COMING HOME: Kelly Hoppen on East to West and Back Again.
Editorial
Kelly Hoppen on East to West and Back Again.
“My philosophy has always remained the same,” renowned designer Kelly Hoppen CBE reflects, “it’s about creating calm, balanced environments based on order and the creation of harmony. How people feel in a space is as important as the way it looks – one can’t be without the other.” Such harmonisation of eastern order and western aesthetic has been the essence of Hoppen’s celebrated and sought-after interior designs. The feeling overwhelmingly evoked in her compositions is that of calm – achieved through a studied weaving of earthy neutrals that return, grounded, to the earth. “The best feeling is breathing a sigh of relief as you step inside the door, to a home that really fits like a glove. . . the best part about working with an individual is getting to know them, finding out what they really love, and using that insight to create an interior that is unique to them.”
“I spend a lot of time watching old Fred Astaire movies because I love the sculptural architecture and the way in which the lighting was positioned. . . I will watch, stop, and screenshot something, even a small detail.”
A home away from home, that supple leather glove that warms a traveller’s hand, is what the designer desires in a hotel. On her voyages, she recalls some examples “that stick in my mind – one of them is La Scalinatella in Capri, which is just a beautiful family-owned hotel. Obviously, the views from where it sits atop this amazing isle is beautiful, but it’s the warmth and the simpleness of the ever-present blue and white ceramic tiles, the exquisite linens, and all the staff that work there. They really make you feel at home.” At the other end of the welcoming spectrum, “the entrance of The Mark, in New York, has such a wow factor. Everything from the comfort of the beds to the lovely bathrooms that are slightly old-fashioned in a New York style makes you feel, again, right at home. . . obviously the comfort of your bed and the surroundings are elemental, but it’s also all the little details that people put in which are not like a hotel that I love.”
Words: Brodie Duncan
Read the full story in the first edition of MATTER OF HOW.
Released June 2024.