How does an Interior Designer source beautifully made, bespoke soft furnishings?
Becci Oldman and Deborah Philbrow
As an Interior Designer I work with a wide range of professionals whose skills help me to bring a client’s home designs to life; through trades such as construction, carpentry, lighting, decorating and the creation of soft furnishings.
The design and production of high-quality soft furnishings is a big part of the service I deliver and has been since Hiltingbury Interiors was born five years ago. I have worked alongside Deborah Philbrow and her team at Hursley Workroom for many years to do this for my clients, and I thought it was time for a proper introduction!
The history of Hursley Workroom
Deborah has worked as a seamstress for the past 36 years and made her first garment at the age of just 10. She is the fifth generation of seamstress in her family, who were well known for their impressive needlework and worked for the Mountbattens, so Deborah’s skills come with a lifelong passion for creating beautiful items.
Within the team at Hursley Workroom there is over 250 years of experience, from women who have spent their lives as seamstresses, to apprentices who are developing their love of working with fabrics and honing their skills.
The benefit of working with such an experienced and dedicated team is their shared knowledge, and this is a big part of what I share with my clients. They know how fabrics handle and wear over time, which materials will need special lining, and which will work in different settings, so whatever design I come up with, they can tell me quickly how it could work or if it might need adjustment.
For example, many people fall in love with the idea of silk blinds. As beautiful as they are, silk fabrics will quickly perish in sunlight and will be ruined within months, so you need to use the right lining to protect the silk and add border edges and ensure it doesn’t rot. Many people will not know this, so I ensure we consider all the factors as part of my discussion with the workroom team. I’ll also offer clients options including filming their windows to protect from UV damage. This is where customers experience the value of using an Interior Designer.
Spoilt for choice with an extensive fabric library.
How does Deborah choose interior designers to work with?
When asked about our working relationship, Deborah said, “I need to work with people who understand interior design and have a good understanding of what they want to achieve in terms of the finished look, for me to then bring the technical knowledge that brings it to reality.
“Becci and I trust each other, and we trust the process we’ve developed through working together. If I say something won’t work, I need designers who will understand, take that away and rework it with the client to ensure we can reach a final decision that works for all of us. I know from the years we’ve worked together that what Becci discusses with the client is going to be something I can create, and my professional experience also gives Becci confidence to go back to her client to find a new solution if we need to.”
Often clients might see something online and ask to recreate that for their own home, but to really achieve that perfect look it must be created for you and your home, accounting for the space and light you have available, your other furniture and the function of the room. That’s why I choose to work with Hursley Workroom every single time, because I know I will get the answer I need and the expertise to bring the project to life.
Environmental factors are an important consideration when deciding which fabrics to use in your home, such as light, heat, and humidity, especially if you live by the sea or have underfloor heating. All of these will affect the life of your soft furnishings and they how hang. It’s not just how it’s made that needs to be right but how it behaves in a customer’s space.
If you live in a listed building, for example, and some of the doors or floors aren’t straight then it’s likely that your curtains will never sit perfectly straight either. It’s these little insights that really deliver value for my clients.
Hand stitched roman blind.
How has the soft furnishings business changed in the last 18 months?
Deborah told me, “The challenges of the pandemic and having to constantly rejuggle timeframes and deliveries have been difficult at times, we’ve had to revisit some projects many times. It’s hard to accept you can’t fix everything and we’ve had to learn that there’s only so much you can do; people can be isolating or off sick, or there can be supply chain issues at a moment’s notice.
“At the moment we are constantly working with back orders and it’s been a true feat of coordination. We have orders that have been on hold, and then when they come in it impacts your current workload and you must make changes all the time. It’s certainly been a new experience!”
We’re all part of a team
I am always learning from the teams I work with, and this is especially true of Deborah and the ladies at Hursley Workroom. They bring a wealth of knowledge and each have different elements of expertise, as well as their own connections with suppliers and other specialists.
This is the beauty of what I do, because when you work with Hiltingbury Interiors, you’re not just buying an interior design from me, you’re working with an entire team of experts who all come together to create your dream space. It’s something I truly love to be a part of; all of us coming together to deliver beautiful home design for my clients.