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British interior designer Kelly Hoppen takes on TV


The famous interior designer who has overhauled the Beckhams' home hits the small screen

British interior designer Kelly Hoppen takes on TV

Kelly Hoppen's soft and textural rooms sparkle against a neutral colour palette.

Photograph by: Mel Yates , National Post

She is designing the Kensington Palace apartment for William and Kate. She has designed homes for many celebrities including the Beckhams, and spearheaded the seminal "east meets west" design style. Here, she reveals the next step in her journey.

Everyone has their personal bucket list, a mental file of things they'd like to do before it's too late. For me, it was television. I'd been asked many times to do a TV show, but I wanted to do it when I could have real input and make it properly. I'm pleased to say Superior Interiors will be shown in the United Kingdom next year (and may follow soon after in Canada).

It's a little nerve-racking, to be honest. There are already quality TV shows about design. And while I can't say too much about my show at the moment, I can tell you that I absolutely loved doing it. The people I worked with had extraordinary stories, some very heartfelt, and I know that I helped them and changed their lives a great deal. What I wanted was a feel-good show rather than being negative in any way, and I think the production company did a phenomenal job in making that happen.

I now also look at television and film in a totally different way, and I have a huge amount of respect for people who work in the industry. Filming is tiring. Really tiring. You've got to retake it and retake it, from the left, from the right.

It's strange when people tell me that this show is what will make me a household name. I've been working as a designer since I was 16, and I'm 52 now. My first book, East Meets West, was also a huge hit and helped to raise my profile in the design community. I guess the television exposure is simply the next step in my journey.

The most important thing, though, is the show's ability to make a difference to somebody who is not in the highend bracket financially. That means a hell of a lot to me and it's what really attracted me to doing the show. It's not just me going out into someone's house and saying "paint the walls taupe" or whatever. The most important part about doing up any home is getting into the owner's head. It's not just about buying pretty things.

It's about understanding how you want to live. My TV show isn't solely about interiors. It's about the psychology of people.

Rather than selling their homes, more and more people are now looking at ways in which they can do them up. And on the show, we've done it from a miniscule amount, right up to $100,000. After all, my style is my style. It doesn't alter just because someone spends more money. I think the press has made out that designers like myself don't get out of bed for less than a king's ransom, but that's just not true. We design for celebrities, but we also design for the ordinary person in the street. People are people. Celebs still sneeze, they still swallow, they still eat, they still sleep. The only difference between any of my jobs is how much money people spend on a project. Everyone has the same fears, the same anxieties, the same arguments, the same laughter. There is no difference whatsoever.

Granted, since creating interiors for people like the Beckhams, I've become known as a designer to celebrities. What's more interesting, though, is how the design ideas I've created have filtered down into the mainstream. Everywhere you look there is a high-end design being duplicated. Check out the offerings of the big names, including Ikea, and you'll see topdesigner looks being duplicated. Consumers are also better informed, reading magazines or studying design books to see what works at the top end of the market and then using the more affordable offerings from big brands to replicate that look in their own home. A design democracy, if you will.

And this where my TV show comes in. Now I'm going into more people's homes and showing them how they can change their lives by revamping their living space. My career has come full circle.

I never had any ambitions to be a celebrity, like these high-profile chefs that seem to spend more time on TV than they do in their restaurant kitchens. I don't need fame, because I'm a designer, first and foremost. My only aim is to help more people live happier, fuller lives in a place they love.

- Kelly Hoppen is a creative director at yoo.com

Kelly Hoppen


Photograph by: Mel Yates, National Post

Kelly Hoppen
Kelly Hoppen
Kelly Hoppen
Kelly Hoppen
Kelly Hoppen
Kelly Hoppen

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