Q&A with Global Designer Kelly Hoppen

Since starting her interior design business at 16 years old, Kelly Hoppen’s name has become synonymous with simple yet opulent style. Her iconic neutral palette is featured in celebrity homes, luxe hotels, restaurants, and yachts all over the world and up in the skies, since she designed the interior of the first-class cabin for British Airways. Hoppen received an MBE from the Queen in 2009, officially making her Britain’s first lady of interior design.

Why did you become an interior designer?

Kelly: I wanted to be a designer from a very early age. My hobby when I was young was looking around show houses with my mother. At home, she said I drove her mad as I was always moving the furniture around, finding the way it looked best — so it really is in my blood. With lots of hard work and determination, I set up my business when I was 16. My first real design job was for a Formula One driver.

Describe your design style.

Kelly: I would describe my style as “east meets west”, a style that is timeless, elegant and chic. My work has become much more feminine over the years. It’s no less ordered, but it’s certainly more rounded and layered in texture.

Tell us about some kitchen and bathroom designs you love.

Kelly: I love the kitchen collection that I have just designed for British bespoke kitchen design company Smallbone of Devizes. I created a palette of colours and textures that can be layered, so it doesn’t look hard and functional. This is important, as over the years the kitchen has become the centre of the home, the place where everyone comes to socialise for any occasion. Therefore it needs to be a functional but also a welcoming space.

I love the bathroom at my home in Notting Hill. Lighting is incredibly important to create a relaxing atmosphere, so I designed my bathroom with backlit, concealed lighting, and also mixed textures by combining wooden shutters with lots of glass.

Where do you find inspiration?

Kelly: People — they inspire the designs and ideas that instinctively come to me as a result of communication and an understanding of their needs and imagination. Travel is another form of inspiration. Every little escape gives me a renewed sense of awareness.

Who are some designers you admire?

Kelly: Zaha Hadid, John Pawson, and Tom Ford, to name a few.

How do you approach a project?

Kelly: I always use a grid formation when starting projects. In my mind, this is what forms the lines of the room. It enables you to make a judgment on what will work in your particular space and gives you the beginnings of its possibilities. And I always use a neutral colour base!

Are there any rules you must follow?

Kelly: I insist on creating a home for the way you live.

How do you appeal to the senses in your designs?

Kelly: I try to create a harmonious space by using neutral colours. I love using candles and flowers as accessories and hanging beautiful photographs on the wall. I also enjoy using different textures to tantalise the senses and create something intriguing.

Tell us about your favourite projects.

Kelly: The collection I just designed for Smallbone of Devizes is my first kitchen collection — it’s exciting to branch out into new areas. Another project I loved was the hotel I designed for LUX* Island Resorts. It was a great experience and it was in Mauritius, a place I absolutely adore.

What direction do you see kitchen design moving in?

Kelly: I feel that the way we look at kitchen design is markedly different to how we viewed it even as little as five years ago. Celebrity chefs have shifted our perceptions of life in the kitchen, possibly more than any other factor. We’ve been inspired to loosen up, cook with abandon and welcome people into our home. The kitchen is the theatre at the heart of the home, and I believe this will continue.

kellyhoppen.com

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