House Guest by Country & Town House | Interior Designer Interviews

'Young Sainsbury is a cheeky little sausage with the most wonderful eye for detail. His furniture is extraordinary', says his client Sir Rod Stewart. 

Meeting in Guy Goodfellow's Chelsea atelier, this week Carole Annett sits down with the design world's best-kept secret: Jonathan Sainsbury. Founded in 1918, his eponymous family-run business has a reputation for creating some of the finest furniture in the world, often (though, as he stresses, not always) inspired by classical interiors of the 18th- and 19th-centuries. The key to his success? Quality. As he tells Carole: 'I only trade off my quality. I don't trade off price. I don't trade off being the quickest in the world. I don't trade off any of that. I only trade off people saying "If you want the best job then go and see Jonny and he'll sort it out for you".'

This week Carole sat down with celebrated chef Jason Atherton to chat about life, food, Michelin stars and his collaboration with luxury kitchen design company Smallbone. As a young boy growing up in Skegness, working in a restaurant gave Jason discipline, which along with a lifelong passion for fresh seasonal ingredients, has shaped his life. He has been married for 22 years with three daughters and they all know how to cook pasta from scratch. Tune in to hear more about fine dining, the simple way to upscale supermarket tomato purée and how to design a perfect kitchen.

Coco Chanel once said: 'Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury' – words that perfectly encompass the philosophy of this week's House Guest, Alua Kul, of Lumi Interiors. 'Practicality and functionality are the most important aspects of interior design,' she says. Tune in to hear more about how she fell in love with interior design and used her inquisitive mind and business acumen to set up a successful business practice which bridges London and Dubai.

'When we talk about hotels, we talk about building soulful places at scale and you have to feel a connection,' says Tara Bernerd, founder and head of a globally-renowned multi-disciplinary design studio Tara Bernerd & Partners. Tune in to hear more about her projects including the stunning Maroma – a Belmond hotel on the Maya Riviera in Mexico – her collaboration with Italian brand Frette, the time she met Robert Redford in an elevator, and why she’s learning all the time.

From the Alps to Mallorca, Mélie Dunod's August Collections bring elegance, efficiency and eco-conscious design to co-ownership, making the European holiday home dream much more attainable. The chic co-founder of August chats to Carole Annett about why becoming an entrepreneur was inevitable, what the tick-box is for each property August buys, and why she never asks for preferences or advice on the interior design. Tune in for more.

The first House Guest podcast of our new series is interior design supremo Kelly Hoppen. Renowned for her love of neutrals – ‘They are good for your state of mind,’ she says – Kelly tells Carole Annett about her East meets West philosophy, what happened when she met her design icon, Ralph Lauren, how excited she is about creating the ultimate home on the high street with her M&S collections, and why 2026 will be pivotal for her career. The podcast was recorded in December 2025.

Is this the future of vintage furniture shopping? This week, Carole sits down with Portuguese interior designer Barbara Neto to hear about how she's challenging the design industry's status quo with the launch of Curiouz. Describing the brand as more than a marketplace, but a movement, the AI powered platform is designed to revolutionise vintage furniture shopping. Born out of her own frustrations as a seller and consumer (never sure if the information she was given about items were correct or how they would arrive), she created Curiouz so that designers could finally shop and sell with confidence.

'I think the only thing I can rely on is my intuition and instinct,' says this week's house guest Irishman Shayne Brady. A recurring guest on BBC Interior Design Masters (they can't get enough of him and who can blame them), Shayne has recently consciously uncoupled from Brady Williams, the studio he set up with his former business partner Emily over 13 years ago (they still talk most days).

He has taken his commercial clients, including restaurant supremo Jeremy King, into the new studio. Among his many projects is the soon to reopen Simpson's in the Strand. Shayne had me giggling most of the afternoon – loved my time with him. Tune in for more.

This week Carole Annett sits down with interior designer Guy Goodfellow in his stunning London townhouse. Guy and his team of architects and designers are renowned for creating comfortable and inviting spaces in grand and historic estates. Armed with his passion for detail, in this episode he and Carole discuss how to imbue modern properties with historic character, and how to add a contemporary edge to older homes.

This week, Carole sits down with mirror master Dominic Schuster to discuss how he designs his antiqued and gilded mirror glass. With Decorex just around the corner, he explains how he transformed from a decorative antiques restorer to a mirror expert, talks his new furniture and lighting collection and shares some exciting upcoming projects.