In this episode, we’re exploring healthy spaces, happy places and how to integrate wellness into the design process.

Wellness is defined as ‘the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal’.

Interior designers have always understood that well-ordered, functional spaces can relieve anxiety and bring relaxation and peace, but today’s well-informed clients are now demanding enhanced wellness as requisite for their interior spaces.

So, what exactly constitutes wellbeing? How can we achieve this elusive goal?And, what should interior designers do to keep pace with the latest thinking on wellness and apply that theory in their work?

We're joined by Karen Stonely and Peter Pelsinki, co-founders and the creative force behind SPAN Architecture LLC, the internationally renowned, New York-based, architecture and design studio, to find out how they embed design for wellness at the core of their spectacular projects. 

Interior designers are well respected for their creativity, but much less so for their business practices. Most design studios are micro businesses whose owners are often too busy designing to pay sufficient attention to contracts and other key project documents.

So, what do designers need to do to tighten up their business practices in order to be seen as true professionals? And where can they turn to for advice?

The British Institute of Interior Design in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects has commissioned a new, comprehensive guide to professional practice for interior designers, called ‘The BIID Project Book.

The author of this publication, none other than podcast co-host, Susie Rumbold, a Past President of the BIID and Creative Director of London firm, Tessuto Interiors, joins us on the show to explain more about the project and tell us what we can find inside 'The BIID Project Book'. 

Success, like beauty, is firmly in the eye of the beholder.

For interior designers, and the practices they run, it goes without saying that success involves happy clients and being paid to create beautiful, functional interiors but, in reality, what does this look like? What really constitutes success for an interior designer? Is it fame? Or is it fortune? And in the end, does size really matter?

In this show, recorded in front of a live audience of designers at the fabulous Roca London Gallery as part of the Chelsea Design Quarter Springtime Sessions, Jeff and Susie talk with David Goodman, COO of the renowned David Collins Studio, and Monique Tollgard Co-founder and Head of Studio of the Tollgard Design Group, to find out what success means to them personally and professionally. 

In this episode, we’re taking a detailed look at typical lighting issues facing interior designers with advice on how to deal with them from Luke Thomas, Design Director at John Cullen Lighting.

Interior designers and their clients often underestimate the importance of lighting.

Simply put, it seems senseless to spend time, energy and lots of money designing and installing beautiful interiors, if you cannot see them properly. 

So, how can interior designers avoid the most common pitfalls and create the right lighting for their projects?

We are a Wildwood production. 

Interior designers are always looking for ways to showcase their work and gain recognition from a wider audience, but this is not always easy to achieve. Getting editorial coverage in glossy magazines can be tricky and Instagram has become a seriously crowded place. But what about winning interior design awards?

Will winning a recognised design award bring about the desired rise in profile? Or does the cost and effort of entering outweigh the benefits? And in a space crowded with design award schemes, how can you tell which ones are the real deal? 

We're joined by two multi-award-winning practitioners, May Fawzy of specialist workplace design practice MF Design Studio and Matt Freeman, Senior Associate at Goddard Littlefair and President-Elect of the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID), to talk about how they go about entering, and more importantly, winning interior design awards. 

We also receive privileged insights into the new BIID Interior Design Awards scheme. 

This episode is a Wildwood production. 

You’ve worked hard to get your interior design qualifications and you have spent years working even harder in other people’s design studios honing your knowledge and skills. Finally, you feel ready to break free, spread your entrepreneurial wings and run your own interior design company.  

But how do you know when the time is right to take the first step? And do you go it alone or join forces with a partner? Should you rush out and rent office space? And, most importantly, how will you let prospective clients know you are open for business and ready to take on their projects?

New kids on the block, Courtney Giles and Marianne Roe, explain how and why they set up Studio Smiths and what's making their partnership such a success. 

This episode is a Wildwood production.       

So, you have spent a fortune on your website and have a clutch of completed photogenic projects ready to be showcased. As a designer, you know that quality photographs will make your interiors sing and induce those high spending clients to pick up the phone.

But how do you go about finding that special photographer who will be capable of conveying and amplifying your unique style?

Once found, how should you work with them to ensure you ratchet the maximum value from each photoshoot?

And how important is the quality of communication between designer and photographer in ensuring a breathtaking outcome?

We're joined by the experienced interior design photographer, James Balston, to find out the answers.

This episode is a Wildwood production.       

For interior design projects, the perfect client is one with deep pockets and a spirit of adventure; a client who admires their designer’s personal style and respects and trusts the designer’s vision for their spaces.

So just how important is it for designers to have a recognisable style to attract their dream clients?

And how should designers define their unique design vision and then communicate it effectively to attract those dream clients?

We're joined by acclaimed interior designer Susie Atkinson for her perspective on this fascinating topic as she shares her own journey with a live audience of designers, together with her views on interior design style and client relationships.

This episode was recorded at the Roca London Gallery as part of the podcast's third birthday celebrations. We are grateful to series sponsors, Parkside Architectural Tiles, for their support.

We are a Wildwood production.     

Most interior designers begin in a whirl of creativity, energy and optimism.

In an average working week, they will act as designer, specifier, accountant, project manager, client liaison, IT support, office dogsbody and tea-lady.

There is no time to spare for marketing the business or finding new clients. Workflows are impossible to manage, and famine follows feast in a never-ending cycle that can be difficult to break. This is the curse of the small business.

Yet some design businesses seem to quickly grow and effortlessly thrive acquiring prestige and financial success along the way. Their founders serene, glamorous and much admired.  

So, what is their secret? At what point did they make the jump to hyperspace? And how did they orchestrate it?

In this episode, we are joined by two very special guests, successful designer Lindsey Rendall, British Institute of Interior Design President and founding partner of Rendall and Wright, and Rose Murray, founder and creative force behind These White Walls, to find out they did it.

This episode was recorded at the Parkside Studio in Clerkenwell - thanks to Parkside for their support. 

We are a Wildwood production. 

The worst experiences often make the best stories. Never has this been truer than in the world of interior design!

In this episode, we are going to explore some of the best-worst moments in the careers of Joanna Wood from Joanna Wood Ltd, Irene Gunter from Gunter & Co and co-host, Susie Rumbold from Tessuto Interiors. We'll find out how this acclaimed panel of designers solved the insoluble and still came up smiling and smelling of roses.

This discussion was originally part of the Talks Programme in the Seminar Theatre at the international design fair, Decorex.

It was recorded on 12th October 2021 - we apologise for any temporary audio interference with the recording. 

Our thanks to series supporters, John Lewis & Partners Business and Parkside Architectural Tiles. 

We are a Wildwood production.