Ian
Thompson Interior Design - accent
magazine, December 04
Ian Thompson
began his career as an Interior Designer in 1983. Working in California
inspired him to open "The Mews Gallery" in Comber, Co Down
and now the established business is situated at his studio on the Lisburn
Road, BT9.
Ian
constantly searches for new ideas globally and his knowledge and credibility
is a source of reference for the Belfast Telegraph column "House
Couture", numberous articles in Northern Woman, and previously
the TV programme UTV Live presented by Andrea Catherwood.
Ian's
Interior Design takes on a wide variety of projects, including this
year a French Chateau, a Portuguese Restaurant, a Horse Lorry's living
quarters, many homes and a stately home near Belfast. His philosophy
is to provide simple yet innovative designs with global inspiration
mixing new trends with vintage and using distinctive colours and textures.
The
BT9 studio, once a Memoral Hall steeped in history and charm, is now
a treasure trove of Buddha, mirrors, Gustavian furniture, rich fabrics,
lamps, chandeliers and Orchids.... where friendly assistance, soulful
music and cold glasses of Chablis are offered to all clients.
- Do
you think homeowners do need an interior decorator to identify their
tastes for them more often than they realise? How do you read clients'
design-personalities, as such, and where do you go from there?
Clients
use my services as an interior designer to save time. I can research
and source the best design, fabric, furniture and lighting quickly
and easily. Every client is different, which is the great joy of
the job - translating their ideas, combining them with mine and
making their home, restaurant, nightclub, shop or boat as stylish
as possible. In my opinion, anything that isn't comfortable is a
total disaster.
- What
are the design principles by which you swear? And how do you work
with such a differing variety of spaces - French Chateau, Portugese
Restaurant, stately homes - and manage to avoid repetition ?
Every
project differs greatly so what works well for one cannot work for
the other. It keeps your creativity stretched on a daily basis.
Designers are creative problem solvers, and great interiors are
those spaces that don't overtly look as if a decorator has been
there.
- Do
you enjoy the creative process? Even when liasing with indecisive
clients? Or do they generally trust and defer to your expertise?
Clients
do communicate their wishes and expectations to me, which constantly
pushes the style boundaries. I enjoy every part of my job. My Forté
is to bring glamour and elegance to the home without making it feel
overdone. I get inside the clients' heads with lots of questions
to see, first of all, what they hate... then we move forward! I
see trust between designer and client as the most important aspect
of great and good design. I love the whole process.
- Can
you tell us about your studio?
My design
studio is in a converted memorial hall, filled with furniture, lamps,
mirrors... the list could go on and on. As I was recently at the
Paris Interiors Show and went a bit mad, shipments are arriving
twice a week from all over the world.
- Do
you advocate the periodic rotation of décor? Some people thing
changing wall colour every couple of years, or moving furniture around,
is a good way to refresh a space without a total overhaul. How do
you achieve a space that's both timeless and
flexible?
I aim
for all interiors to be timeless. Most people seem to be leaning
towards a casual elegance and comfort, picking classic colours which
age gracefully so their scheme will last a lot longer than a couple
of years. A good rule of thumb is to keep things classic, not trendy.
Classic never goes out of style.
- Three
rules you follow steadfastly?
- Every
project is equally prestigous
- Rooms
should never be unstimulating. I want a room to become more interesting
the longer you remain in it
- Input
and chart the needs, wants and budget for each and every client.
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