At home with Paloma Faith
Sam Wylie-Harris chats to the singer about why she takes the same approach with decor as she does with her outfits
Opulent glamour, vintage chinoiserie and romantic noirs influenced by the cinematic works of Wong Kar-wai, deserve to be showcased with a flourish. And as someone who likes to feel “every minute of every day is beautiful”, Paloma Faith knows how to channel her love of retro bohemia and vintage style – whether that’s with her scenestealing outfits on stage, or her home style.
In-between finishing albums and filming projects – she’s set to tour her fifth album, Infinite Things in September – the singer-songwriter has just launched Paloma Home (palomahome.com), a blueprint for the personal style reflected in her own London townhouse.
“It’s inspired by the way I decorated my own house,” says Faith, who turns 40 later in July. “Because I’m never at home and usually on tour pre-Covid, I tend to take pictures of a space and then imagine it in my mind and put everything together while I’m away,” she adds. “And when I get back, it’s all done and I just pray that it works – and it usually does.”
Her debut line features three collections – Spiced Up, Rock N’Roll and Lady Muck – to help you create a ‘beautifully bohemian set up’. With 10 house prints, including Pouncing Tigers and Oriental Leaves & Birds, there’s eye-catching bedding, a parade of striking scatter cushions, furnishings and wallpapers – all with a hint of luxe and prices starting from £21 for a ruffle cushion.
Faith says she’s applied the same ethos as she takes with costumes and clothing.
“The way I do it is like putting an outfit together, like every room is an outfit, and I’ve made this range to be that way. A collection with inter-changeable pieces,” she explains.
“Almost like when a designer makes a capsule collection and you buy every bit of it, and then mix and match. I would say it’s probably more of a curation than a design, more about curating prints that shouldn’t be friends, but for some reason are.”
As well as being her favourite eras, Faith sees the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies as the heyday of design. “When you look back at the way everything flowed, the clothing, the interiors, there wasn’t really a differentiation between the two things, it was a lifestyle.”
Chatty, fun and a selfconfessed maximalist, Faith says her love of thrift shops and shopping started when she was in her early-20s. “My mother and father were very much into minimalism. They were both young in the Sixties, when white walls and trying to make a house look as empty as possible was the trend.
“So it was all about the opposite of maximalism. But my father’s mother, who was Spanish and Catholic, just loved tat, which I think is where it might have come from. Lots of Spanish Catholic influence, hoarding ornaments and stuff. And my mum and dad were always culling, throwing things out and saying this place is too full up.
“Whereas I became the opposite,” Faith states. “I really enjoy looking for old things, and over the years, travelling and everything, I never go to a city without having a quick look through vintage homewares and clothes, to bring stuff back.”
As every maximallist knows, there’s always room for more stuff. “Like the other day, I sort of secretly bought some life-sized ceramic dogs for my house, two of them. And I didn’t mention it to my boyfriend, who hates the fact I constantly buy and believe more is more.
And if she had to pick just one piece? “It would be the tiger print sofa,” says Faith. “It’s with the same fabric as the cushions and bedding. I’m already trying to imagine which piece of furniture from my home I can get rid of, so I can make space for it.”
And another bonus? No need to worry about little ones and sticky fingers mucking up your plush furnishings. “The good thing about this range is there’re so many patterns and clashes, you probably won’t notice any stains at all,” says Faith. “So just go for it and let the kids draw all over it.
You won’t be able to see it!”