Pull up a chair with… Lauren Elliott

DCC Creative Director, Amanda Huber, sits down with interior designer Lauren Elliot, to hear more about her design journey and working with bespoke dining chair design

Where did your journey in interior design begin?

Gosh, now I’m in the stage where it’s like 15 years ago. It feels like 5 years ago, but it’s been 15 years. If we go right back to the very beginning, it started with my mum actually who was very interested in interiors and magazines in the house with page corners turned over. I obviously got used to flicking through and realised I also had a passion for interiors as well. So it came to the day where my mum employed an interior designer and they were going through the house, and I asked if I could shadow them.
I actually ended up working with them in the end and studying at the same time, doing an online course with Inchbald School of Design. I worked my way up on the job, and ended up working with Kit Kemp at The Firmdale Hotels, and I’d probably say that out of everything, this is where my creative journey began and my love of interiors came on even more from there.

You always feature a wonderful mix of colour and patterns, do you think this came from here?

think colour and pattern is always something that I had within me, but working with someone like Kit and her design team, actually gave me the confidence and that my ideas weren’t crazy, and to embrace them. She was very supportive of that and letting your creativity flow to see what you came up with and she was there to guide me. I really learnt a lot from Kit and her design team in that time, but it really stemmed from family which is exciting.

I know Kit’s done some exciting collaborations with the likes of Christopher Farr and you did that wonderful showroom for them.  Did you work with them as well? did that come about from that relationship?

I think it did, yes. It did come from that, but I do work with them a lot, using their beautiful fabrics on your furniture. It was a match made in heaven really and that worked out well too.

We love your use of colour and contrasting fabrics and it really inspires us to encourage others to do the same thing who are less adventurous and its visible on your IG. You also mention that the devil is in the detail, so when you’re working on projects, how does it work?

The way I tackle a project is very feeling-based. It’s very personality driven for me, so when I start to work with a client, there’s always two personalities in a job for me. There’s the client and then there’s the house, and it’s about marrying the two. It sounds really airy-fairy, but I believe the house has something to say at the same time, especially in period properties where there’s lots of history in there. It’s doing something that the client wants, but still respecting the house, bringing the two together. I really do feel, especially after Covid, people became very aware of how their environment affects their mental health. Your home is where you wake up, go to bed, and you want it to feel nice as well as look beautiful. I don’t have a theory of how I tackle projects, it’s more about how you want that space to make you feel, and then it develops from there.

Do you ever have conflict with the client in terms of what they want, and what the house is telling you?

Yes, it does happen at times, and I probably shouldn’t say that, but I’ve been really lucky that my clients tend to have a good design eye and so they’ve embraced my ideas and come up with their own fantastic ideas. I always tell clients it’s a collaboration, and during the 15 years of doing this, I’ve found that a lot of people have been scared to approach interior designers. I don’t know why and if there’s a stigma about it, but my hope is to break down those walls so it’s not a scary thing to work with an interior designer. At the end of the day, we’re not saving lives, but it’s supposed to be a really fun process, and I do see it as a huge privilege if someone asks you to make their house into a home. It’s very much a collaboration for me and I do end up feeling like a piece of the furniture in their home. It’s all about how you make someone feel in their home at the end of the day.

Another thing you mentioned in your IG is this idea of a bold pop of colour. When does that come in? Is it like you know that you want to have a contrast, or do you get the scheme going and then bring it in.

Usually it’s the latter. I start with the scheme and work with a minimum of two colours at a time, and then a third comes in and then the fourth is the pop of colour. This is my own individual way of working it and something that I can’t not do. I always put it in there, and if the client decides that it’s too much, then we can take it out. The pop of colour for me is as simple as the piping on a chair, it could be in a piece of art and pull it out in a vase. It’s very subtle and it’s in the subconscious, and you could be looking at a full room and might notice it’s there, but it’s in the background. The pop of colour helps to put a full stop on the design so to speak.

So one of the things we offer is either going completely bespoke and the customisable route of our existing designs. How often are you happy to say ‘I know that chair works’ or are you aware that we can customise?

Yes, absolutely. Your team are so fantastic at making it known that you offer different arm heights, seat heights and can customise etc. The bespoke element is fantastic for me as it offers creative freedom, and also acts as a collaboration between me and you. But it also gives the client that little bit of  extra individuality for them. The one key bespoke job you did for me is when I did the Alexa chairs and I needed an Alexa carver for the ends, but we had an extendable table. So you made it so the arms were a bit shorter but still comfortable to lean your arms so that the chairs could sit under the table even when fully extended, which made the client so happy as it worked amazingly well. That service just works so well, and most of the time, your chairs are perfect as they are, but in times like that, when we’re working with something a little awkward, it’s nice to have that freedom to be able to customise, alter and tweak designs to make them work. The main thing for me when it comes to working with you, is that I feel like you almost take my clients on as your own and you care about them as much as I do, which is why it works so well. The aftercare is lovely too as your team always checks to see if the clients happy which is just great.

It’s extremely important. Sometimes with period properties, they’re not made for modern living, so be able to customise the width or height of a chair makes it so easy to bring the right design in. And even with the client, if someones extra tall etc, it allows you to customise the chair to suit their needs and find them the perfect, comfortable chair for them. Most of the time your chairs are perfect, but for me personally, being able to customise your designs to suit the needs of the client is so nice. Also, it just allows the client to pick something that’s unique to them and makes my job a little easier.

As you know, our chairs are handmade here in England. How important is it to you and your clients to source that pieces are made in the UK?

Yes, I think more so in the last few years. When I first started, I wasn’t really asked where things were made, but in the last five years, clients are really interested in where things are made and are wanting more locally sourced materials and products. So when you’re able to say something is made here in Britain, you know that you have the quality of it as well, which is super important as some British-made pieces are more costly. So it’s really important to let clients know where things are made, and when I say something is made here, it’s very pleasing for the client to hear. It also helps with logistics, where you don’t have issues getting containers and products shipped in from abroad which can be frustrating for the client. It cuts out all that stress, but it’s SO important to be supporting British makers, artists etc. Even homegrown produce (going off-topic) is so important, to support the industries that we have here in the UK. But more so than ever, clients are asking where things are made, and it really adds to the story and the charm of the pieces that go into a home. With yourselves, you share imagery and videos from the workshop where products are made here in the UK which is so exciting and educational – it’s like opening a Christmas present before it’s arrived.

Looking at a couple of chairs that you’ve used before. Would love your thoughts on them and what you’ve done with them.

I worked on the Cameron chairs for a dining table in a project I was working on, using this same fabric as you’ve shown in a different colourway. It was a French trestle table so I wanted a more casual look and they worked really well. I just felt the gap at the back in the chair made it feel less heavy in the space, as when you walk into this kitchen you see the backs of the chairs first, so I wanted something that was more interesting without detracting too much. They were actually wider than I initially expected which was fantastic, as for a dining table where you’re entertaining, it makes them feel really comfortable. The Cameron brings comfort and isn’t too formal or solid – that little gap is a lovely bit of detail, which without the chair wouldn’t have as much charm.

We also used different parts of the fabrics on the different chairs, which made each chair feel unique which is the joy of going for a custom dining chair. One of the things I love about working with you is that you can let me pick a specific part of the fabric to be the central point of the chair which you wouldn’t get with off-the-shelf designs. The shape of the tapered leg worked so well with the legs of the trestle table so made it a really good choice. We didn’t have to change any of the spec.

I used the Hamilton for a lovely dressing table set up for a client. Initially it came from a picture of it I saw you had in the window and you had fabric on the legs, which I thought was amazing. For a dressing table, you’re not spilling food or wine on it all the time, so we did fabric on the legs (it was a Fermoie fabric) and we used lots of different fabrics in the space, and the fabric on the chair was just enough to give it a bit of detail. And with the curved back, it almost feels like a hug, so it was the perfect chair for a bedroom setting. These are definitely two of my favourite chairs.

With the Alexa chair, we used it in a calm kitchen, but the chairs were all different colours with all different piping and it really added that unexpected style to it. The client was so pleased and it worked so well. The piping detail always adds that finishing touch. I’ve had a client who’s seen the Madison chair who likes the handle for their kitchen. It’s such a nice touch as it means you don’t run the risk of damaging the fabric.

When you’re choosing fabrics for pieces, are you thinking about how you want it to look?

Yes, it’s always carefully considered how we use and place the fabrics on furniture. As well as this, we need to make sure the style of chair works with the style of fabric. Once I know which fabric is going on what piece, I then start working on where I want the pattern and print to be placed. It goes beyond colours and trims, it really goes to the devil in the detail of which way the patterns run and where they placed, which you’re so great at accommodating. On the Lili chair, I thin we did another Christopher Farr fabric in a stripe, and turned it the other way, centralising the stripe down the middle. It’s that attention to detail, and if you pick out a piece of the fabric you don’t see right away, it feels like a whole new and different fabric. And that’s why with the Cameron, mentioned earlier, we randomised it to make each chair feel really different, fresh and unique from the previous.

In terms of performance fabrics, do you use them? We find a lot of people are worried about eat-in kitchens etc, so do you find clients want performance fabrics etc?

It’s not a problem for some clients, but it really depends on client preferences. Some clients, particulalry if they have children, want performance fabrics that can be cleaned etc, whereas others are no bothered. Personally, to me it comes down to the clients individual preferences. I have used performance fabrics on some of your chairs in projects before which work really well. I’m leaning towards it more now as technology has improved and the performance fabrics are developing so well and look so good that you couldn’t tell its a performance fabric. They feel so soft and beautiful, so it’ll be something I do more of.

I’d love to know how this works for you. We’ve talked about the weight of chairs, as a lot of our chairs have a lot of wood in them so are weighty, so how does it work.

I tend to use the Tub chair in bedroom settings more so, in a nice corner where you’re not having to move them around so often. I have certain clients who have little coffee areas in their bedroom, so this chair with a table in between is great. I tend to put them in areas where they won’t be moved around as much, but in all honesty, I’ve never have any client give feedback that they’re too heavy. Most clients tend to comment that they’re a really nice weight when pulling chairs out and everyone’s been happy with how they are – not being too heavy or too light. The Tub is a design I love to use in bedrooms or an area where there’s a corner where you want to bring some life to it. And you do 2 sizes for it which makes it so handy, with one having a bit more rake to allow you to sit in it. The bigger size tends to be good and more comfortable for clients who are taller, and then I’ve used the smaller size in other rooms where other members of the family may use them who aren’t as tall. Plus sometimes you might not have the right space for a chair this size, so being able to choose the smaller one is great. I absolutely love it, and if I can squeeze it in to a project, I will!

If you were to choose a personality or figure, past or present, that you’d love to design a space for, who would it be.

That’s a difficult question, but it’s someone that’s sadly passed. It would be David Bowie! I’ve never met him or didn’t know him, but I feel like he’d be one who’d push the boundaries and want to test me. I’m quite up for being tested and put out of my comfort zone, so anyone that would give me a challenge, I’d love to work with. But I’d love to have seen him sing and design a space for him. Here’s hoping that after the ABBA show, they may do one for him!

When designing a chair, sometimes it can be difficult to encourage people to go a bit beyond and think more about the detail, which is why we love you attention to detail.

I think most of the time it’s a confidence thing with clients. It’s making them feel confident enough that those fabrics will work together and that piping and those style of chairs will work. It’s about holding their hands throughout the process. With a company like yours, you have an endless array of different designs and you’re the first company I think of when I need dining chairs. You have almost every chair you could want, along with tables and other pieces and you’re a great company to work with.