IDM 5 Episode Three
Oh how quickly it goes, as we are already down to eight. So where did we take them? To the races of course, where they each got a Hospitality box to design
Horse racing can be controversial, I get that. Personally, I’m a bit scared of horses! They always seem so much bigger than anticipated. But as a design brief, creating for such an established brand was an absolute dream opportunity.
Why? Because it comes with so many assumptions. High society and putting on your fancy gear. The nature of display and entertainment. What does it even mean to ‘go to the races’? There are so many references to draw upon. Plus Ascot’s stated values are: original, uplifting and elegant.
Clearly then, who better to take on the ride with me than Kelly Hoppen aka literal Goddess of interior design. There is probably not an interior typology she has not applied her signature style to, or a continent she’s not worked across. Her celebrity clients are legion, and she’s even designed for Disney with Mickey Mouse!
And boy does this lady know her design onions. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing her several times over the course of my journalistic and editing career, and can also confide that she has the ability to scan a room and instantly re-design it for the better in her head. Basically, she can move furniture with her mind!
Key challenge points: the Hospitality boxes, one each for the designers, are intended for a wide variety of functions from entertaining corporate clients to hosting a hen party. The challenge therefore was to elevate these rather bland, blank boxes into something more sophisticated, but without veering into cliche. Design is, after all, nothing if not about interpretation. However, it is possible to go too far! Or be too literal.
Instead, I was looking for low key quality — sophistication in design is about quality. So in view of the budgets, perhaps fewer, but better finishes? Perhaps an acknowledgement that although the challenge is to ‘design’ these boxes, at Ascot, traditionally it’s the people who bring the colour, and it really is all about watching the racing.
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PS For my fast-track, How to Become an Interior Designer ‘course’ see my notes on Season 4, back a year, right here on Substack (which will be behind the paywall unless you’re already a subscriber). You can find quick links to every S4 episode via my website here.
IDM Alumni…
Back to Season Two now, and remember the final between Siobhan and Lynsey, two absolutely cracking characters, both Yorkshire lasses too. First, runner up former NHS staffer Siobhan Murphy (@interiorcurve) went on to live her best life writing a book about Maximalism, designing wallpaper ranges, and hosting daytime TV slots with Steph’s Packed lunch.
Meanwhile our season 2 winner, Lynsey Ford, fulfilled her dream of launching her own Architecture and Interior Design Studio, something she now runs with her husband Adrian. Her prize was a commission to re-design a suite at the incredible Another Place, a hotel on the shores of Ullswater in the Lake District. I think she did a pretty amazing job! Images below.
Behind the Scenes…
So many myths about Kelly, that’s she’s a bit cold, or unfriendly, that couldn't be