The Interior Design Business

From bold concepts and standout schemes to the latest collections making their international debut, WOW!house has firmly established itself as an exciting and pivotal stage in the interior design calendar. In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of WOW!house 2026, talking with designers, brands and sponsors about what we can expect to see at this year’s event. We discuss the creative energy...

WOW!house is renowned as an international showcase for acclaimed designers, bold, emerging voices and stellar brands with creative collaborations transforming ideas into fully realised, inspirational spaces. In this episode, we explore the true impact and potential of WOW!house through the voices of those shaping it from the inside. We’re joined by Natalia Miyar, who designed the Bedroom within WO...

Traditionally, interior designers in the UK were well-heeled, well-connected lady decorators with good posture and expensive handbags, creating interiors for people just like them.  One could even go so far as to say ‘Pale, Stale and Female’. It felt like this would never change, but then, in 2020, seemingly out of nowhere, a charity called United in Design appeared with a mission to shine a light...

We are all eagerly anticipating WOW!house 2026 which will run from 2nd June until the 2nd July so what better time to take a look at the phenomenon that is WOW!house. From a standing start in 2022, WOW!house has, in 5 short years, grown to become the UK’s premier showcase for luxury interior design talent and style. Going way beyond the mere setting of trends, WOW!house has come to embody the aspi...

We live in a mostly mass-produced, machine-made world of globalised banality. Interior spaces from north to south look and feel the same. Yet, as human beings, we revel in our individuality and crave the means to add a personal stamp to the way we live and the places we inhabit. We yearn to possess things that are unique to us and that no one else can have. Artisan-made items created by skilled an...

As interior design gains ground as a serious career and profession, more and more academic institutions are offering degree and master’s level interior design courses to teach the rudiments of this highly technical subject. But is this enough?  Susie and Jeff are joined by three renowned designers - Charu Gandi from Elicyon, Franky Rousell from Jolie Studio and Laura Hammett from Laura Hammett Int...

Entering an interior design award can boost visibility, credibility, and client trust - but not all awards are created equal. In this episode, Jeff and Susie are joined by two BIID award-winning designers, Jennifer Hamilton from The Vawdrey House and Melinda Kiss from Keyhole Interiors for a deeper dive into the awards process. We'll explore how designers can identify award schemes with genuine me...

Interior designers have a bad rep on building sites for being demanding, difficult and dis-organised, but is this fair? In their drive for perfection, are interior designers their own worst enemy? Do designers efficiently provide the information needed by builders, or do contractors sometimes wilfully misunderstand their design intentions? What can designers and contractors do to make each other’s...

Taking The Strain - How To Be a Safe Pair of Hands. The only things in life more stressful than building or renovating a home are bereavement, divorce, and redundancy. And yet the finished result should be life-changing for the client and worth all the pain of the experience. To assist their clients, interiors designers must act as a safe pair of hands, ready to support and guide through the ups a...

It has often been said that interior design would be a great job if it wasn’t for the clients. They can be unappreciative, indecisive, and unreasonable even when their project is on track and bellicose, belligerent, and litigious when things go wrong. In fact, the designer-client relationship which often begins as a love affair can sometimes end tragically in the bitterest of divorces. But is ther...

Interior designers know that lighting is crucial to the success of every project. Bad lighting can be simultaneously gloomy and glary – deadening colours and flattening textures, while good lighting can make even basic decorative schemes sing. But lighting is also a highly complex and technical minefield that designers must somehow learn to navigate.    Susie and Jeff are joined by Lee Lovett, fou...

In this episode, Jeff and Susie dive into the dynamic world of pop-up installations while exploring the enduring appeal of Decorex. Recorded at the Sofas & Stuff showroom on the Kings Road, they’re joined by designers Tolù Adẹ̀kọ́(Adẹ̀kọ́ & Co) and Lucy Mayers (Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler), both creators of standout temporary spaces for Decorex 2025. Together, they explore what makes a...

It is often said that Interior Design is 5% creativity and 95% uphill slog. Most of what we do involves translating a creative vision into a set of instructions for someone else to build and then battling through to make sure the vision is realised. So, while the process is important, without that precious initial spark there is no interior to build. All designers suffer at times from designer’s b...

We are joined by Mark Tremlett, founder and managing director of Naturalmat, Fiona Watkins founder and creative director of Fiona Watkins Studio and Melanie Zarins, Project Director at international design powerhouse, tp bennett to explore the topic of wellness and interior design. Interior design has evolved way beyond mere aesthetics to embrace wellness as a core principle. Whether designing hom...

Interior designers undertake complex, highly skilled, technical work, within a framework of building safety regulations and consumer protection legislation yet are still largely credited only for good taste and an ability to shop. But are designers their our own worst enemies? And if that is the case, how should they sharpen up their act, disabuse the public of this perception, and command the res...

It’s a problem most interior designers are familiar with. You have been given a brief for a lovely project, and you quote a fee based on that brief. But then the actual job turns out to be much more complex and difficult than you had expected and nothing like what you had quoted for. What can designers do to protect themselves from goalposts that move and projects that creep?  And what steps do th...

Intimately connected with the interior of our homes, we use our outdoor spaces to relax, eat, socialise and connect with nature, and we appreciate the contribution they make to our wellbeing and mental health. But who should be trusted with the design of these significant spaces? Is it the role of the interior designer or the garden designer? And should these relate to the interior or the exterior...

We live in interesting, if not very challenging, times. But how do global conflicts, trade wars and economic uncertainties impact on the cosy world of interior design? Is this turmoil having a detrimental effect on our international clients both at home and abroad? And if so, can interior designers do anything to protect themselves from the chill winds of change? Jeff and Susie are joined by inter...

A Passivhaus is any building, new or retrofitted, that achieves the highest certifiable standard of energy efficiency while using negligible fuel for heating and cooling. As the planet warms, this is clearly where we should all be heading, but passive houses are not without their detractors, who claim that these buildings are boxy, stuffy and chilly. And is it enough for a building to be Passivhau...

The British have always been famously crazy about their animals, cossetting them with as much tender treatment as they do their children. Today there are 13.5 million dogs, 12.5 million cats, 1.5 million birds and 1.0 million pet rabbits in the UK, plus nearly a million each of tortoises, horses, Guinea pigs, hamsters and snakes. Unsurprisingly, interior designers are now being asked to design spa...

Everyone has had the experience of packing up a home, removing the pictures and personal objects and realising with a shock that suddenly the space is no longer theirs. Functional interior spaces that meet our practical needs are essential, but it seems it is the art and objects we use to personalise those spaces that give them their heart and soul. We instinctively know that art in all its glorio...

Interior designers are forever being asked for their opinions on the latest trends in paint colours, kitchen, tiles, furniture styles and so on. And the supposed answers fill the pages of countless glossy style mags and newspapers, encouraging consumers to update their homes. But how should we respond to these questions? As we move away from the throw-away attitude of recent times and journey towa...

Designers rely heavily on contractors to faithfully execute and deliver on their visions for our clients. This reliance can mean that it is often difficult to fully control the finished quality of our projects, a situation that can vary from being merely frustrating to utterly tragic. But is there anything we can do to prevent this? How can designers ensure they have the best-fit contractor for th...

In a world far, far, away from your average night club, cult rapper Stormzy, with a little help from design dynamo Sally Anne McCoy and her friends at the Cream Group, has just opened, House Party, the ultimate party place in a 7-storey building in London’s Soho. But what is the back story to the project? What inspired the team to come up with their wildly original theme and why is it so perfect f...

In this episode, we look ahead to Decorex 2024, Europe’s leading event for interior design professionals, taking place at Olympia London between Sunday 6th October and Wednesday 9th October. Event Director, Sam Fisher and Marketing Manager, Carly Barclay set the scene for this year's show. We also hear from Tim Butcher at Fromental, Shayne Brady at Brady Williams, Jules Haines from The Haines Coll...