South Africa born Kelly Hoppen is one of the best-known British interior designers, whose clients include Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law and the Beckhams.
(Picture from Maison et Objet Paris)Ms. Hoppen was recently awarded an MBE for services to interior design. She is the author of
Kelly Hoppen Style: The Golden Rules of Design
,
East Meets West: Global Design for Contemporary Interiors
,
Table Chic: Ideas and Themes for Creative Tables
.
Her latest book is
Kelly Hoppen Home
, where she explores the entire process of creating a home that meets the clients needs.
My personal favorite though is
In Touch: Texture in Design
where she explains the introduction of a textual dimension in the home. The book also features a directory profiling the key characteristics of different textures along with care advice.
Now to the high chic thrift tips:
(picture source: unknown)"Her ensembles are known for their fabulous floral displays, but Hoppen’s favourite cheap-chic trick is to
buy fake flowers. She produces some faux hydrangeas. The stems are snipped off, leaving the soft flower heads, which, piled into a square glass vase, look elegant and oriental. Then she places single flowers into tiny globe vases".
Indeed, talk of hydrangeas, fake or real, allows Hoppen to blossom and open up. They take her back to her grandmother’s flower garden — Stone House, just outside Cape Town — which she says is her inspiration. She describes it as
“a safe haven”, a home layered over years, put together “with patience and love” — an effect she strives for. In particular, she treasures memories of her grandmother’s gorgeous fabric combinations: suedes, chenilles, velvets, leathers.
(Pillows: Kelly Hoppen)These textures are a staple of Hoppen’s style, and, she says,
adding a contrasting fabric can be part of a cost-effective makeover. “There are lots of things you can do to revamp a home inexpensively,” she says. “You can
uplift cushions with bands of fabric.”
Heaving out a roll of French espadrille canvas and a silver-grey velvet cushion, she suggests alternating between canvas in summer and velvet bands in winter.
(Picture credit:cox and cox)For maximum effect on a shoestring, she suggests
a mix of freestanding lights, table lamps and candles. “The more lighting you have, the more choice you have about creating a mood.”
(Picture credit: Paula Prass)
Another top tip is to
use vegetables as decoration. We sit at a table loaded with artichokes, aubergines and limes from nearby Portobello market, placing them in glass cylinders and globes to produce instant, opulent textures and colour.
Finally, Hoppen lays eight polished red apples on a square black plate, with a gap, bottom right, where a ninth would complete the square. “Any reason you’re not using nine apples?” I ask. “Yes. Because they brought me eight,” Hoppen says.
Read full article
here. Visit Kelly Hoppen
here.
