DE S IGN CENTRE
“Comfort comes from knowing the space has been shaped with care; craft is central to that, whether it’s a hand-turned ceramic, a perfectly proportioned piece of joinery, or an antique chair with a life before yours. These materials and pieces carry a certain weight, a soul. They bring calm, depth and longevity.” Bunny Turner concurs: “Dining chairs you can sit in and chat for hours, squishy sofas that you can sink into after a long day’s skiing, a table in just the right spot for a drink, room for a log basket to replenish a fire, plenty of hanging spaces for dripping coats after a long muddy walk; all these moments of thoughtful design create an environment that is easy to relax in, and it encourages you to live well in the space.” As well as craft and comfort, colour is pivotal. “We often talk about the ‘temperatureʼ
of a palette, how subtle shifts in tone can change the mood of a room from energising to restful,” says Romanos Brihi, co-founder of the London interior design practice Studio Vero alongside Venetia Rudebeck. “Materials, too, are incredibly powerful: natural textures such as timber, stone or hand-finished plaster bring warmth and a sense of authenticity you simply canʼt replicate with synthetic finishes.” In an interview on the main stage at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour in spring 2025,
the multi-disciplinary designer Faye Toogood told Emily Tobin, editor of The World of Interiors, that, in her view, the rise in AI requires a human-centric approach to creating homes. Staying true to her unique ethos, her creative processes upend expectations and embrace joy and experimentation – design awakens our senses, heals, gives us space to think and engenders wellbeing. “I am more about emotional intelligence,” she says. She believes there should also be an emphasis on ensuring that living spaces are not burdened with the toxic load presented by chemicals in water and textiles. “We have a responsibility to make sanctuaries that are safe and healthy,” she adds. Increasingly, designers are also considering how we perceive the relationship between
inside and out. “Windows not only frame the view – they’re the art on the walls,” says Tamsin Saunders, of architectural interior design practice Home & Found. “A garden is never static; it quite literally brings us and our homes to life,” she adds. Interior designer Isabella Worsley believes that a view will enhance perception of internal space and its mood: “An awareness of the environment beyond can encourage a sense of calm and perspective that extends well beyond their physical boundaries,” she says. Saunders believes that earthy materials such as timber and stone can enhance this feeling of connection. “The results can often extend beyond the physical, providing a deeper sense of place for those living in it,” she says. Whether inside or out, man-made or natural, the emphasis of the design world is on humanity rather than digital inanity.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A seaside new-build by Isabella Worsley, with cabinet curtains in ‘Thick Klee’ fabric by Güell Lamadrid (available at Colony by Casa Luiza); Bunny Turner sourced an ‘Aswan’ table light from Vaughan for the snug of her home; a home office with a view by Tamsin Saunders, with a lampshade in ‘Dans la Forêt’ fabric from Décors Barbares at Tissus d’Hélène
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