SL Meets The Hotel Designer With Enduring Style

SPACE & PLANNING

My designs are intended to make people feel instantly relaxed. It’s the combination of colours, textures, and the choice of furniture and accessories which make a room work. Layering and details can help create an atmosphere which people don’t want to leave.

Designing small spaces is a joy. A cosy room or nook is always fun. Embrace the fact that it's small rather than trying to make it feel larger. Use warm, dark colours and furniture which is scaled correctly for the space. Alternatively, apply tongue and groove panelling to the walls and paint it a pale colour – it helps the back drop of the room look interesting and characterful.

A very large room can be challenging. I recently completed a project which had a 25sq metre room – that made me a little nervous! But after working on the plans, it became clear how to zone and ear-mark different areas for different uses. Screens, plants and artwork can divide up larger spaces to stop it feeling too vacuous. 

DECORATING

Pinks, whites, pale blues and minty greens... I’m very drawn to pale colours that create a feeling of calm. However, when designing  the colour scheme for a room, the direction it faces and the light is always at the forefront of my mind. Not all colours work in every room. 

Don’t be afraid to use pattern in a room, especially florals, botanical prints, checks and stripes. Mixing these things together is very satisfying and can work really well as long as the scales don’t compete with each other. For example, if you’re using a large-scale floral, use a smaller scale stripe with it. If all the print scales are similar, it won't be successful. Mix things up and try not to be formulaic.

Mixing ages and styles of furniture is great, but a room shouldn't become a mis-match of lots of different things. You don’t want it to look like a jumble sale. Have one or two standout pieces and add antiques or your favourite heirlooms for extra character. We often re-upholster an antique chair with a modern fabric, or re-frame an old piece of art so it sits more comfortably in a contemporary setting.

Where possible, avoid trends as they can date quickly. That said, at the moment, I’m using more curvaceous upholstery pieces, such as sofas and armchairs with rounded backs and arms. Ceramics and glassware, too, are very current and can add reflection, light and cooler surfaces to a room. Add pops of colour through accessories – think candlesticks, bowls, vases and lots of basketry items for texture. 

Spend money on the ‘bones’ of the house, if you’re planning to stay there for a long time. By that, I mean the interior architecture, the joinery and the fixed wall and floor finishes. These are the things which are difficult and costly to change further down the line. Curtains and furniture should always be secondary.

You can economise on fabrics and rugs. We often have restrictions on what we can spend on certain projects and, as designers, it’s important to fulfil a brief even on a tight budget. We've used dust sheets for curtains and also old army blankets with an interesting contrast stitch on the leading edge. I’ve used brown craft paper as a wallpaper, inexpensive ticking on sofas and chairs, and Ikea do fantastic sisal and jute rugs. Also, one of my absolute favourite things to do is to go to markets to pick up bargains – it’s amazing what you can find.

KITCHENS

The kitchen is my favourite room to design – it's the ‘heart’ of the home. For a commercial space it has to be the bar – the ‘heart’ of the hotel or club. These spaces are a focal point where people gather to eat, drink and enjoy themselves. 

Family and friends tend to hang out in the kitchen to keep the cook company. So make it feel like a welcoming room rather than just a functional food prep space. An island unit acts as a barrier between the ‘chef’ and the family – but it also doubles up as a breakfast counter or a bar in the evening. Ensure you have comfortable dining chairs and if you can fit it in an armchair or sofa, this can help create a more informal and welcoming vibe.  

Lighting in a kitchen is key and although functional spotlights are essential in some areas, think about installing evening lighting on a separate circuit – perhaps wall lights, uplighters in the reveals of windows or pendants over a table or island unit. Put them on a dimmer so you can change the mood easily.

Tiled floors in the ‘working’ kitchen area are preferable, but use wood everywhere else. Wood has a lovely acoustic and is nicer to walk on with bare feet. Practically, it’s better to have a hard and wipeable surface where there’s water and food preparation.

Opt for two or three different work surfaces in a kitchen, depending on the size. Calacatta marble looks fantastic and wood surfaces are also warmer and nice to lean on. I recently installed a lava stone work surface on an island in a beautiful soft blue/grey, which worked so well with the wood work surfaces elsewhere.

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