For the fourth part of our Interior Design Q&A Series, we're excited to have spoken with Beata Heuman, a talented interior designer based in London.
Her style is renowned for including luxurious fabrics, unique home furniture and perfectionism. You may have also seen Beata featured in the House and Garden's list of top 100 designers.
Beata has worked on several exciting projects since being a solo designer, and we were keen to discover more about her future projects...
To start, tell us about how it all began for your interior design career.
"It began as an obsession with my doll’s house followed by endlessly re-arranging my bedroom. When I moved to London in my early twenties I was lucky to get a job with Nicky Haslam which couldn’t have been more inspiring!"
Talk us through your creative process, how do you approach each project?
"Every client is different and each house unique so I approach projects with an open mind; I think it’s the key to a successful result.
First you have to get to know your client and the building and following that we always start with doing a furniture layout and creating the mood. What you don’t see looking at glossy images in magazines is the functionality.
Your client is hopefully going to live in and use the space you‘ve created for a long time. It has to flow effortlessly in practice as well as aesthetically."
How would you describe your style, to those who aren't familiar?
"A room should sing – that’s my motto. It’s not always super serious but still classic. I like the use of colours and patterns but a room you spend a lot of time in should also be restful."
If you could only pick one project from the last 5 years that you're most proud of, which would it be?
"It’s probably a big house I recently finished. The couple living there were up for doing things a bit differently and we made a lot of bespoke furniture and even printed custom designed fabrics. I was involved from the very start and also took part in the designing of architectural elements which was a great opportunity to create something really special from scratch."
How often do you incorporate industrial or vintage elements in to your designs?
"Almost always. I like mixing things up to create depth and variation. It’s important to not go for just one look - it can become heavy and predictable. I find actual industrial design very interesting to observe - old car motors and the like. Its key function is to perform a job and it’s certainly a no frill approach, but it can be very beautiful."
What's your take on the introduction of metallic tones within interior design?
"I like it! I never worry about mixing different metallic finishes in the same room. It doesn't all have to match and there are so many different tones so it’s virtually impossible to have a completely homogeneous look throughout. It just needs to sit well together."
Name (any) three things that you think will shape the future of interior design.
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I think people will value a more natural look which is truer to human nature. Minimalism can look impressive but it’s not how people actually live their lives. It shouldn't be obvious you've hired an interior designer.
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In a world of mass production true luxury is to have something you can’t buy walking down the high street. The best thing is if it’s made especially for you.
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Like with other areas of consumerism people will be more aware of how and where something was made. This will become more important than the price.
What's to come for you in the coming 2016, anything exciting you can share with us?
"We are working on a number of exciting projects! To mention a few we are doing the design of a restaurant opening in the autumn and a beautiful house by the River Thames, as well as designing a collection of home products."