Growing up, were you always very conscious of your surroundings?
I don’t actually remember this, but when I was seven and sharing a bedroom with my sister, I apparently made her save her pocket money so we could rip the carpet up and paint the floorboards. It seems I’ve always been a little bit obsessed with interiors!
What was your route into the profession?
I started off working for Terence Conran on the picture desk, finding images for all his interior books. Then I had the opportunity to relocate to the United States, where I trained as an interior designer. After working out there for a while, I decided I didn’t want to be an interior designer anymore, but I was still obsessed with all things home. So, when I came back to London, I opened a retail store. Initially, I bought everything from third parties. I didn’t know anything about designing, didn’t know anything about production, didn’t know anything about business – didn’t know anything about anything, really! But I found myself frustrated that what I would see in my head I could never find at the marketplace, so that led me to start designing products and finding factories to make them.
Then Selfridge’s and some cool brands all around the world contacted me wanting to buy the collection, so that led to a wholesale business. All of this happened really organically. It was never a plan. I guess with the power of social media, it’s easier these days to evolve in that way. If you’re doing something slightly differently, it allows you to get noticed.
It helps that you’re very adept at making interior design seem accessible.
I do get why some people find interior design intimidating, but when you actually break it down, it’s not as intimidating as it sounds. It’s simple really: you’re creating a space that you never want to leave. And that has got nothing to do with shoving tonnes of money at it – I had all that in America, and some of those houses were just awful. When you create somewhere that you want to linger longer, it just changes how you feel on every single level. It makes you so much happier, so much more at peace, and that’s why I’m so obsessed with imparting tips and tricks in the simplest way possible. Often, it’s just about having the confidence to think slightly outside of the box, break a few boundaries and give it a go.
How would you characterise your approach to design?
I tend to design rooms around an emotion, not a vibe. It’s not: “I love relaxed boho living.” It’s: “How do I want to feel in this space?” And for me, the answer is usually the same: I want to feel like I’m in my own sanctuary, like I’m being wrapped in a cashmere blanket. I’ll then work out what kind of materials and colours are going to make me feel that way. That means I’ve got to have this real interplay of texture, I’ve got to mix rough with smooth, raw with refined. I’ve got to have really beautiful, warm colours on the wall. It’s an emotion, not an aesthetic – that’s how I would come at each and every room.
What are some of the things you can do to start achieving your desired feel?
Firstly, colour. I don’t mean necessarily bright colours – I love really muted, deep colours on my wall, because that immediately gives me the cosy sanctuary. Lighting is one of the most under-considered components in the decorating puzzle. You need a lot of lights in a room to give atmosphere, no matter what the colour of the walls. Then, pattern and texture are very much like the herbs and spices: they add pizazz. You put all those four things together and suddenly you’re creating really magical interiors.
For you, ‘interior’ design seems like something of a misnomer – you appear to consider the garden as much a part of your living space as any room of the house.
For me, the outdoors is just as important as the indoors. I’m obsessed with being outdoors all year round. In our house, we’ve taken out the back wall over two floors, so it’s all glass. I sit overlooking the garden every single day of the year, and I cook out there all the time, even in the winter. When we lived in America, our neighbours would barbecue in the snow. At first I thought they were mad, but then I got really obsessed with it. You just put a big jumper and a woolly hat and start cooking. My business is quite full-on and crazy and there’s something about lighting that barbecue and being outside, even when it’s dark and a bit miserable, that fills me with joy.
How did you come across the Big Green Egg?
I tried a load of barbecues, and they were okay, but then a friend said: “Oh my God, there’s nothing like a Big Green Egg.” As soon as got it, it changed everything about how I cook outside – the versatility of it, the ease of use, and being able to control the temperature. For me, there’s this sense of freedom when I’m outside and I’m cooking on it. The craziness of the day goes away. It all just goes away.
Again, it’s that emotional connection, isn’t it? It just brings you so much joy. In this country, people are a little bit nervous about cooking over fire in the winter, but I do it in the winter all the time. When it’s dark outside, there’s just something so fabulous about getting that fire going – it’s the smell, the sound, the heat, the flavour. I love cooking over fire and I love eating outside. I make my husband eat outside regularly in the winter, with a bobble hat on. He’s not as keen on it as me, but he just has to tolerate it. It’s so much fun.
Does the aesthetic of the EGG work for you?
I love it. It’s literally moulded into my kitchen. I’ve got a WWOO Kitchen, which is like a dark grey concrete. Lots of tumbling plants all over, green, and then the EGG just sits within it, and there’s a stack of wood underneath. It works beautifully with my colour palette.
Do you source ingredients for your cooking with the same exacting care as the products for your shop?
Totally, totally, totally. So, Borough Market every Saturday. Because lots of our factories are in Asia, we’re up at 5 o’clock every morning, and that also continues into the weekend. I just can’t sleep in, so we’re early birds. So, it’s Borough Market and then it’s Broadway Market. It’s Riverford for my veg. I’m going to sound like a complete nut bag, but I haven’t been in a supermarket for five years. I literally can’t stand them. I can’t stand the lighting. I can’t stand how it makes me feel inside.
Is part of the appeal of markets that you’re buying from people who know and care about what they’re selling to you?
That’s a massive part of it. People come here on a design class, and they’re like: “Oh my God, you’re so passionate about it.” It’s the same with food. When you’re going to a cheesemaker and they’re telling you about the cheese, or you’re buying beef from a proper butcher, you just feel a lot more connected to the produce. You really do.
Are the recipes you’ve created for our 50th birthday fairly representative of your approach to cooking?
Yes, pretty much. I’m quite a fan of the chef Josh Katz. He’s very big on that flavourful, Middle Eastern slant. I do like things with a lot of flavour. Not necessarily super-spicy, but just a lot of flavour. Also, because I have to travel a lot for work, I’m quite influenced by wherever I travel. We’ve got showrooms in America, so I recently had to go to Atlanta. One of the team were like: “You have to go to this Persian restaurant.” And now I’ve become really obsessed with Persian, I’m buying Persian cookbooks and constantly cooking Persian stuff on the barbecue. I’ll go somewhere and think, I just want to experiment on the EGG with this!
Given your profession, is appearance a big factor in the food that you serve?
My God, yes. So, my platters and plates are all sort of perfectly imperfect. They’re quite organic looking, quite earthy. I really play around with scale and colour, so platters are always super-sized and the cutlery always black. I’m also quite obsessed with how things look on a plate, because that’s part of the joy. It doesn’t finish when I’ve stopped cooking, right? Even when I’m just here with my husband, he will just plonk something on the plate, whereas I’m scattering the herbs and pomegranate seeds and finishing it off just so. I can’t help myself!
