The Kitchen at No.26. Photo: Sophie Rowell

Spotlight is a cosy corner of Buonfresco, our subscriber newsletter, in which we invite creative professionals whose work we love to answer questions tied to the monthly theme. April’s edition was all about Pushing Boundaries…

Boundaries as imaginary and peripheral spaces with distinct charged spirit, brimful with potential. And perimeters that don't simply restrict or mark the limits of an area but offer suggestion as to where one thing ends, and another can begin...

A platform for possibilities wherein there are many questions to be asked, hypotheses to be tested, creative edges to be prodded at, spontaneous experiments and eureka moments to be encountered (and many learning experiences too). Excitingly; the prospect of the unexpected, the frustrating, the beautiful, the progressive, the surprising and the uplifting. Enlivening and new.

A perfect place to welcome the talented Sophie Rowell to answer our questions with her creative perspective on boundaries and interiors…

There is an excellent William Morris quote: "All rooms ought to look as if they were lived in, and to have so to say, a friendly welcome ready for the incomer." This feeling emanates from the interiors Sophie Rowell has designed. Good, happy feeling. Positive and cocooning, Sophie's interiors are comfortable and eclectic, welcoming and authentic, lived in and living. It is no surprise she was earmarked as a House & Garden Rising Star in 2022.

Sophie's interior design studio, Côte de Folk, is based by the sea in Folkestone, Kent. It evolved from a craft and vintage shop established in 2016, and followed her decades of experience as a fashion stylist and art director.

Surrounded by so much sea and sky, you can see why Sophie's designs might have a limitless and re-invorigated feeling. They seem to express excitement and ingenuity - something that can be seen in Sophie's use of materials (and tiles!) - and a sense of 'can do.' In each room she designs, Sophie seems to see an opportunity to disrupt, to repurpose and to celebrate imperfection and life. A piece of furniture is not defunct; a room is not finished. New life is breathed into the old and timeworn.

There is an intangible quality to Sophie's rooms that feel like they have been led by colour and imagination as opposed to a design rule book. Although structured, they do not feel bound and ordered, they feel like opening blooms. In amongst colour, pattern and texture, new connections can be found, perceptions and possibilities can be explored, the interiors are growing and expanding - or have room to do so.

With this natural creative instinct and capacity for endless possibility, we are delighted to welcome Sophie into this month's Spotlight.

1) What does pushing boundaries in interior design mean to you?

For me, it's about pushing beyond the norm. I strive for this within the design process but more importantly I want to push boundaries with the idea that its okay to work with existing furniture and items that you may have fallen out of love with, or feel are dated, by bringing them back to life. It's not a clear-out-and-start-again approach but being much more conscious about things, and waste, and how we can adapt an item rather than just throwing it away.

2) Are your designs informed more by instinct or planned creative steps and process?

Definitely INSTINCT. This is really important to me and my process. Homes, I believe carry energy and stories. It's important to lean into that when making decisions. Our environment can enhance our day-to-day experience. It's important. How your home makes you feel is far more interesting to me than just how it looks.

3) Does Wabi-sabi philosophy affect how you think, design, or source?

I think sometimes people misinterpret the meaning of Wabi-sabi. Yes, it's about the imperfect and finding beauty in that. Nothing is perfect and nothing is permanent. 'Nothing is finished' - this is important to me and my process as a home should continually grow and evolve with its occupants. There's always space in my designs, space to change, move, reorganise spaces, to add to them all the time as you grow, your children grow, you travel and change.

4) Thinking about physical boundaries, do you think a space restricts or reveals how you can design?

Definitely reveals!

6. Top unexpected places to source things?

House Clearance Stores and Curbside - “one person's trash is another man's treasure!"

7. Favourite unusual way to use a product or material?

I love to cover the feet and legs of furniture in the same fabric to create unique, soft, unexpected designs.

8. What are your thoughts on the importance of creatively challenging boundaries and/ or surprising expectations with clients?

I love to surprise my clients and often in the instal process I create something for them that only could mean something to them. Whether it’s searching for a monogrammed antique sheet with their initials on, a bespoke café curtain with their child’s handwriting embroidered on, or once I had a tattoo artist design a lampshade with all the families favourite things on, including paying homage to the client's childhood dog who passed away.

9. A favourite or surprising colour combination?

Fair and light lilac with deep brown.

10. What are the 5 biggest influences on your work?

Nature.

My Clients - even the ones that feel they don’t know what they are doing with interiors, will always bring a dimension and an idea to the project.

Other Designers I greatly admire - like Billy Cotton, Beata Heuman and Frances Merrill.

My son - in terms of running the business, working hard and creating a good life for us both to enjoy.

Movies/TV - interiors in the movies always influence me, be it a lampshade shape or a headboard design, I’m particularly into gangster movies at the moment with their Nonna's houses!

11. A place you go to creatively open or challenge yourself to think or create differently?

I am lucky enough to live by the sea. Right by it. I can see it from every window in my home. Being close to this force of nature, being able to see its vastness on a daily basis, is very good for the soul! It's a special thing to live by the sea, it’s difficult to explain its impact until you’ve done it.

12. A favourite quote or wise words or mantra?

Go with the flow - Force nothing - and Trust.

This has proven itself in my work a lot. Whenever there's been a 'problem' the solution that is then found usually changes an aspect of the build or interior and it's ALWAYS for the best.

SEE MORE

Follow Sophie on Instagram for inspiration and to see her current projects, and visit her website to view previous work.

“Design is coming to grips with one’s real lifestyle, one’s real place in the world. Rooms should not be put together for show but to nourish one’s well-being.”

— Albert Hadley

The Aster Muro Journal - Creative Inspiration and Updates

SPOTLIGHT / Sophie Rowell (Côte de Folk), Interior Designer