Design before decoration

I don’t decorate. I design spaces based on how people think, move and live.
Decoration matters, of course, but my work comes earlier in the process.

Think of interior design as the all-important base sauce of a great curry. You can layer on the final flavourings and the end result might taste OK, but it will lack depth or identity.

You might refresh a room and still avoid spending time in it. That’s usually a design problem, not a styling one.
As we Brits like to say… you can’t polish a turd.

My, ahem, advancing age is genuinely one of my design superpowers. I’ve plumbed, wired, built, cleared, painted and furnished homes for more than three decades. I understand the practical realities of design.

So yes, I can design you a beautiful cloakroom.
But I’ll also make sure the plumber doesn’t hate you.

Training at the KLC School of Design in London simply formalised what I’d already been doing for years: analysing how people live, spotting pinch points quickly, and helping others reimagine their homes with clarity and purpose.

Understanding you (not just your space)

Before we talk about layouts or logistics, I want to understand you.

Not just what colours you like, but who you are.

What do you do at weekends?
Where do you love going on holiday, and why?
What restaurants make you feel completely at ease?
What scent takes you to a different place?
What makes you laugh so hard you snort?

This is how I start to understand your instincts, your rhythm and your aesthetic. Most people don’t think they have a “style”, but they do. It just shows up in unexpected places.

My job is to spot it, decode it, and translate it into a space that feels like you, not a showroom. We all respond to space emotionally, even if we don’t always know why or how.

Understanding the reality (and the constraints)

At the same time, I’m assessing the reality of the space itself.

As a child I was forever rearranging my bedroom, noticing how moving a bed or a lamp completely changed how the room felt. Later I discovered ergonomics, colour theory, lighting design and acoustics, and realised those shifts in feeling weren’t accidental.

Who actually uses this room, and when?
Where does the natural light fall throughout the day?
Where are the doors, windows and services?
How do different activities overlap?
Is there enough storage? (Almost never.)
Where does the space need to breathe or be flexible?

Good design lives in the relationship between people and constraints. The empty space matters just as much as the furniture, and the best solutions usually come from working with the limits, not fighting them.

Visualising ideas properly

Only once the thinking is solid do we move into visual exploration and collaboration in 3D. That’s where the fun starts, and where ideas become much easier to understand.

I come from a background in technology research and love using the latest rendering software and AI to test potential spaces and make them feel real. It gives both myself and my clients a safe place to explore options, compare ideas and make decisions early, long before anything becomes expensive or permanent.

Used well, technology doesn’t replace creativity. It enhances it.