House Guest by Country & Town House | Interior Designer Interviews

This week, Carole Annett sits down with Saffron Aldridge and Scarlett Supple of Alridge and Supple – a small, dynamic studio spanning decorating, interiors, sourcing and product design. They chat about the origins of the brand, give us a sneak peek into upcoming projects, and talk through their incredible restoration of a historic property on a Hebridean island. Sponsored by ABI Interiors.

This week's, Carole Annett chats to Ippolita Rostagno, a jewellery designer and the co-founder of Artemest, an online gallery for Italian craft. Ippolita travels throughout Italy seeking out artisans bringing visibility to both ancient and contemporary arts. Tune in for more! Sponsored by ABI Interiors.

“Home is about the people, but possessions are also very powerful in making you feel comfortable and familiar,” says Sophie Ashby, one of the UK's most influential tastemakers. We chat about her childhood in South Africa, launching her business aged just 25 and moving house 14 times. She studied at Parsons School of Art in New York - she was there for only a short time but it had a huge impact on her career. She launched United in Design to open up the world of interior design to a wider, more diverse audience. Sponsored by ABI Interiors.

Known for skillfully mixing fashion, fine art, and theatre, Giles Deacon is the go-to couturier for celebrities including Kylie Minogue and Sarah Jessica Parker – but for his latest project, he’s dipping a toe into the world of interiors. In this week’s episode, Carole Annett chats with Giles about his new collaboration with Sanderson, the iconic fabrics and furniture brand. Sponsored by ABI Interiors.

Guy Oliver of Oliver Laws has a background in architectural and design history, which stood him in good stead for a recent commission: The King’s Lodge at London’s iconic Mayfair hotel, The Connaught. A treasure trove of intricate panelling, jewel-coloured fabrics and carved marble, it was created in collaboration with King Charles’ Turquoise Mountain initiative which supports craftspeople in countries such as Afghanistan and Myanmar. Tune in to hear more about how the project came about and Guy’s own fascinating career. Sponsored by ABI Interiors.

House Guest is back for another series! In the first episode, Carole Annett visits the home of designer Tim Gosling, whose clients include Elton John, David Furnish, Jo Malone and the late Queen Mother. They chat about the creative personalities Tim has worked with, his addiction to auctions – while revealing top buying tips – plus tales of renovating his own French chateau. 'Elton is one of the most remarkable collectors I have ever met’, he says. Sponsored by ABI Interiors.

In the final House Guest episode of 2023, Carole Annett chats to fashion designer Ozwald Boateng, who is dipping his toe into the world of interiors after nearly three decades of inspirational work in menswear. Tune in for more.

India Hicks is this week’s very special House Guest. A model, businesswoman and humanitarian, India is the third child of Lady Pamela Mountbatten and David Hicks – her mother served as lady in waiting to the queen and her father was a much-celebrated interior designer. We chat about family life on Harbour Island, her five children (she has two sons of 26, but they aren’t twins) and why Mick Jagger named her pet parrot Jenga. India is about to launch a new range of bedlinen for Heirlooms which features her mantra: 'Live an extraordinary life'.

Trend alert: decorative art is back! Today's House Guest is decorative artist and rising star Meg Boscawen, who works with some of the biggest names in interiors – from Nina Campbell to Penny Morrison. "Truthfully, it's the everyday moments that give me inspiration," Meg tells Carole Annett. Tune in for more.

Today’s House Guest is Randle Siddeley, the Lord Kenilworth, who set up his eponymous landscape business 48 years ago. Recognised globally for innovative and beautiful projects, he has worked on magnificent estates and hotel projects both in the UK and abroad. Randle’s father was a well known interior designer and it was expected he would follow in his footsteps. But Randle didn’t do well at school; he was dyslexic, and found solace and excitement outside the house rather than indoors. We chat about life and nature, and he is a fount of knowledge. ‘The most important thing I always say is: judge your garden by how it looks in winter,' he states. 'This is when you can tell you have a good structured garden. The most important element is the backdrop, ideally evergreen, because whatever you have in the foreground needs that backdrop… it’s like a stage.' Tune in for more, plus a special appearance by Diego the beagle.

Dynamic interior design duo and longstanding friends Bunny Turner and Emma Pocock chat to Carole about their people-focused interior design company, Turner Pocock, how their friendship helped shape their business and what led to the creation of their charity, TP Caring Spaces. You can find out more about the TP Caring Spaces Carol Concert (and grab your tickets) at tpcaringspaces.co.uk

Architect Claus Thottrup chats with Carole about creating the Italian idyll, Borgo Santo Pietro. Originally a healing stopover for medieval pilgrims, the estate he bought, along with wife Jeannette in 2001, now comprises a 300-acre organic farm, cookery school (overseen by an 80-year old nonna), vineyard, two restaurants, manicured gardens and 22 suites. The concept hasn't changed - to offer a restorative sanctuary for modern souls along with an unwavering dedication to sustainability and organic living. 'We want to connect people to nature in a luxury way,' says Claus. Tune in for more. For a review of Borgo, head to countryandtownhouse.co.uk

'Over time I realised how important beauty is as part of the home', says John Sims Hilditch of Neptune. ‘I think it is something that elevates the spirit’. Launched in 1996 with friend and business partner Giles Redman, Neptune has grown into one of the UK's best-loved lifestyle brands. Tune in to hear how John went from a military career to designing a hammock which sold rather better than expected, and sowed the seed for something rather special.

This week, Carole Annett chats to celebrity interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard. He delves into his multi award-winning work for the likes of Cher and the Kardashians, and he also discusses his brand new book, 'Star Style'. Tune in for more.

Henriette von Stockhausen of VSP Interiors is a four-poster bed virtuoso. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever done a project without putting one in,’ she says. An expert at creating immaculate, dreamy interiors, she says a four-poster not only makes you feel special, but it’s also very romantic. Carole and Heni chat about the bed’s history, consider fabrics to use when curtaining the sides, and discuss different styles, from mirrored columns to designs for children. Tune in for more.

Known as the Queen of Colour, Sophie Robinson is an interior designer and broadcaster and the authority on hue. In her podcast The Great Indoors with Katie Watson-Smyth, she is the aesthetic agony aunt to a nation of amateur decorators. We chat about her start in design – she specialised in plastics (surprise surprise) 'as that is where I could get the most colour in,' she says. After a degree studying wood, metal, plastics and ceramics at Brighton University, it was her YouTube channel that set her on a path to greater recognition, including BBC2's Great Interior Design Challange. She has just launched her first fabric collection with Harlequin.

This week, we chat to Freya Simms, who is heading up LAPADA, a fair in Berkeley Square showcasing jewellery, silver, art and antiques, opening on 27 September.

We're kicking off a new series of House Guest with Jules Haines, founder of the textile resale platform Haines. Jules is on a mission to tackle waste in the textile industry by working with designer brands to resell their surplus and deadstock fabric. The Haines platform now offers a huge selection of products, from gorgeous fabrics to cushions made from offcuts destined for landfill. Tune in for more.

Today we're revisiting a chat with Emma Manners, the Duchess of Rutland, who lives in one of Britain’s most magnificent stately homes: Belvoir Castle. The Duchess chats to Carole about her journey from running around on a Welsh farm as a child to running a 200-room stately home when she married the 11th Duke of Rutland 30 years ago. As a keen decorator, she gives an insight into how she stamped her personality onto the private areas of the house and how looking after fabrics and wallpapers in the State Rooms requires a delicate hand.

This week, we're revisiting our chat with Emma Sims Hilditch, an interior designer who grew up in a creative home where her mother loved to follow decorating trends, from 70s swirls to 80s swags. Emma inherited her mother’s creative gene, but, ‘I wouldn’t follow a trend,’ she says, ‘because if you’re not careful trends move on and then you’re stuck’. As well as discussing her book, 'The Evolution of Home,' with Giles Kime – a fascinating dive into how English country house style has changed – she offers tips on how to bring atmosphere into a house (you need a multi-faceted approach) and why the dining room is back in fashion but not in its traditional guise. Tune in for more.