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
further from the truth. Not only does she cheerfully take the piss out of herself, but she’s got a wickedly dry sense of humour. She’s also one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met, someone who started in interiors at the age of sixteen and has been practising ever since.
Speaking personally I may have no love for taupe, the shade thought synonymous with her work (albeit she often uses colour!), but her vast knowledge and expertise I’m so here for, there’s always something to learn. She also has a great line in celebrity gossip!
My favourite memory though, and the reason I will love her forever, is a personal one. When I left ELLE Decoration on maternity leave in 2014, it quickly became apparent that my cover (external, non-team) was intent on making a mark with a lot of radical changes to the magazine (she wouldn't even allow, ‘Michelle is on maternity leave’ on the Letter page to explain where I was!). Understandably, I was quite upset. This is not the way it usually goes. A maternity cover is generally a trusted and safe pair of hands until the captain returns.
Anyway, Kelly happened to telephone me to check in on how I was feeling about being a new mum, and I confided that at just 3 months in, I was having a major wobble and already thinking about going back to work. My team were upset and I hated what was happening to ‘my’ magazine. The advice she gave me was the best, and exactly what I needed to hear. She said, “Michelle, no-one in the industry likes how the magazine looks, but your time with your new baby is precious, stay off, enjoy this moment, don’t worry about it, and when you return you can change everything back and everyone will respect you all the more.”
Wardrobe Notes
On location: pink silk wraparound dress from Jasper Conran.
Long paler pink jacket/coat: Dries van Noten, bought in the sale from Yoox.
Trainers: same as ever!
In the studio: one of my old favourites, a dress from Roksanda. Shoes, bright pink patent Jimmy Choos. Absolutely ancient, bought on the spur of the moment while on a press trip in New York about 20 years ago! Crazy sometimes the mad things you buy that you end up loving and keeping forever.
