House Guest by Country & Town House | Interior Designer Interviews

After a career in the fashion industry working with, amongst others, Ralph Lauren, Laylah Holmes realised her future wasn’t in handbags but somewhere her imagination and creativity could fly.
Her rug business, Holmes Bespoke launched eight years ago and this summer Laylah opened her Chiswick showhouse – a beautiful studio with rugs on the walls, on headboards, seating, in the bathroom and even on a mirror. Carole went along to find out more.

Welcome to a new series of House Guest! This week, Carole sits down with Boura & White co-founders Abi Boura and Katie White in their Hampshire showroom to discuss sofa-buying and British craft.
As a female-led, British business Boura & White pride themselves in considerate craftsmanship, a sustainable approach, and in embracing the ethos of slow interiors and quiet luxury.

This week Carole heads to the Chelsea showroom of Farrow & Ball paint to chat to Joa Studholme – the genius behind paint colours such as Elephant’s Breath and Skimming Stone. She joined Farrow & Ball more than 30 years ago, and as well as developing new colours, she consults on design projects all over the world. Joa shares her wealth of knowledge on choosing paint and hints at the colour trends ahead. She also admits how many times she repaints her own home every year. Tune in for more.
House Guest now takes a short summer break. Thanks for listening and please join us again in September.

With names such as Jilly Cooper, Daisy Lowe and Mary Berry amongst its fanbase, few brands encompass as much love, friendship, and loyalty as AGA. This week Carole sits down with Dominic Worsley and Laura James of AGA Rangemaster to talk about the brand’s renaissance under new leadership, as well as its new colours, new controls and much-loved heritage. Tune in for anecdotes, snippets of AGA history, plans for the future, and to discover the brilliant sales advice advertising guru David Ogilvy came up with when he worked for the cast-iron cooker brand.

As we are well into the summer season – with Royal Ascot behind us and Wimbledon still ongoing – Carole Annett chats to Hattie Hansard of Joanna Wood about how interior designers are often employed by hospitality companies to transform these temporary spaces into something magical. Using a clever eye and often complicated logistics, here's how they create a memorable space for guests enjoying a day out.