Style File: Kate Guinness
With joyous interiors whose decoration gives a lived-in feel with a dramatic edge, it is no wonder that, before her foray into the world of interiors, designer Kate Guinness was originally a theatre-set and costume designer. After working with firm JR Design, Kate set up her own practice whose projects – be they a single room or a large country house – are best known for their cheerful juxtaposition of heirlooms, pattern and practicality.
Whilst these overarching themes are hallmarks of Kate's designs, no project is quite the same. With each interior, Kate always warmly includes her clients, working with them to create a carefully considered design full of bespoke, individual detail. Whilst decorating a single-storey newbuild on the site of a former cricket pavilion in the Cotswolds, for example, Kate had the chance to create a winningly inviting home-from-home for a young family. When it came to the design of chef Lindsay Elder's London townhouse, Lindsay called on Kate to gently layer styles and eras, filling the space with colour and pattern matching well the tastes of her client, which Kate did with aplomb. For the recent design of a Kensington house, the interior designer worked with her “unusually receptive” client to transform what was once an austere, minimalist place into a true home layered with Kate's signature use of colour and pattern throughout, the perfect interiors solution for her client and his newfound, bold tastes.
Kate Guinness is a House & Garden Top 100 Winner and member of The List.
kateguinness.co.uk | @kateguinnessdesign
Discover some of Kate's projects
James McDonald1/9In the bootroom of this riverside house in London, woodwork in Farrow & Ball's ‘Arsenic’ forms a bright foil to Neisha Crosland’s ‘Pollen Emeraldo’ wallpaper (stocked by Turnell & Gigon).
James McDonald2/9The pretty garden room features chairs from Matilda Goad and blinds in Claremont's ‘Borgia Rojo’ fabric.
Paul Massey4/9An antique blue-painted chest and lamps made from wooden tribal objects paired with Fermoie lampshades help to create a sense of separation from the kitchen-dining area of this family house in the Cotswolds. Mid-century and contemporary furniture is arranged in front of a stone chimneypiece that came from a Belgian manor; the painting above is by Australian Aboriginal artist Emily Pwerle.
Paul Massey5/9The light-filled mezzanine level, which serves as a play area for the couple’s three children, looks out over this open-plan space, where unpainted plaster walls provide a warm backdrop for custom-built units with sleek ceramic worktops and Van Cronenburg handles. The metal pendant lights came from the wife’s parents’ house in Santa Barbara, while the oak dining table was originally made for the husband’s parents’ house in London. It is teamed with vintage Swedish chairs sourced from Maison Artefact.
James McDonald7/9The walls in the front hall of this Kensington house are painted in Pure & Original's ‘Blue Reef’. A pendant light from Rose Uniacke hangs overhead; the console table is from Robin Myerscough.
James McDonald8/9The kitchen, which was designed and made in collaboration with 202 Design, opens into the conservatory. Walls in ‘Plaster V’ contrast with cabinets in ‘Kigali’, both shades from Paint & Paper Library. The rug is from Tate & Darby.
James McDonald9/9The first floor is dominated by the spacious drawing room, with a wall of shelves by Edward Collinson. The sofas are bespoke by Black Barn Sofas, upholstered in Hendrix Tomato from Guy Goodfellow Collection with seat cushions in Pierre Frey's Craft in Brique. A Freud armchair from Howe covered in Robert Kime’s Caspian stands between the windows. The rug is a dhurrie from Guinevere.
