KELLY Hoppen is a special woman: she has been an interior designer for fifty years, since she started her career at the age of 16.
But nothing lights up her face more than when she talks about her seven-year-old grandson Rudy, the son of her daughter, food writer Natasha Corrett.
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She tells us she’d like to teach him how to blow bubbles with chewing gum – although he’s not allowed to yet – and admits: “I have a really close bond with him, he’s just the best.”
That might be why she designed one vase from her new collection with Marks & Spencer with a slightly dinosaur-esque look – but more on that later…
We meet up at the launch of Marks & Spencer X Kelly Hoppen to chat all things interior with the woman who has designed homes for countless celebrities including the Beckhams and Gwyneth Paltrow, as well as luxury hotels, restaurants and yachts.
She even received a CBE award for it.
Kelly still looks fantastic at 65 – she wears Gold Collagen, aloe vera, Symprove probiotics and lemon water – and she’s still just as passionate about transforming homes.
But then again, her face lights up most when she talks about the other man in her life, her long-term partner and retired businessman John Gardiner.
We heard a rumor that it only took her three weeks of dating to start renovating John’s bachelor pad…
“No, it didn’t happen that fast!” she laughs.
“But when we knew we were going to be together forever, he asked me what I thought of the house. I said we still needed some work.
“It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t finished. And he was great, he just let me do it… I just tackled it over breakfast and it went down well.”
Kelly also recently spoke about how being a stepmother to Sienna and Savannah Miller is one of her greatest accomplishments, but she admits that Awesome that she had to work very hard on it.
“Being a stepmother is really hard. We [Kelly and former husband US banker Ed Miller] worked on it, both of them. And they’re still my stepchildren – I talk to them all the time and we’re very close.
“When you bring two families together you have to be very careful, but we loved being stepparents. It was a joy.”
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It’s no surprise that she agrees that being a working mom is tough too, but the interior designer believes it’s gotten harder too.
“As women we are very good at finding a balance, but it is very, very difficult. When I had children it was different – there was no social media. I think the pressure of today and the WhatsApp groups and all that has made it harder.
“I see it with friends of mine who have younger children and there’s a lot of pressure. So I think women do it brilliantly, but can you have it all? I don’t think so.”
Kelly now tries to set limits on her working hours and believes employers should take into account that people “have to give up certain times of the day to be with their children.”
“Boundaries are really important—my personal phone is never off, in case one of the kids needs me. But I now try to turn my work phone off at certain times,” the designer says.
But back to the reason we’re here: her new home collection at British retail chain Marks & Spencer.
“It feels surreal because it’s a secret I’ve been keeping for over a year. I’m not very good at keeping secrets, I’m a Leo,” Kelly beams before showing us around.
Here are her top three picks from the collection…
1. THE VASE
“I call this vase the ‘dinosaur vase’, probably after my grandson. Design is about being bold and doing things you wouldn’t normally do, so a lot of my Marks & Spencer pieces are big, like this one. All the ceramics are matt too.”
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2. THE BEDDING
“If people are going to invest in one thing, it should be bedding, because that’s where we spend most of our lives. It’s where we fall asleep, it’s where we wake up. It sets the mood for the day and the mood to fall asleep. It’s also the biggest piece of furniture in your bedroom and the easiest thing to do to make a room look different.”
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3. THE THROW
“These are so, so soft and so versatile. You can put them on your bed, your couch or around you in the garden as the weather gets cooler. I love layering textures, but remember that textures aren’t always soft. It’s also about creating hard finishes.”
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Or choose your own favourite and shop the complete Kelly Hoppen X Marks & Spencer collection here, available from just five euros.
KELLY HOPPEN’S 5 TOP TIPS FOR PLANNING YOUR HOME MAKEOVER
The celebrity interior designer tells Fabulous’ Lifestyle Editor Catherine Bennion-Pedley the five things to think about before transforming a room in your home. And you might not even have to spend any money to make a big difference…
1. Have a plan
“People make so many mistakes and it’s not their fault. It’s very different from buying fashion because you can return fashion. When you buy something for your home, you have to measure and plan, instead of buying ad hoc.”
2. Start small
“People panic and start painting walls and changing floors, but you can change the look of a room with a rug. You can change the look of a room just by changing your curtains.”
3. Move stuff
“There’s not enough movement in people’s homes. The first thing people need to do is move everything — take all the accessories off every surface, and remove all the cushions.”
4. Buy your house
“As you look around your home, find the things you love. Then add something new to them or move them to different rooms. This will give each piece a completely new look and feel.”
5. Ask yourself a question
“When we take on a residential client, we send them a questionnaire that’s about 60 pages long, because you get really, really close to people. Questions can be as simple as, ‘Which side of the bed do you sleep on?’ and ‘Do you brush your teeth on the left or right side of the sink?’ They’re very intimate things, but they help us understand how people use their space. Make sure you know exactly what you want your space to give you.”
