Material matters

Interior designer Samantha Bartlett on how her studio is designing thoughtfully without compromising on luxury

Describe your design ethos?

We provide our clients with a bespoke service, using our passion and expertise. We aim to deliver a classiccontemporary aesthetic that will remain timeless and avoid the need to regularly update, which only adds to our disposable culture.

The classic-contemporary style is both versatile and elegant, from textures and patterns, to materiality. A muted colour palette can be both vibrant and neutral at the same time, and we feel this helps form the perfect ambience for any home.

What guides your creations?

I take inspiration from everywhere, but predominantly nature – walks with my family and my cocker spaniel Milo have inspired many of my designs. You can draw inspiration from all around should you be open to it – restaurants, hotels, different countries and their cultures. It can be something simple, such as a small detail on a napkin, to larger pieces of art and architecture.

As an interior designer, you’re naturally part of a creative network and are regularly amongst specialists and other designers. It’s important to learn from and be inspired by those around you when designing.

How important is sustainability in interior design? Extremely important. Sadly, the industry can be wasteful at times and when you’re an employee you are somewhat constrained by your organisation. Now as a business owner, I feel a duty to play a part, no matter how small and make change where I can. We promote sustainable living, and offer a range of eco-friendly materials and fabrics within our design. Where possible we re-use furniture or joinery to help minimise waste and reduce our environmental impact. We have also taken steps to educate our team on Environment Social Governance (ESG) and recently became a member of Ecologi, which is a Certified B Corporation.

A good example of this would be in the kitchen. There are plenty of ways to lower a kitchen’s carbon footprint, including upcycling and the use of energyefficient appliances. As a generation, we are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious and wherever possible make efforts to ensure this follows through in all our designs. Bring your vision to life by calling 020 3086 7100 or view projects designed by Samantha Bartlett Interiors at samanthabartlett.com