The Interview: Tricia Guild

"Every piece of Designers Guild furniture has been carefully considered and designed to combine timeless style with extreme comfort."

Houseology are delighted to be launching a fantastic new collaboration with the wonderful Designers Guild. Our new collection is made up of eight carefully curated designs that will allow you to create the perfect sofa, armchair or footstool for your home. Not only will you be able to choose the style and size that you love but you can also choose from over 70 luxurious Designers Guild fabrics and 10 different feet finishes in order to fully customise a unique sofa for your own home. We chat to founder of Designers Guild, Tricia Guild OBE about the collection and her love for colour...

Designers Guild’s wonderful use of colour and pattern is famous all over the world, where would you recommend people start when introducing colour into an interior scheme?

I think the key is to find your own interior style, after all it is your home and you live there. Magazines, books and the internet are, of course, full of so much inspiration and are a great place to start. I would say visit exhibitions and galleries for inspiration to discover your own sense of style as well as showrooms where you can feel and touch the fabrics, wallpaper, furniture and accessories and see how spaces come together using different colours, patterns and textures. Once you have an idea, try pulling the concept together - we use moodboards when designing spaces and we add swatches of paint, wallpaper or fabric samples as well as photos or mementos for inspiration.

What inspires you when you are designing textiles for use in upholstery?

Every single piece of Designers Guild furniture has been carefully considered and designed to combine timeless style with extreme comfort and outstanding quality, that's so important.

We are delighted to be launching this collection at Houseology, how do you think upholstery can transform a space?

What makes Designers Guild upholstery so unique is that you can make your furniture truly individual so that it fits your space beautifully. You have your choice of any fabric and the range of models allows you to discover the ultimate in comfort and style.

What should people consider when choosing sofa and armchair upholstery in terms of colour and pattern?

A: I think it is more about how colour is brought into the space and how it is used, as well as one’s own personal perspective and preference. Our colour palette is broad and amongst the many brilliant, brighter colours that we are perhaps more well known for, we have hundreds of naturals, neutrals, black, white and grey shades. I think the key is to always combine colour with plenty of white to maintain a sense of harmony.

Other than the upholstery colour, what else do people need to think about when making a decision about which textiles to go for?

The finish of the fabric has a huge impact on the piece of furniture, whether it be a luxurious velvet, a smart tweed or crisp and plain and so this is another important factor to consider when you are creating your aesthetic. Depending on what other elements you have in a room, a piece of furniture can look very different if it's upholstered in pure matt linen rather than a geometric rich velvet.

People are sometimes nervous of bringing colour into their interior – how can they ensure that they select upholstery and accessories that work together?

Black and white is a timeless combination, and I find it to be the perfect addition as it works well with colours from right across the spectrum. I use black and white almost as though it were a neutral - it can sharpen softer pink palettes, temper brighter colours and bring a graphic edge to more neutral spaces.

Are there colour palettes that you like using in particular rooms? For example, is there a living room colour scheme that you consider to be a favourite?

For me, colour is an emotive and personal choice. We all have our own sense of colour and it is just a case of tuning into it – we all have colours that make us feel happy, sad, restful or invigorated. In my own home I have used my own sense of colour and emotion to help achieve a certain ambience in each space. For example, throughout the main heart of the house - the kitchen and dining spaces where I entertain - the walls are a wonderful vivid green, it's almost a living, breathing colour, which creates an atmosphere that I find so stimulating, it's perfect for these spaces that are most often used for dinners and drinks with friends and family. My bedroom is a fabulous deep shade of blue, which for me it is the perfect shade for a bedroom as I find it to be incredibly restful and the perfect escape, evoking the expanse of the sky or the deep blue of the ocean.