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Beautifying and making spaces liveable is what interior designers specialise in and there are a handful of these great minds who have not only created beautiful interiors of countless homes, hotels, and public spaces but have also set new standards in the UK design industry with their creativity.
From Kelly Hoppen's signature neutral palettes, to Nina Campbell's timeless elegance.
Their achievements and innovations have left a lasting impact on the industry, making them some of the most sought-after names in interior design today.
1: Kelly Hoppen
First on our list of famous interior designers in the UK is the outstanding Kelly Hoppen. The South African British designer has been dubbed the queen of taupe because of her design patterns which reflect eastern culture mixed with neutral pallets to create clean lines, and a calm and balanced atmosphere.
From a young age, Kelly knew school wasn't for her and dropped out at 16. She started her interior design career by chance when she volunteered to help a family friend design their kitchen. She went on to also design Damiant Hunt's home, a racing driver at the time. Kelly ended up working with more racing drivers and actors.
This launched her into the world of interior design and since then, she has been able to create a successful career of over 40 years and boasts of her very own interior design company “Kelly Hoppen Interiors”.
Awarded a CBE for services to the GREAT Campaign and a MBE for services to interior design in 2009, it's safe to say that Kelly is currently considered UK's most famous interior designer. She has worked on various prestigious design projects for some of the world's famous people like Martin Shaw, David and Victoria Beckham.
She has also designed interiors for some of the most fancy places on earth including private homes, private jets, 5 luxury hotels, yacht, turnkey properties, chalets and cruise ships. You can also say she's somewhat of a celebrity and TV personality. She appeared as a guest judge in the “Great Interior Design Challenge'' and on the popular BBC program”Dragon's Den” for two years. Was featured on ITV’s “This Morning” show and even had her own Channel 5 show “Superior Interiors With Kelly Hoppen''.
Her work has also been featured in countless home magazines, international publications like House & Garden and Elle Decor and she continues to share her vast knowledge through books. She has currently authored nine design books and is still very much invested in major design projects in the UK.
2: Nicky Haslam
If there was ever a name for a jack of all trades and master of all, that would be Nicky Haslam. The English Interior designer is not only great at designing spaces but also a cabernet singer, author of seven books, art editor, book reviewer, literary editor and memoirist. And yes he does all these with the same excellence at which he does in interior design.
Nicky Haslam founded his design company NH Designs in 1972 which was later renamed to Nicky Haslam Studio, an architectural and interior design company that specialises in creating timeless masterpieces in living spaces. Nicky's love for designing started at the tender age of 11 when he got sick with polio and had to stay in his bedroom for months. Bored and with nothing to do, he found himself designing the rooms for the gigantic doll house his parents had bought and the rest we can say is history.
From then, Nicky attended art college for a brief period of three weeks before moving to London in the 1960s. Thereafter, he joined Vogue Magazine and even collaborated with Andy Warhol.
Six years of his life was spent as a cowboy on an Arizona ranch and another two years spent in Hollywood before he finally returned and decided to pick up his first love of designing by returning to the UK to decorate a house for Alex Hesketh.
This marked the beginning of his design career and since then, Nicky Haslam Studio have decorated interiors for residential and commercial buildings for the high and mighty of society including Mick Jagger, Bryan Ferry, Rupert Everett and Rod Stewart.
Nicky has also designed decors for parties for the rich and famous including events for the Lord and Lady de Rothschild, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Jennifer and Simon Murray. The Opera Ball in Hong Kong, A National Gallery Banquet and the Cartier Polo gala lunches at Windsor are some of the high-end events he has worked on.
Even after 50 years in the industry, Nicky doesn't seem to be retiring anytime soon. His signature style of glamorous and witty interior is why his design company still boasts of clients from all across the globe and he keeps inspiring people like Henry Prideaux and Beata Human, who have worked under him to start up their own design careers.
Anouska Hempel, before she became a big name in the interior design industry had initially tried her luck in the movie industry and she did quite well, having featured in some of the best movies of the 70s including “ Scars of Dracula” and “Her Majesty's Secret Service” with George Lazenby as James Bond.
The on screen diva then made a successful switch to interior design after she tried her hands at being a hotelier. Her first noteworthy project that shot her into the limelight was the legendary Blake's Hotel in South Kensington. Which she bought as a neglected and rundown building before working her magic and transforming it into a luxurious building.
This project took Anouska four years to complete and by the time she was done, it was regarded as the first boutique hotel in the world. This marked her big break in the industry and from then onwards, she went on to design and manage two more of these award winning boutique hotels, the Blake's Amsterdam and The Hempel. As the popularity of her hotels grew so did her career and this attracted both the rich and famous including clients like the Beckhams, Quentin Tarantino and Lady Gaga.
Aside from transforming hotels, Anouska has also worked on the interiors of two yachts ( including her own), she has worked in stores for big brands like Van Cleef & Arpels, Louis Vuitton, Lokum and Henry Cottons. Working with Princess Margaret during the creation of her memorial garden and designing couture clothes for both Princess Margaret and Diana is also part of her big achievements.
Anouska’s design style can be easily described as ‘modern minimalism’ merging contemporary pieces with the luxury of antiques to create a theatrical yet cosy atmosphere. She is considered a legend in her field and was mentioned as one of the Top 100 interior designers in the world by the 2002 Architectural Digest.
Nina Campbell is celebrated for her timeless, elegant designs and luxurious fabrics. Her career began at the age of 19 with a position at Sybil Colefax & John Fowler’s London based furniture and wallpaper design company. Nina started off as a tea maker but eventually moved up to become one of their designers and after working for three years, she decided to establish her own decorating business in 1972. This business move proved to be successful as she has gone on to design for royalty and celebrities, and her home collections are highly sought after.
Some of Nina's early works includes redecorating the popular members-only Annabel's nightclub in Berkeley square and designs for a Scottish castle. Seeing the fantastic job she did on these projects, Mark Birkey, also a nightclub owner, reached out to Nina for a partnership and together they opened Campbell & Birley in 1970, a retail shop for selling quality china imported from Europe, and luxurious home furniture. However this partnership ended when Birley decided to take up wine business and Nina Campbell LTD was born.
And even after 50 years in the industry, Nina is still actively involved in the operations of her design company, with her signature style being a fusion of cultures, mixing fabrics, bold patterns and colours with romantic influences from Italy, England and France. Nina’s iconic work in the span of her 50 year career undoubtedly puts her as an international design icon. She has designed homes for the Duke and Duchess of York, worked with Ringo Starr and even the 5 star capital hotel in Knightsbridge bridge bear her witness of her professional touch.
In recent times, she has gone beyond the borders of English homes and reached mainland China to work with the Jordanian Royal Family on their luxurious family home in New York. Nina has received multiple awards as a result of her famous projects across the globe, including the Royal Oak Timeless Design award in 2003 and an American Fashion Award for her contribution and influence in the fashion and fabrics business. When Nina is not busy working on new designs for clients, she can be found writing and has written 5 design books including a bestseller ‘ Nina Campbell’s Decorating Secrets: Easy Ways to Achieve the Professional Look’
5: Robert Kime
Famous for his close work relationship with the royal family, Robert Kime is in every sense a seasoned interior designer. Often described as the ‘royal decorator’ Mr. Kime on multiple occasions worked with the Prince of Wales first on his private apartment at St. James's Palace in the 1990s, then on the redecoration of the Clarence House in the early 2000s, as well as the Highgrove House in Gloucestershire which happens to be the Prince's home where he lives with his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Mr Kime's journey into the interior design industry started from his love for antiques. During his college days, he started selling antiques to his professors and equally travelled to neighbouring towns, acquiring furniture and other accessories which he in turn sold out of his college room. He quickly developed a passion for travelling and travelled as far as Egypt, France, Turkey, Israel and Italy. And from each of those trips he gathered special collection artefacts, fabrics, lighting, wallpaper, rugs, furniture and accessories which marked the starting point for his 50 year career in interior design before his passing on the 17th of August 2022.
Mr Kime's legendary style is best described as classic English. He had this special way of assembling items and merging antiques , textiles and subtle colours in a way that blended so well that even items you would never have imagined would work well together would fit so perfectly as if they were made for each other. According to Kime, a space is supposed to be lived in and not looked at. This philosophy is what inspired the simplicity of his designs. His showrooms in Marlborough and Pimlico are still standing strong and boasts of a loyal client base from different parts of the world.
6: Celia Sawyer
First a dental nurse, a model, then a photography agent, before breaking big into interior design and property investment. Celia Sawyer is in every sense of the word a self-made millionaire with her very Mayfair interior design company named after her.
Although she's a lot of things, she's more known for her work as an interior designer and even appeared on the Channels 4 program called Rooms in 2012 as one of the dealers in the show. Seeing how successful it was, the BBC invited her to host another design show ‘Your Home in Their Hands’ which was another huge success bringing in over 3 millions viewers weekly.
Celia's clients are the rich and wealthy of society who are seeking high-end luxury designs. For more than 25 years Celia and her group of capable designers have decorated luxurious interiors for commercial buildings, superyachts, planes, residential and leisure buildings. For her work, she has won multiple awards including Top 100 Most Influential British Entrepreneurs, 2013 Inspirational Woman of The Year, 2014 Best Business Programme Reality Awards, the 2014 Royal Television Society award for Four Rooms and Top 250 Most Powerful Women Leaders.
7: Tom Dixon
Tom Dixon is a self taught designer with a flair for creating household accessories, furniture and lighting with some of his works being featured in museums across the globe including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris. Tom's brand collections have even been showcased at events such as the London Design Festival and the Milan Furniture Fair. His products, although inspired by British roots, have been recognised internationally and his company has hubs across the globe including New York, Milan, London, Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Tokyo.
Tom's career has been nothing short of successful and eventful. He started out in the 1980s with welding and designing these welded products and in 1994, he established his own shop where he manufactured various creative pieces from salvaged furniture. He even collaborated with the Italian giant, Giulio Cappellini to design his famous ‘S’ Chair. In the late 90s, Tom joined Habitat where he worked for 10 years as their Head of Design and later as their Creative Director before leaving in 2008 to focus on his personal brand Tom Dixon which he established in 2002.
For his services and contributions to the interior design industry, Tom has been a recipient of multiple awards including an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen, for services to British Design in 2001. Some other awards include “Designer of The Year '' at Maison & Objet in Paris 2014, a silver medal for Best Garden Flower Show in 2019 and the prestigious London Design Medal which was awarded in the same year 2019 at the British Land Celebration of Design Awards.
Having received these many accolades, it's safe to say that Tom Dixon is indeed a phenomenal designer and he continues to create magnificent spaces globally. Some of his recent works include reinventing the interior and layout of the Pullman Hotel in Bercy, designing the Manzoni in Milan and the iconic Drugstore Brasserie in Paris.
Famous and A-list, those are the words that come to mind when you mention Martyn Lawrence. And he definitely has earned his spot at the top of the food chain in the interior design industry. Martyn's big break into the celebrity clientele base came after he designed Cheryl Tiegs home. From then onwards, Martyn has worked with A-list celebrities like William H. Macy, John Stamos, Eva Mendes, Christina Aguilera, Rebecca Romijn, Edward Norton, Felicity Huffman, Kylie Jenner, Patti LaBelle, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, Ellen Pompeo, Ozzy Osbourne, Kid rock, Tommy Hilfiger, and Cher. This list is by no means exhaustive and he continues to prove himself as the go-to interior designer for all things luxury and flashy.
In this regard, Martyn has been included several times as one of the Top 100 interior designers by Elle Decor’s A-list, Architectural Digest and also as part of the Top 25 interior designers by The Hollywood Reporter.
Martin Waller founded his interior design company named Andrew Martin in 1978 and since then, the brand has been at the heart of British interiors for four decades and counting. Martin's love for travelling and witnessing other cultures is what sparked his interest in designing and while he travelled, he picked up inspirations for his design ideas.
At the age of 22, he opened his first shop in Richmond-Upon-Thames in 1978. Nine years later, he relocated his shop to Wall Street, South Kensington and since then, Martin has successfully established fifteen showrooms in various parts of the world including New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Moscow and Beijing. Martin has also worked on famous design projects like on the film set of James Bond, some fancy hotels in Miami and even has the Queen as part of his client base.
Martin's go-to design style is a fusion of different worlds. His unique designs often involve combining various textures, and random objects from different time periods to create one beautiful wholesome space.
10: Sophie Ashby
Finally on our list of famous interior designers in the UK is Sophie Ashby. Although she may seem like the youngest in terms of age and experience, her work and achievements speaks for itself and we think she deserves a spot on this list. Sophie's style can best be described as one that heavily combines artworks and creative pieces with basic furniture to create mesmerising and memorable living spaces. To Sophie, every room is meant to display the owner's personality and what better way than to fuse art pieces to create not just a living space but a mini showroom.
Sophie has worked on numerous residential and commercial properties and in 2014, she opened her very own interior design company Studio Ashby. Since then, she has managed to gather thousands of following both online and offline due to her unique approach to interior design. In 2022, she took her business a step further by opening up a showroom space in Blewcoat School London which also serves as a store for her loyal customers to shop her line of furniture and homeware. As a testament to her hard work, creativity and innovative ideas in the industry she was listed as part of the Top 100 Interior Designers in 2018 by House & Garden, amongst many other accolades.
There you have it.
When next you need inspiration for your interior design, you know where to go. And don't forget to beautify your interior with our wide range of hollywood mirrors.
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