Interior designers are forever being asked for their opinions on the latest trends in paint colours, kitchen, tiles, furniture styles and so on. And the supposed answers fill the pages of countless glossy style mags and newspapers, encouraging consumers to update their homes. But how should we respond to these questions? As we move away from the throw-away attitude of recent times and journey towards a more sustainable future, do trends have any part to play in the work we do and the stories we tell? And how should we be advising our clients in this regard? In responding to these questions and more, Susie and Jeff are joined by two Northern Design Award winners, Helen Knox from Lewis Knox and Jen Williams from Mon Interiors. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience of designers at Design Central North-West.  

Designers rely heavily on contractors to faithfully execute and deliver on their visions for our clients. This reliance can mean that it is often difficult to fully control the finished quality of our projects, a situation that can vary from being merely frustrating to utterly tragic. But is there anything we can do to prevent this? How can designers ensure they have the best-fit contractor for their projects and for their clients, and the right people capable of faithfully executing their designs? Jeff and Susie are joined by Rina Patel from Vastu Design and Brian Woulfe from Designed by Woulfe to find out.  The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood Plus production. 

In a world far, far, away from your average night club, cult rapper Stormzy, with a little help from design dynamo Sally Anne McCoy and her friends at the Cream Group, has just opened, House Party, the ultimate party place in a 7-storey building in London’s Soho. But what is the back story to the project? What inspired the team to come up with their wildly original theme and why is it so perfect for right now? Find out in this fascinating conversation with Sally which took place on location in the House Party kitchen.  The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood Plus production. 

In this episode, we look ahead to Decorex 2024, Europe’s leading event for interior design professionals, taking place at Olympia London between Sunday 6th October and Wednesday 9th October. Event Director, Sam Fisher and Marketing Manager, Carly Barclay set the scene for this year's show. We also hear from Tim Butcher at Fromental, Shayne Brady at Brady Williams, Jules Haines from The Haines Collection, Mirry Christie from B Able, John Stubbs from YesColours and decorative artist, Ellen Merchant, about their involvement in Decorex 2024.  The Interior Design Business is a media partner of Decorex 2024. More information on the show can be found at www.decorex.com.  

There are few UK designers as admired and emulated as Laura Hammett, both for her signature style and for the glamorous international projects in her portfolio. But what is her back story? Has her eponymous company always been so successful? How does she continue to stay one step ahead of the competition? And where is she planning to take her business next? In this episode, Laura joins Jeff and Susie in conversation to share her fascinating story.   

In this episode, we explore the changing face of workplace design with help from James White, Co-Founder of global interior design powerhouse, MAWD, and May Fawzy, Founder and Creative Director of MF Design Studio and President of the British Institute of Interior Design. What does the post-pandemic, hybrid-working office look like? Can co-working spaces provide a second option to working from home? And, how does this new reality impact the design of office and co-working spaces?    The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood Plus production.  

25 years ago, there were only a handful of UK universities where undergraduate students could study interior design. Today there are 53 offering a total of 117 courses, and this does not include the growing number of private schools who also offer interior design degrees.  But are these courses producing well-rounded students, fully equipped and ready to take their place in industry? Is the current degree model a bar to inclusivity? And would apprenticeships be a better way to train new talent in what is essentially a practical discipline? To help us untangle these complex issues we are joined by Professor Graeme Brooker, Head of Programme, Interior Design at the Royal College of Art, Leanne Wookey, Director at international commercial design juggernaut, T P Bennett, and Courteney Kieley, Founder and Creative Director of Scene Interiors and instigator of the Interior Design Apprenticeship Scheme.

How should designers approach the subject of neurodiversity with their clients? How can they accurately assess their client’s needs and, most importantly of all, how should they translate these requirements into their designs? In this episode, Susie and Jeff are joined by specialist inclusive design consultant, Judi Watkinson and dementia specialist, writer and presenter of the definitive Third Age Design podcast, Lori Pinkerton Rolet, to find out.     

Health and wellness continue to be top priorities in residential design. Interior design that addresses both the mind and the body challenges designers to learn new skills and adapt their design approaches. As part of this evolution, we find out the role that home technology plays in delivering a comfortable, healthier and mood-enhancing lifestyle at home with help from BIID award-winning designer, Susie Pfeiffer of Pfeiffer Design, Ben Channon of specialist well-being design consultancy, EKKIST and Damien Smith of leading home technology firm, New Wave AV. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience of designers at Decorex 2023. 

Art in all its glorious forms plays a key role within the interior, providing emotional context that can make a person feel comfortable, or not comfortable, within the space. But, in recognising the power of art to transform and complete an interior, how should designers go about preparing their buildings, and their clients, to best showcase these important elements? We’re joined by Julia Bell from Parapluie and Jennie Trethewy from Studio Far West to explore the important steps to take when designing spaces for art. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience of designers at Design Central South West.   

Many interior designers want their projects and expertise to be featured within magazines and the interior sections of newspapers but are unsure or unaware of how to present themselves, their projects and their stories to do that. We're joined by Hatta Byng, Editor of House & Garden and Katrina Burroughs, Interiors Editor of The Times and Sunday Times as they share their insights on how the media works, the content that journalists are looking for and the best approaches that designers can take to engage effectively with writers and the media. Recorded in front of a live audience at Decorex 2023.  

For the super-rich who spend their lives moving between homes in the world’s most glamorous cities, it can be reassuring to buy a property endorsed by a designer brand who they already know and trust. In this episode, Jeff and Susie are joined by Antonio Quesada, MD of design studio Morpheus & Co and Heidi Schmidtke, Managing Director of JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group to discover more about the recent trends in the space. Listen in to find out more about the rise of the branded residence and learn how interior designers can be involved in this lucrative but challenging sector of the market.

When UK employment for women is broken down by sector, construction comes last in the table. Only 14.7% of those employed in the industry are women. This is 32.9 percentage points lower than the national average. At a time of industry-wide skill shortages, this represents a calamitous wasted opportunity both for construction and for women.   So, what are the factors at play that keep women out of the sector? What can be done to correct this position? And what benefits will women bring to construction once they do join their male colleagues as full participants?   Hear the discussion unfold, at the Design Club in the Chelsea Design Centre, with Susie Rumbold who is joined by Karen Howes, Founder and CEO of Taylor Howes Designs and Agnita Benjamin, Senior Quantity Surveyor at Verve Concepts, where they share valued insights and experiences from their times working on site!  Thanks to our series supporters, Havwoods, the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring.    

Throughout the course of her long career, international interior designer and author Kelly Hoppen, CBE, has earned and received every plaudit. Her impact on our industry and the public’s perception of the significance of interior design in their lives cannot be underestimated. She joins us for this latest show alongside Martin Waller, Founder of the Global design brand, Andrew Martin, the internationally recognised Andrew Martin Interior Designer of The Year Award and the annual Interior Design Review. Martin is also a long-time friend and collaborator of Kelly. In this episode, we learn about their own career pathways, their views on the evolution of interior design and the fruits of their many partnerships, including Kelly’s latest collection for Andrew Martin.    This show was recorded in front of a live audience of designers at the fabulous Andrew Martin showroom on Walton Street in South Kensington. 

For the UK interior design industry, London acts like a black hole sucking in product, education and designers to the exclusion of everywhere else. Little wonder you might think when, with a population of 9.3 million people, it is more than three times the size of its nearest rival city, Manchester. But is this how it should be and is this situation inevitable? Talented and professional interior designers are constantly completing challenging, world-class, complex projects all over the country! We are joined by Fiona Watkins of Fiona Watkins Design, Cath McCubbin founder of Design Central UK and Kate Hatherell of The Interior Designer’s Hub to explore if interior design is too London-centric. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience of interior designers at Design Central North West, Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire. Thanks to our series supporters, Havwoods, the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring. 

In this episode, we preview Decorex 2023, Europe’s leading event for interior design professionals, which opens its doors at Olympia London on Sunday 8th October running until Wednesday 11th October. We hear from four of the key figures involved in this year's event.    Listen to Sam Fisher, Event Director at Decorex, alongside Brian Woulfe of Designed by Woulfe, Mark Tremlett of Naturalmat and Laurence Katz of Elemental Studio as they explain what to look out for at Decorex 2023.  Thanks to our series supporter, Havwoods the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring. The Interior Design Business is a media partner of Decorex 2023.   

We all want dream projects that will earn us the accolades of our peers and attract new clients. But what makes an award-winning project? What makes it special and worth the significant investment in money, time and effort that it takes to prepare a winning award entry? Find out in our latest episode with Lisa Keates from Keates Interiors as she talks us through her award-winning project from the Northern Design Awards 2022.  Thanks to our series supporter, Havwoods the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring.

If ‘a picture paints a thousand words’, then surely an interior can tell a thousand stories? Our most beloved interior spaces are grounded in a time and place and speak eloquently of the lives of the people who have inhabited them either now or in the past. But what is the magic essence that makes these much-loved places so special? And how can interior designers recreate this magic in their work?   To shed light on these questions, we're joined by consummate storytellers Inge Moore and Nathan Hutchins, co-founders and creative directors of global interior design studio, Muza Lab. This episode was recorded at the London home of Inge Moore. Thanks to Havwoods, the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring for their support.  The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood Plus production.  

Interior designers are a bit like ‘piggy in the middle’. They must be adept at managing client relationships while also managing their supply chains in order to finish on time and deliver the best possible projects. So, how can designers find and retain professional and reliable suppliers? How can they ensure they get early warning when things are going wrong? And is it possible to build a dream supplier team that will last forever? To help us answer these important questions and more, we are joined today by Ed O’Donnell from Angel O’Donnell and BIID Register Interior Designer, Naomi Astley Clarke. Recorded in front of a live audience at the Andrew Martin showroom on Tottenham Court Road in London. Thanks to Havwoods, the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring for their support.  The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood Plus production.  

Many people would love to have a career in interior design. To get there, some take the conventional route of obtaining an interior design qualification straight out of school and then gain experience within an established design practice before branching out on their own, but many also set up businesses later in life and enjoy a satisfying career having already had a career in another field. Do late-design bloomers have any advantages over their younger rivals? And is it possible to be a good designer without a design qualification? We are joined today by three designers from very different backgrounds to discuss this topic - Charlotte Dawson from Chestnut Interiors, Stephen Tozer from Boaz Interiors and Susie Rumbold, creative director of Tessuto Interiors and a Past President of the British Institute of Interior Design. Recorded in front of a live audience at Design Central South West in Blagdon, Somerset. Thanks to Havwoods, the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring.  The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood Plus production.  

Sustainability is defined as ‘the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level’. But, given the environmental damage we have already inflicted on our planet, is it sufficient to maintain the status quo at our current degraded level? In other words, is it enough to merely cause no further damage or should we be setting our sights higher with long-term goals to restore the environmental quality of our home to pre-industrial levels? Mel Meale from Steer Design and Simon Myatt from Havwoods share ideas with Jeff and Susie in an episode recorded in front of a live audience at the recent Design Central South West event held at Blagdon in Somerset.  Thanks to Havwoods the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring.  The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood production. 

Buying the services of an interior designer is unlike any other purchase. The client knows they have a project and a set of requirements, they have a budget figure in mind, they know when they want the project to end, and they may know what they like, but beyond that they have no idea what the finished product will be. For most people that is a truly daunting prospect. The answer,of course, is to get help from a professional. But where can you go to find this wonderful person who truly gets you and will be able to give you the perfect product? And, once you think you have found them how can you be certain that they can deliver? Jackie Fisken from Ampersand Interiors, John Amabile from John Amabile Design and Nicky Emlick from N M Design joined co-hosts Jeff Hayward and Susie Rumbold to share their views in a lively discussion recorded in front of a live audience at the splendid sofa.com showroom in Glasgow.   Thanks to our series supporter, Havwoods.    

In this episode, we explore ways that designers can sustain and grow their businesses by working smarter not harder in the company of Freeman Studio's, Mathew Freeman, the President of the British Institute of Interior Design and Anna Burles, Creative Director and Founder of Run For The Hills.   It seems the only way designers and architects can achieve the quality results that their clients expect is to produce drawings and other information in such detail that there is no room for misinterpretation on site and that nothing could possibly ever go wrong. But was this always the case? Or has something fundamentally shifted? And if so, how can designers do less and still achieve the perfect product for their clients? This episode was recorded at the Havwoods showroom in Clerkenwell. Havwoods, the prevailing name in wood flooring is a supporter of the series.   The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood Plus production.  

Most people walk through the world with their eyes closed, not seeing the beauty or noticing the details that surround them, but this is certainly not true of interior designers. But how can they ensure their work never gets stale? Where should they go to look for fresh inspiration and how do they recognise it when they see it? For this episode, we are lucky enough to be joined by internationally acclaimed designer, Katharine Pooley, to find out how she uses travel as an inspiration and how it translates into her work. The Interior Design Business is supported by Havwoods, the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring.  We are a Wildwood production. 

Today architects and interior designers work closely together to deliver highly intricate building projects for their clients. How can these design professionals ensure their clients appoint the right people at the right time during their project? And, what steps do architects and designers need to take to achieve a continuity of service to ensure the project runs smoothly? Max de Rosee and Claire Sa, founding partners of international architecture and interior design studio, De Rosee Sa join Susie and Jeff to answer these questions and more in this latest show. The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood production.

The working life of an interior designer is rarely, if ever, entirely plain sailing. As we strive to deliver projects on time, that meet our client’s brief as well as their budget, there are frequently bumps on the road to navigate, pitfalls to avoid and unforeseen difficulties that arise which challenge the most resourceful and most creative-thinking designers. So, quite how do interior designers manage to deal with what’s thrown at them to make sure they solve the seemingly insoluble and emerge triumphant, against all odds, to the delight of all parties, especially their clients!  Let’s find out in the company of Philip Vergeylen and Heather Lindahl from the internationally renowned design firm, Paolo Moschino. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience as part of the Decorex Talks programme. 

We all know those crazy interior design TV shows where wannabe amateur designers try to cover themselves sometimes in glory but more often than not cover themselves in paint. Love them or hate them they make weirdly compelling viewing for practicing designers and the public alike. But do these reality TV shows bear any resemblance to what real designers do? How do they impact the public’s perception of the interior design profession? What is it really like to be a contestant, and do the winners go on to become renowned designers in their own right?  We asked Verity Coleman from Rascal & Roses, Siobhan Murphy from Interior Curve and Peter Grech from The SpaceMaker Interiors the question, ‘Is TV Good For Interior Design?’ in this episode, recorded in front of a live audience at DesignCentral North West.  Find out what they have to say in a fascinating and hugely entertaining hour of conversation with Susie Rumbold and Jeff Hayward.  

There are many ways in which products can be unsustainable. Some are flown halfway round the world, some are produced using unacceptable quantities of water and other natural materials, some produce dangerously polluting substances as bi-products and others exploit and dehumanize the people that produce them. And then there is the problem of what happens to the product when it is no longer required. But in a world of competing sustainability claims, how can designers find out the truth about the products they specify and steer a confident path between the many hazards? We're joined by three designers in the vanguard of the interior design sustainability movement to answer the questions at the forefront of designer minds: Alexandra Jurkiewicz, Creative Lead at Helen Green Design, Chloe Bullock, founder of Materialise Interiors and David Chenery, founder and director of Object Space Place.  This episode was recorded in front of a live audience of designers gathered at the newly renovated showroom of sofa.com in Chelsea. 

In this show, we’re looking forward to Decorex 2022, Europe’s leading event for interior design professionals, which opens its doors at Olympia London on Sunday 9th October running until Wednesday 12th October.   So, what can we expect from this year's event?   We talk to Bethan Laura Wood, Carden Cunietti, Natascha Dartnall, Alidad, De Rosee Sa and Rita Konig to find out.

All designers have them. The clients who are allergic to colour, refuse to listen to the designer’s pearls of wisdom, fail to recognise their strokes of genius and only want what they already have. Or, worse still what their best friend already has! But why are some clients so afraid, and what exactly are they afraid of? And how can interior designers help their clients discover their true inner style and be confident in expressing it? In this show, we are joined by leading residential designers and masters of confident eclecticism, Audrey Carden and Eleanora Cunietti, co-founders of Carden Cunietti to find out how it’s done.

In this episode, we’re exploring healthy spaces, happy places and how to integrate wellness into the design process. Wellness is defined as ‘the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal’. Interior designers have always understood that well-ordered, functional spaces can relieve anxiety and bring relaxation and peace, but today’s well-informed clients are now demanding enhanced wellness as requisite for their interior spaces. So, what exactly constitutes wellbeing? How can we achieve this elusive goal?And, what should interior designers do to keep pace with the latest thinking on wellness and apply that theory in their work? We're joined by Karen Stonely and Peter Pelsinki, co-founders and the creative force behind SPAN Architecture LLC, the internationally renowned, New York-based, architecture and design studio, to find out how they embed design for wellness at the core of their spectacular projects. 

Interior designers are well respected for their creativity, but much less so for their business practices. Most design studios are micro businesses whose owners are often too busy designing to pay sufficient attention to contracts and other key project documents. So, what do designers need to do to tighten up their business practices in order to be seen as true professionals? And where can they turn to for advice? The British Institute of Interior Design in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects has commissioned a new, comprehensive guide to professional practice for interior designers, called ‘The BIID Project Book. The author of this publication, none other than podcast co-host, Susie Rumbold, a Past President of the BIID and Creative Director of London firm, Tessuto Interiors, joins us on the show to explain more about the project and tell us what we can find inside 'The BIID Project Book'. 

Success, like beauty, is firmly in the eye of the beholder. For interior designers, and the practices they run, it goes without saying that success involves happy clients and being paid to create beautiful, functional interiors but, in reality, what does this look like? What really constitutes success for an interior designer? Is it fame? Or is it fortune? And in the end, does size really matter? In this show, recorded in front of a live audience of designers at the fabulous Roca London Gallery as part of the Chelsea Design Quarter Springtime Sessions, Jeff and Susie talk with David Goodman, COO of the renowned David Collins Studio, and Monique Tollgard Co-founder and Head of Studio of the Tollgard Design Group, to find out what success means to them personally and professionally.     

In this episode, we’re taking a detailed look at typical lighting issues facing interior designers with advice on how to deal with them from Luke Thomas, Design Director at John Cullen Lighting. Interior designers and their clients often underestimate the importance of lighting. Simply put, it seems senseless to spend time, energy and lots of money designing and installing beautiful interiors, if you cannot see them properly.  So, how can interior designers avoid the most common pitfalls and create the right lighting for their projects? We are a Wildwood production. 

Interior designers are always looking for ways to showcase their work and gain recognition from a wider audience, but this is not always easy to achieve. Getting editorial coverage in glossy magazines can be tricky and Instagram has become a seriously crowded place. But what about winning interior design awards? Will winning a recognised design award bring about the desired rise in profile? Or does the cost and effort of entering outweigh the benefits? And in a space crowded with design award schemes, how can you tell which ones are the real deal?  We're joined by two multi-award-winning practitioners, May Fawzy of specialist workplace design practice MF Design Studio and Matt Freeman, Senior Associate at Goddard Littlefair and President-Elect of the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID), to talk about how they go about entering, and more importantly, winning interior design awards.  We also receive privileged insights into the new BIID Interior Design Awards scheme.  This episode is a Wildwood production.   

You’ve worked hard to get your interior design qualifications and you have spent years working even harder in other people’s design studios honing your knowledge and skills. Finally, you feel ready to break free, spread your entrepreneurial wings and run your own interior design company.   But how do you know when the time is right to take the first step? And do you go it alone or join forces with a partner? Should you rush out and rent office space? And, most importantly, how will you let prospective clients know you are open for business and ready to take on their projects? New kids on the block, Courtney Giles and Marianne Roe, explain how and why they set up Studio Smiths and what's making their partnership such a success.  This episode is a Wildwood production.       

So, you have spent a fortune on your website and have a clutch of completed photogenic projects ready to be showcased. As a designer, you know that quality photographs will make your interiors sing and induce those high spending clients to pick up the phone. But how do you go about finding that special photographer who will be capable of conveying and amplifying your unique style? Once found, how should you work with them to ensure you ratchet the maximum value from each photoshoot? And how important is the quality of communication between designer and photographer in ensuring a breathtaking outcome? We're joined by the experienced interior design photographer, James Balston, to find out the answers. This episode is a Wildwood production.       

For interior design projects, the perfect client is one with deep pockets and a spirit of adventure; a client who admires their designer’s personal style and respects and trusts the designer’s vision for their spaces. So just how important is it for designers to have a recognisable style to attract their dream clients? And how should designers define their unique design vision and then communicate it effectively to attract those dream clients? We're joined by acclaimed interior designer Susie Atkinson for her perspective on this fascinating topic as she shares her own journey with a live audience of designers, together with her views on interior design style and client relationships. This episode was recorded at the Roca London Gallery as part of the podcast's third birthday celebrations. We are grateful to series sponsors, Parkside Architectural Tiles, for their support. We are a Wildwood production.       

Most interior designers begin in a whirl of creativity, energy and optimism. In an average working week, they will act as designer, specifier, accountant, project manager, client liaison, IT support, office dogsbody and tea-lady. There is no time to spare for marketing the business or finding new clients. Workflows are impossible to manage, and famine follows feast in a never-ending cycle that can be difficult to break. This is the curse of the small business. Yet some design businesses seem to quickly grow and effortlessly thrive acquiring prestige and financial success along the way. Their founders serene, glamorous and much admired.   So, what is their secret? At what point did they make the jump to hyperspace? And how did they orchestrate it? In this episode, we are joined by two very special guests, successful designer Lindsey Rendall, British Institute of Interior Design President and founding partner of Rendall and Wright, and Rose Murray, founder and creative force behind These White Walls, to find out they did it.   This episode was recorded at the Parkside Studio in Clerkenwell - thanks to Parkside for their support.  We are a Wildwood production.   

The worst experiences often make the best stories. Never has this been truer than in the world of interior design! In this episode, we are going to explore some of the best-worst moments in the careers of Joanna Wood from Joanna Wood Ltd, Irene Gunter from Gunter & Co and co-host, Susie Rumbold from Tessuto Interiors. We'll find out how this acclaimed panel of designers solved the insoluble and still came up smiling and smelling of roses. This discussion was originally part of the Talks Programme in the Seminar Theatre at the international design fair, Decorex. It was recorded on 12th October 2021 - we apologise for any temporary audio interference with the recording.  Our thanks to series supporters, John Lewis & Partners Business and Parkside Architectural Tiles.  We are a Wildwood production.   

This year, Decorex, Europe’s leading event for interior design professionals, returns as an in-person event.  The show welcomes back the design community at Olympia London from Sunday 10th until Wednesday 13th October. What can we expect from Decorex 2021? In this special episode, we talk to designers Sara Cosgrove, Laura Hammett, Charu Ghandi, Olivia Outred and Dee Gibson as well as Ben Rigby from Decorex exhibitor, Haberdashery, to find out what's in store. 

Home staging is the preparation of a private residence for sale but how far is it an area of opportunity for interior designers today?     We're joined by Paloma Harrington-Griffin, Founding Director of the Home Staging Association and Lauren Colquhoun, Senior Interior Designer at the Accouter Group of Companies to assess the state of home staging in the UK and find out how designers can tap into this potentially lucrative stream of work. This episode was recorded in the John Lewis store in White City. Thanks to our supporters John Lewis & Partners Business and Parkside Architectural Tiles.  We are a Wildwood production.

In this episode, we explore interior design and the circular economy with Jules Haines from The Haines Collection and Chaline Church from 540 World. In 2018, a major study concluded that the world was only 9% circular with more than 90% of raw materials not being cycled back into the economy. Clearly, for the health of the planet and the survival of the human race, we must become more sustainable and resource-resilient. But how will this new thinking impact the sourcing and use of materials in the construction industry? How can interior designers embed circularity into their approach to design? And, how can we best encourage our clients to embrace this new way of consuming? This episode was recorded at the Sustainability Studio of series supporter, Parkside Architectural Tiles in Clerkenwell. Thanks also John Lewis & Partners Business for their support.    

It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there for interior designers. The competition is fierce and new designers are entering the market every day. We work our socks off, our designs are beautifully considered, and we have happy clients, but for many designers the reality is one of alternating feast and famine, and sometimes it can feel as though we are being left behind.  Not only do designers have to find new business, they have to convince new clients that they are the right person for the job and then close the deal at a level that makes it financially worth doing. So, what tools do interior designers need to secure new business and how can they be sure they are getting their fair share of the action? We're joined by Lloyd Princeton from the Design Management Company and Helen Bygraves and Jenny Weiss, the co-founders of the internationally renowned, Hill House Interiors to find out more.  Thanks to our series supporters, John Lewis & Partners Business and Parkside Architectural Tiles.  We are a Wildwood production.   

2020 was the year that bought our homes and the way we use them into sharp focus. Stuck inside while the pandemic raged, we were all forced to find space at home to work, play and carry out activities that would previously have been done elsewhere. For residential interior designers, all this domestic churn has created real challenges as they try to advise their clients on future home trends and accurately interpret their needs. But was 2020 really the year that changed everything? Or, were these lifestyle changes already taking place? Will these changes be a permanent feature of our future lives and how can interior designers determine what advice to offer their clients? To discuss all of this and more, Susie Rumbold and Jeff Hayward are joined by Suzanne Knight, Partner and Sales Manager, Property at John Lewis & Partners, Sarah O’Sullivan, from the Trend team at John Lewis & Partners, and Verity Coleman, residential interior designer and founder of design practice, Rascal & Roses. This epsiode is recorded at the Peter Jones store in Sloane Square and is supported by John Lewis & Partners. We'd also like to thank Parkside Architectural Tiles for their support. The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood production.

In the third decade of the 21st century, designers could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed by the colossal variety of pattern available to them. Fabrics, wallpapers and tiles are embellished with patterns created by man, while stone, timber and other materials provide us with the ever-changing patterns that occur in the natural world. Throughout history, much of man’s ingenuity has been spent designing cunning patterns and developing techniques to apply them to cloth and other materials and today new production techniques mean that pattern is now only limited by the designer’s imagination. But what is it that designers need to know about the application of pattern? How can we learn to use it with confidence, and how can we encourage our clients to welcome pattern into their world? To find out, we're joined by Christian Lee, Managing Director of the fabric company, Christian Lee and Philip Sykas, Reader in Textile History at The Manchester Metropolitan University. Thanks to our series partner Parkside Architectural Tiles for their support. Parkside offers a RIBA approved CPD, ‘An Introduction to Tiling Patterns – symmetry, repeat patterns and tesselations’ – more information available at https://www.parkside.co.uk/.

A group of nine forward-thinking and influential design firms have joined forces to launch an ambitious initiative for our industry, Interior Design Declares. They have committed to working together to urge everyone in the UK design and construction industry to adopt a paradigm shift in their behaviour over climate change. We're joined by three of these founding members - Oliver Heath from Oliver Heath Design. Jecks Stone from Persona Abode and Josie Lees from MCM - to find out how interior designers can be a force for good in the global fight against imminent environmental catastrophe. Thanks to our series partner Parkside Architectural Tiles for their support.

In his 2003 book, Emotional Design, the well-known American academic, Don Norman, came up with a theory to capture how and why people react, and emotionally connect, to certain objects and visual experiences. His theory was that true delight and enduring pleasure in something can only be achieved if positive visceral, behavioural and reflective reactions are achieved. In this episode, Jeff and Susie are joined by Brian Woulfe of Designed by Woulfe to explore how this theory can be applied to the design of interior spaces. Is Don Norman’s approach just marketing spin or are there real benefits to be had? And, if so, how can designers ensure their clients respond positively to their designs on all levels? Thanks to our series partner Parkside Architectural Tiles for their support. The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood production.