Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: Born in the seventies!
Occupation: Interior designers.
Instagram: @goddard.littlefair
Hometown: Predominantly London but part-time Porto residents!
Studio location: A Victorian street near the Barbican in London and Rua do Rosarìo in Porto, Portugal.
Describe what you make: We design interior spaces in international hotels that are true to their location, history, architecture, and the people that will live, eat, drink, and breathe in them. We are travelers and designers in tandem and we’re lucky enough to have a job that encompasses both vocations. Having so often been the guest, whether it be in a two-bedroom guest house in the South Pacific to a true five-star hotel in the heart of Paris, our diverse appreciation of experience always informs our design approach.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: The importance of our projects has grown considerably from our early work at the firm’s inception in 2012. Last year saw the opening of the 21,500-square-foot spa at Raffles London at the OWO. The responsibility to create something that was sensitive yet impactful in response to the historical, listed architecture felt like a very real challenge. The amenities and design feel like they have enduring appeal, and the flow and functionality of the space for guests seeking diverse experiences is second to none.
Describe the problem your work solves: We are storytellers and romantics at heart and we value the experience of travel so deeply that we want those who experience our spaces to feel that connection as much as we do. We believe that divining the red thread of the design story early in the process leads to a clearer vision for the whole project team leading to a more holistic and considered design. Each project has its own challenges and presents new opportunities. Our work is so diverse from historic European properties of varying scales to new build resorts in the heart of the desert.
We’re also ultimately solution-driven as a design team. Refurbishing and repositioning a property can involve reviewing an existing hotel to find new ways to create improved or additional amenities or to simply breath new life into them while starting to design a new development opens opportunities to divine a unique narrative for the design story which leads to sourcing new artists and craftspeople to enhance the final interior solutions.
Describe the project you are working on now: I’ve just been to a kickoff meeting for a very special project in the wilder western Algarve, where the architect and developers have a very unique building to create that has utmost empathy with its environment and a minimal visual impact. We need to create a DNA for the interiors that will blend into the architecture and natural environment which is staggering in its beauty (Jo).
Our first project in the Caribbean is the refurbishment of a five-star resort on the island of Anguilla, which is currently being documented by our design team. Working in a new part of the world is always refreshing for us and we’ve found inspiration in imagining the individual voices of the island helping us to layer narratives into what is a joyful and uplifting scheme. It’s one of those projects we can’t wait to see lift off the page (Martin).
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: We have been working on the new Mandarin Oriental in Vienna for more than five years and it’s finally due to complete next year. The building was previously a Court House in a beautiful Secessionist building in the heart of the Old Town.
We have been on this very collaborative journey with our client from the very first sketches on tracing paper to this point where we are selecting final artwork pieces and overseeing the interiors fit out. The resulting design will see a new grande-dame hotel emerge in Vienna with all the expected amenities plus branded residences.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: People. We’re in the business of creating spaces for people, and it’s essential that we’re together and sharing stories and experiences as much as possible. London excites and inspires the mind and we love to hear where our team have been, what they’ve enjoyed. Incredible and innovative food and creative opportunities are always at close hand. In our London studio, Martin is often the one offering to make the first cup of coffee for guests, he’s recently discovered Aeropress and there’s no going back!
What you do when you’re not working: As any parent of teenage children will tell you, there’s not a dull moment. The wonderful thing about children is they often take you down avenues you never have gone down. For example, we became qualified grassroots football coaches around ten years ago and only recently retired. I’ve learnt more about horses than I ever anticipated I would. Outside of that, our garden is a source of constant pleasure and calm. We recently visited the Piet Oudolf garden at Hauser & Wirth in Bruton, Somerset, which was glorious.
Sources of creative envy: Envy is not really the right word for these people, it is more about admiration.
I’m drawn to the stories behind strong female role models or at least women who have been true to themselves such as Vivienne Westwood. She didn’t seem afraid to be who she was and be liked or loathed. Her contemporary interpretation of historical fashion using beautiful fabrics and natural fibers really resonated with me (Jo).
I was born and raised in Walthamstow as was a certain William Morris some years before me. His work and the ethos by which he lived has grown in appeal over the years. He seemed to be a rebel in his time in both design and philosophies, and his concern for nature and the environment in the wake of the Industrial revolution seems so relevant now as it was then (Martin).
The distraction you want to eliminate: Technology, mobile phones, social media—the necessary evils in our lives. I know I have a love-hate relationship with that spectrum of things (Martin).
To be more specific, social media that creates envy is simply the devil’s work! We shouldn’t be seeking out another life by endless gazing at others who seem to live our dream. I try and live in the moment and engage with the people around me as much as possible (Jo).
Concrete or marble? Concrete but enhanced with shuttering and pigments or polishing (Jo). Marble and its variety is a joy to behold (Martin).
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse. Feeling connected to a neighborhood rather than remote in the sky.
Remember or forget? Remember, of course.
Aliens or ghosts? Ghosts, please. Hopefully someone with some decent conversation.
Dark or light? Dark (Martin). Light (Jo).
