DE S IGN CENTRE
As it is in clutter. Clearly, some types of mess are always best hidden away,
but with clever design, much of the stuff of daily life can be celebrated, proving that there is beauty in utility. Sophie Rowell, founder of Côte de Folk, a studio fast becoming known for crafting refined, functional spaces that reflect how their owners want to feel, likes to create “everyday moments”. In one home, the addition of a specially designed upholstered bench made an inviting place for the three children to sit together to put on their shoes each morning. In another, she turned the bedside storage into a smile-raising feature that captured the client’s sense of play. For Emma Ainscough, whose London studio takes a person-centred
approach to each of its projects, being conscious of the areas that will bring clutter and designing for it from the start is vital to the making of an authentic home. “It’s a mistake to think that an interior designer’s role is to create a picture-perfect backdrop,” she explains. “Rather, we want to give clients the confidence to add things. We use open shelves and it’s a mark of success if we go back six months later and find they’re full of elevated essentials.” US-born, London-based designer Leonora Hamill, a new name on House
& Garden’s prestigious HG 101 list, likes to source the final character-bringing layers with her clients. For a recent project in Brooklyn, she took the owners to New York City gallery Cove Landing, where they all fell in love with an
engraving (Hamill believes that having a shared aesthetic is essential to a successful project). Back at the house, they hung it in the drawing room where, over the course of this two-year project, it was slowly joined by other curious and meaningful things. In a world where time and human connection feel limited and instant
gratification is a click away, slow and personal have become the new luxuries. Sophie Paterson and her eponymous studio specialise in super-high-end residential interiors, and here too there has been a shift towards something more intimate. “Even when we work with developers, we always build out the personality of the likely buyer,” she explains. “These days, it’s less about obvious cliché luxury and more about considered personal details, such as a dream boot room with plenty of storage for the kids’ sports kit and an integrated bed for the family pet.” Our homes are meant to be sanctuaries; places that embrace us and spark
joy, where we can express ourselves freely. By embracing a working style that puts people first – taking time to build a relationship with clients, meeting makers, visiting showrooms where fabric can be felt and sofas sat on – the best designers are delivering beautiful houses that are true reflections of the people who live in them. In other words, homes for human life in all its messy, ever- evolving and unique glory.
ABOVE: A classic and clean-lined scheme for a Grade-II listed home near London's Hyde Park by Sophie Paterson; the 'Clove' stools are a part of the designer's collection for Loom Furniture. Paterson says she looks beyond the clichés of luxury living in her super-high-end schemes – every home should include considered personal details that make life easier
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