Where do you get your creative and artistic eye from?
I’ve been very lucky to have been brought up surrounded by beautiful interiors and my childhood in Ireland was spent surrounded by the colour and style of Irish Georgian country houses. I love their brave use of colours which has had a huge impact on my palette. My mother, an erstwhile art dealer, has a fantastic eye and has always created homes layered with beautiful antiques, artwork, and African textiles.
What was the first piece of art you bought and what made you choose it?
I bought a tiny painting by my then art teacher at school: Richard Stokes. It’s an exquisite abstract painting in a wonderful bright blue and I absolutely fell in love with the colour.
If you had to pick a favourite artist who would it be and why?
Matisse. I love his use of colour and movement. His pieces always bring me joy.
What period of art interests you the most?
20th century.
You create such vibrant spaces filled with colour, furnishings and art, do you have any tips on how to bring them all together?
To my mind, there are no rules! I follow my gut and like to be bold and mix patterns and colours in surprising ways. We work predominantly on residential projects which tends to mean the client is the homeowner, so we find the most important thing in creating a home is to take into account the patterns and priorities of our clients’ day-to-day lives - the way they use the house and the way they see themselves. It’s important the interiors feel like home and appear to have grown organically. We specialise in creating interiors with an authentic sense of accumulation: juxtaposing contemporary works of art and vintage textiles with antique and mid-century furniture, which results in projects anchored by timeless details that feel lived in rather than styled.
How do you go about choosing the art for your interiors?
Often clients have some art already which often means that art is the starting point for our schemes. Recently we’ve had a couple of projects where we’ve had the ability to choose all the art for the projects. We had a great experience working with Cramer and Bell on one such home, where we worked together to put together art suggestions for each room which we then presented to the client. Art is so personal I can’t imagine choosing it for a client without them deciding for themselves what they love, but it certainly is wonderful to be able to present a curated short list of our favourites!
Do you own any prints that are a particular favourite?
I have several prints that I love by my clever friend Katyuli Lloyd. My favourite is a lithograph of a tree. It’s a black and white silhouette and I find it extremely emotive.
Please can you choose your favourite print from our April drop and a few words as to why?
I absolutely love Richard Whadcock’s 'Morning Song’. It has the most extraordinary atmosphere and is somehow simultaneously calming and exciting to look at: the still of night turning into a bright new day. The colours are extraordinary.
