You are a decoration addict,but once you’ve closed aside your favorite magazine, how to adapt the precepts of the experts at home?
Here are some of our favourite personalities who havebeen kind enough to share this vision of interior design. With generosity, they indulge you with their choices, share tips and inspiring advice.
Yanna Williams
Yanna, can you introduce yourself?
I’m half French, half British and I have a son called Léon. I always dreamed of working for myself and I have been since I obtained my Masters in architecture & luxury scenography.
Your interior decorating mantra?
Be discerning and use your common sense. Interior design requires a sense of coherence and harmony which make a project come together and ensure that it will remain pertinent over time, both aesthetically and in terms of the materials you choose. I like my projects to have a certain softness, simplicity and elegance.
What do you think of the concept of good taste?
It’s obviously completely subjective but for me it is linked to harmony and balance.It’s important to create a coherent whole that will stand the test of time and won’t end up being a reminder of whatever was in fashion the year you did up your house.
If you were a room in the house?
I think I’d be the sitting room. It’s a multi-functional room where you can relax but also work if you are the kind of person who, like me, can’t sit quietly at a desk. It’s generally a warm and comfortable room that you can decorate and arrange according to your needs and predilections.
The top 3 things on your bucket list?
To spend more time with my family and do more lovely things together.
To transform my garden into a little bucolic paradise and one day to have my own horse.
To keep discovering new horizons and new countries.
If you were an artist?
A pianist, without hesitation. The piano is so delicate and graceful.
Your dream project?A little hotel or a house by the sea with a garden to redesign as well. |
A current obsession?
My vegetable garden! I’ve planted fruit trees and bushes and vegetables. I’m doing everything I can to make it work.
Yanna's world
A passion for travel
In life as in work, travel helps you to have an open mind and gives you the appetite to discover and try new things.
Create a whole world
I mainly work on projects that include both renovation and decoration. I’m a perfectionist so I like to see a project right through to the end, including the tiniest details. The only thing that stops me is the client’s budget! When you work on a project from conception through to delivery you can really create something unique and exceptional.
Minimalist or hoarder?
A bit of both (laughs)…
Light and bright
When I design bespoke storage solutions (with the exception of wardrobes and cupboards), I try to build something that is closed on the bottom half and opens up at the top. And then all that remains is to play around with materials, colour and pattern!
Warm up black & white
Natural materials such as wicker, rattan, raffia, wood and plants (or dried flowers for those who don’t have green fingers) warm up an interior, as do different textures (smooth, grooved, rough, mat, silky…).
Material worldMy favourite material? Brass for warmth (but you need to be careful notto overdo it as it can look rather flashy). And wood to bring nature inside.And stone for the noble authenticity it adds to any interior. |
Perspectivesand curves
The devil is in the detailDetail is not an option, it’s an obligation in our profession. I also think that my eye for detail comes from my personality, my studies and thedifferent professional experiences I have had, both in France and abroad. |
Essential textiles
Curtains, bed linen, cushions, throws… Textiles are the final touch, the element that makes a project truly special and adds a sense of softness whilst confirming your aesthetic identity.
A guiding principle?
When you try to make everyone happy you often end up pleasing no-one. So in each of my projects I try to distil the essence of the space before I start to choose materials, colours, textures and volumes. Done well, this is what creates areal sense of harmony.