brief was to craft an immersive, cinematic environment rooted in mood and emotion. The space needed to showcase the quality of high-end hidden AV, but seamlessly woven into an aspirational interior. I wanted to prove you don’t need to compromise the integrity of the design to use AV, the two can happily coexist.

The theme of the room was “Date Night” and the physical manifestation of what life looks like when the kids have flown the nest. This room was a true representation of who I am as a designer – from the overall aesthetic to the way in which I collaborate with brands and suppliers. The placement of narrative and storytelling was at the heart of the design, and it was an aspirational reflection of my future life with my husband and my family. I treated this space as a sensory narrative, using saturated colour, rich texture, curves and atmospheric lighting to evoke intimacy and anticipation.

I had so much fun layering materials in this space. I used dark woods, brass, velvet, lacquer, ceramic, glass and suede, championing craftmanship and artisanal elements. The space feels rich, sexy and sophisticated with the interior architecture crafted with curved walls and ceilings to create a cocooning escape. The scheme is bold and unapologetic, with intention and emotion evident in every design decision. The room was hugely successful and I will be recreating it in my own home. My favourite moment was seeing my husband’s reaction to the space, realising that this was my aspiration for our future lives together.

Both myself and my AV partner Nucleus AV really pushed ourselves in terms of our ambition for the space. To create a room this detailed in a 6m x 4m space for a month-long exhibition, was a huge undertaking, but one we had to deliver. To be given full creative freedom and control of a space without constraint is the magic of WOW!house. 

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