House and Garden April 2020

PHILIP HOOPER | Interior designer After studying architecture at Canterbury College of Art, Philip Hooper found his calling while working for interior designer John Stefanidis for 15 years before he opened his own practice. In 2001, Philip joined Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, to head up a new team specialising in his ‘more mannered approach’ to design and interior architecture. His architectural background allows him to walk through projects in his mind, visualising them in 3D and making tweaks. Philip has written about curtains for this month’s On Decorating column (on page 115). His general advice is to ‘remember that texture is as important as pattern’. Where do you like to relax? ‘My Somerset garden is one of the few places I can switch off. The house I have lived in for…

Cities buzz with the energy of lots of people doing different things. Somehow, an urban interior can have a boldness, a bravery – even a degree of artifice – when it comes to its design, that does not tend to sit easily in a country house. What might seem pretentious and brash in the country can be clever and chic in a city. So this April issue focuses on urban style. Our inspiring Design Ideas feature (from page 101) looks at striking interiors in some of the smartest cities in the world. In this month’s On Decorating column (page 115), Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler design director Philip Hooper gives advice on curtains for modern settings and what they should and should not be. From page 174, we visit a rooftop…

PIXELATE IMAGING; ANDREW JOHN SIMPSON…

The making process is what excites me,’ says London-born designer Martyn Thompson when I enquire about his approach to design. He has experimented with many types of making over the course of his 35-year career – he spent his twenties designing clothes, before turning his eye to fashion photography and shooting for brands including Ralph Lauren and Gucci. He is best known today for the jacquard fabrics that are digitally woven using his photographs. ‘About 14 years ago, I became obsessed with developing my personal work and so I decided to experiment more with my photos,’ says Martyn. To create the fabrics, his photographs are turned into digital files, which are then woven on a tapestry loom. ‘It produces a painterly, tactile effect,’ explains Martyn, whose collection has grown to…