We are so excited to have coffee with none other than the award-winning designer, Katharine Pooley.
Our passion for design does not end with creating beautiful baby nursery rooms. From our luxury children’s furniture to our comfortable nursing rocking chairs, we believe in the fundamentals of both aesthetically pleasing design that marries form as well as function. Katharine Pooley happens to be one of our favourite interior designers. The luxury interior designer in Chelsea works with clients across the world to develop beautiful interiors inspired by the client and their lifestyles. We sat down with Katharine for a quick-fire chat to discuss her designs, life, and travels.
Katharine, thank you for meeting with us. How and why did you become an interior designer?
I have always been inspired by beautiful aesthetics and harmony in design. From a young age, I was able to travel and experience new places, peoples and cultures which exposed me to a wealth of different designs and tastes. Before creating my company I enjoyed looking at properties, my own included, as a way to reflect the personalities, lifestyles, and tastes of the inhabitants. Each home, like each person, is unique and my job is to translate my client’s lifestyle into their home. I enjoy understanding my client and their tastes and bringing together their vision with my own to create beautiful interiors and spaces.
We often find when designing in London that space is a premium. What advice do you have for maximising the use of space in a property or room?
Space can either be constraining or something to embrace. When looking into a space, regardless if it is the kitchen, bedroom or bathroom, I always try to understand how the room will be used and how the space can be maximised. For example, choosing furnishings and furniture that can complement the area, not relying too much on objects that can enclose the space and the use of natural light and mirrors. There is always a balance to my designs and space is one of the features that need to be used in a way that creates harmony in a tasteful and unique way.
Within our designs, we often focus on one part of the property; the nursery. How do you create a coherent scheme across an entire house?
For myself each room is unique but of course, will fit into the overall scheme of a property. I think that it is important to capture a personality and function within each room that can be used to create a flow between each room. I often will work with similar tones, fabrics, and finishes that complement each other if they were in the same room but expand them across the property.
What would be your dream property to design?
That’s a very good question! I have been fortunate enough to spend a great deal of time in Africa where the people, cultures, and environment have had a positive impact on myself. I would love to create a hunting lodge using very rustic, burnt colours that can be lifted by dashes of silver or gold. The natural materials, stones, and fabrics all could work beautifully to create a luxury hunting lodge or retreat that overlooks the Serengeti.
We know about your love of traveling. What are your travel tips?
Never forget your passport! I think travel has a lot to do with the people who you go with. Be it my work colleagues or family, travel for me has always been an exciting endeavour and I love to share my experiences with people who mean a lot to me. I think the biggest tip I can offer is to be open to experiences and fully go for it!
Finally, what are your essentials for a nursery?
Well, a nursery is a place of rest, play and study and I think it is important to mix these three function. A beautiful bed, ample space for play and organisation for books, paints and other crafts can assist in the layout and design. My biggest essential for a nursery would be the cot - a place your baby can rest and recover, where their dreams can formulate and where you also can leave your child and have 5 minutes to yourself.
Once again we would like to thank Katharine letting us into her world and sharing her insights into design. For more information on the luxury interior designer and more contact enquiries@katharinepooley.com
