Suzy Hoodless

From Wallpaper* to Barbados, it seems Suzy Hoodless’ talents know no bounds. Tamara Abraham catches up with interior design’s brightest star

Above: Clarendon Cross-based interior designer Suzy Hoodless Photogrpah by Victoria Dawe

For someone as in-demand as local interior designer Suzy Hoodless, she is remarkably relaxed when we meet for coffee at Julie’s, located just opposite her Clarendon Cross showroom. Recently hailed as ‘Britain’s brightest taste-maker’ in Harpers Bazaar’s Top 40 Under 40 list, Hoodless is riding ever higher on a wave of success.

‘At the moment, we have a waiting list, which is a very nice position to be in,’ she admits modestly.Juggling several projects at once, the variety of Hoodless’ recent commissions are an indication of her broad client base and global appeal. Two estates in Scotland, a beach house in Barbados, and the Soho branch of chic patisserie Konditor and Cook are but a few in her bursting portfolio.

‘We take on very different, very diverse projects from all over the world, which is very liberating for us, and creatively keeps us fresh. Though I have a strong vision of what I like and believe in, it’s a very broad vision.’

The project in Barbados was particularly memorable – but not so much for the obvious reasons. ‘It was an incredibly intense project, as it’s not an easy climate to work in,’ she explains. ‘Luckily there were no hurricanes that year, but it was unbelievably hot, very humid. We’d be racing around and occasionally see the sea and remember we’re in Barbados.’

The fantastic thing, Hoodless tells me, was the way the climate influenced the style of the space. In the main living area she removed the original glass windows and replaced them with shutters – ‘they made the space look very Bahamian and airy – it made a big difference’.

She also looked to the local and natural environment for ideas, evident from the cluster of steel drums in the living room, to the locally handmade bamboo candleholders and the tree trunk in the dining room – an organic contrast to the clean lines of the contemporary chairs and table.

The project was clearly demanding, but an intense schedule and workload is not new to Hoodless. A former interiors editor for Wallpaper*, she was part of the magazine’s original team, cherry-picked by the founder Tyler Brûlé.

‘I was very lucky to meet Tyler when he had just put together a dummy edition of Wallpaper* – it was the type of magazine I’d always wanted to work for but had never existed.’ Over the course of five years there, she travelled the world, visited furniture fairs, styled and art directed. It was an amazing time.

As well as forming the foundations of her incomparable contacts book, the experience of working with Brûlé proved inspirational. ‘Tyler was a huge influence on me. He was always incredibly focused with his vision and what he wanted, and nothing was impossible.’

Hoodless’ career in design began as an assistant to the creative team at Designers Guild. ‘Tricia Guild was also, and always has, been a fantastic influence on my career because she’s 100 per cent focused on what she does. She was the first person to make me believe that anything is possible.’

Following her time at Designers Guild, Hoodless determinedly did a six-month stint of work experience at every top design magazine, working in a bar at night to pay the bills. House & Garden were quick to spot her talents and kept asking her back, after which freelance work, then Wallpaper* followed.

The transition from magazines to freelance stylist and interior designer was enviably effortless. ‘It just sort of happened.’ After making the decision to leave Wallpaper*, Hoodless continued to style for publications including Casa Vogue, The Sunday Times and US House & Garden. The interior design business took off after an acquaintance from her Wallpaper* days asked her to help decorate her Notting Hill home.

‘From that day on it never stopped.’Most business is word-of-mouth, but the stylish frontage of the Clarendon Cross showroom, which opened two years ago, is nevertheless an effective advertising tool for attracting a number of new clients. ‘It works incredibly well. It’s a studio space upstairs, and a showroom on the ground floor, which is used to showcase interesting pieces of furniture. We meet the clients there too – it’s just the sort of space that we need it to be, there’s not any pressure on it to be a shop in a traditional sense.’

The decision to base herself in Notting Hill was a very natural one. A long-time resident of the area (Hoodless lives off Golborne Road), most of her clients are locals too. ‘I think this area has the best of everything, I think it has a great vibrancy,’ she smiles.

The markets, particularly, indulge her second great passion in life: cooking. ‘I’ll cook for anyone who will let me cook for them – friends, clients. I have a study, one half of which is design and art books, the others are cookery books. I have most cook books that have been published over the last decade.’

Favourite local eateries include the cluster of ethnic family-run joints along the Golborne Road – Lebanese, Moroccan, and Indian – as well as Upstairs at The Cow, and, of course, Julie’s (‘It’s my second office.’)Beauty destinations are also close by, none more so to her studio than the inimitable Cowshed, which is a favourite. Massages are courtesy of a girl based in Portobello Green Arcade. Typically Hoodless tells me, ‘I first noticed her amazing shop window.’

So what does the future hold for the Suzy Hoodless empire? A current project is Erin O’Connor’s Georgian townhouse – again, a client who shares her aesthetic. ‘She’s been fantastic to work with. She’s not afraid of trying very bold things.’ An appropriately English eccentric look evolved, with cabinets of curiosity and an 18th-century Chesterfield meeting a modern geometric coffee table.

Celebrity clients aside, the business is fast expanding. Her first range of wallpaper was produced by Cole and Son last year, and 2008 promises a new line with Osborne & Little. In the meantime, this winter sees the launch of a range of cashmere blankets and throws. What’s more, for this year’s London Design Festival, she has curated a selling exhibition of up-and-coming young designers for the Clarendon Cross space, including fabrics by recent graduate Stephanie Sloane, and ceramics by Stephen Johnson.Besides her impeccable eye, it is Hoodless’ unique ability to interpret and realise the spaces of her clients’ imaginations that generates such successful results.

‘We have some wonderful clients from all walks of life, who I find creatively and intellectually very interesting. It’s important,’ she adds, ‘as it doesn’t interest me to do one type of design for one type of client. It has to be about the bigger picture.’ Certainly, if her empire continues to grow at this rate, it will be.

Suzy Hoodless, 10 Clarendon Cross, W11

020 7221 8844; www.suzyhoodless.com