Dunbar Road Over Tea
Dunbar Road Over Tea is a visual podcast celebrating the designers we admire and collaborate with across the U.S. and Europe. Through relaxed, thoughtful conversations, we explore their work, inspirations, and creative journeys, all while sharing a warm cup of tea.
Dunbar Road Over Tea
DUNBAR ROAD OVER TEA EPISODE 3: STEVEN RODEL
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Dunbar Road Over Tea is a visual podcast celebrating the designers we admire and collaborate with across the U.S. and Europe. Through relaxed, thoughtful conversations, we explore their work, inspirations, and creative journeys, all while sharing a warm cup of tea.
So, Steven, it's so lovely to be here today. And we're at the Lynx, sorry, Langton Street.
SPEAKER_00Langton Street.
SPEAKER_03Langton Street studio for Guy Goodfellow Interiors. And I'm here with Steven, the creative director for the Interiors and Architecture firm. And I'm so excited to sit down with you today and just have a little chat.
SPEAKER_00Thank you very much for joining me and for inviting me.
SPEAKER_03So to kind of just first jump in, for those of um our audience who are not familiar with you, would you mind just giving us a brief background about who you are and what you do?
SPEAKER_00So I'm the creative director for Guy Goodfellow for the Interiors and Architecture side of our business, for our practice. So I work sort of hand in glove with Guy to deliver all the residential projects. But I've sort of I've been doing this for well, it's close to 20 years actually. So I had a sort of an art history, an architectural history, sort of academic qualification, and then I went and I worked for um I worked for Harrods as a graduate on their program. Really? What a cool experience. It gave me a great sort of a great access, I guess, to the business. And I found myself gravitating towards interiors, art, um, you know, the furniture side of their business. I then went to work for a brand after that, and then I worked privately for a family office for over 10 years, and then I joined Guy a couple of years ago.
SPEAKER_03Well, I think uh your experience is so wonderful because it's quite varied, but it's leaded led you here today to work for Guy Goodfellow, and the interiors that you guys put out are just beyond beautiful. And I think, you know, one of my first questions is about your design identity. And have, I mean, when I look at a space that's designed and it's a Guy Goodfellow interiors room, I automatically know that you guys did it. And that's such a big deal in the interiors world because that's not often the case for everyone. Um, so this style identity, this brand identity that you guys have created, have you always had this or has it evolved over time to be where it is today?
SPEAKER_00I think that um I share your reading of the practice because I came to Guy sort of, you know, three years ago, and I had long looked at his work and admired his work. And whenever I had sort of seen projects that, you know, struck a chord with me, I would think, of course it's a Guy Goodfellow project. I have the sh the same um the same reading as you have. It's just now I'm instrumental in that. Yeah, and I'm a sort of collaborator in that, which is brilliant. And I think that you know, to your point about the layering, or I I think you said sort of evolve over time, that is exactly what we want to do as a studio. Okay. We want to only, or as a practice, like we we want homes to feel like they are representative of the people that are living in them. Are living in them. Yeah. They're sort of um, you know, David Neto, I remember, um uh was I was either listening to something or I was reading something in his book, and he referred to interiors being like self-portraits. And that really, if you really think about that and unpick that, it's it's so true. So I think what we're trying to do is is well, I guess it's not self-portraiture because you're not painting yourselves, but it's sort of biographical, sure, um uh well autobiographical, and so I think that we want each project to be uniquely um reflective of who's living in it. Um, but ultimately a feeling that something has grown and it's evolved and it feels legitimately lived in and it feels comfortable. That is a sort of, I guess, a a sort of preoccupation of ours, or or a sort of yeah, a design ethos.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, exactly. Yeah, because that's absolutely it. I feel like looking at your portfolio of work, all of these houses, nothing feels new, new new, which is just there's no, there's not a lot of ambiance there when everything feels new. Um, and you guys do such a great job. I know you're big in the antiques and collecting things, and then also, of course, having new elements as well, but really putting those together in a space to make it all flow and make it feel unique. This is this room can never be copied exactly. This has never been done before. Um, and it is lived in and it's meant to be lived in. So I think you guys do a great job of that. Um, I love what you said about that, David Neto said, um, the self-portrait. Maybe it's like we are the artists who are painting the self-portrait of the clients because you know they have their own vision for their home and they're gonna live in it, but then we're kind of instrumental in making it come to life. Executional base. Yeah, so that's lovely. Um, so what is your first step when you're approaching a new project or a new client brief?
SPEAKER_00So I think it's about trying to understand the client or get to know the client as much as, you know, I mean, some clients we know, some clients are sort of generational in a way. I mean, Gli's worked on, I mean, you know, his oldest client I think is like 96 and he's been with him since the start. And it's brilliant, and and he's still going. Um, but I so I think it's about teasing out and really understanding who you're working for. And sometimes I don't even think it's about, you know, you can ask pointed questions, but it really is about getting to know them because sometimes, even if you ask a question, they're not necessarily going to give you the answer. Maybe they don't feel comfortable enough, maybe they haven't inquired about something. So I guess it's teasing those elements out in sort of subtle ways. Um, what we're really passionate about, and you know, Guy is an architect, so for us it's getting the floor plan and the architecture, the bones of the building entirely correct from the beginning. So if you're given that opportunity to be able to do it, we feel that if you've got great bones, everything else just kind of seamlessly flows. Yeah, I mean, maybe not seamlessly, but you know 100% um but that it would um yeah, it if you've got the space correct, if you've really done what you need to do, if you uh then we feel that everything is flowing in the right direction. Sure. So that's that's the a great starting point. And then I guess from there it's finding the um the catalyst, like the anchor, the whatever you want to kind of call it. Sure. Um, is it an artwork, is it a rug, is it a fabric, is it a painting, to to sort of build something around. And again, I think often you'll ask a client, you know, well, what do you want to sort of build, or what do you have in your mind? And they sort of they say that they often don't have anything, but then there's always the painting that's in storage or hanging somewhere else that they they just need the time to think about it and to share that with you.
SPEAKER_03Exactly, and and feel comfortable. I think also this job, people may not think it, but it's quite a vulnerable thing to be designing for clients their personal residences. It's deeply personal, it's deeply personal. And so sometimes it takes time to get to that point with clients of after you know, however many meetings, then they start to trust you and be like, okay, I can open up a bit more about this certain design decision or something that I'm wanting. Um, and also I think the great thing about the experience of working in interiors is maybe you know the questions to ask, to kind of pull things out of them that they may have no idea, you know what I mean? That, oh, I hadn't even thought about that, but that's your where your value comes in is you ask the right questions. So that's wonderful. Um so kind of going off of that, um I know we talked about how each project is really a reflection of the clients themselves, but also at the same time, they've hired you for your design input and they've obviously looked at your portfolio and liked what they have seen. How do you kind of marry the two where one's not overtaking the other? Where, you know, maybe a client has a lot of inspiration that is not necessarily always aligned to your design style or the brand's design style. How do you kind of balance that, like between clients' ideas and your own preferences?
SPEAKER_00Well, I think um, again, to sort of reference something that um we talk about often is it's about sort of guiding a client in the right direction. So it's explaining to them that you know, a client can say, um, you know, I've got a new I'd use an example. Sure. A client recently said to me, Stephen, I completely agree with you, we need to populate the entrance hall with some more pictures. And so I found these wonderful um sort of landscape paintings, and um I sort of turned up to the house, you know, kind of one in each arm. Yeah. Um, and she said, Oh, they're really beautiful. But I went out for lunch earlier and I walked past the gallery, and I've got these other paintings that are kind of coming on approval in the morning. Could you please come in and um and have a look at them? And she showed me a photograph of them.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I said, Well, they're sort of extraordinary for somewhere, but not here. And she said, Well, I really want you to come and have a look at them. I said, Well, I can come tomorrow, but what I'm holding in my hand right now is perfection, yeah, and these are just not gonna work in that space, right? So if you're asking me to come tomorrow to sort of like be convinced by them, yeah, I'm gonna give you the same response.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Um, and what what I try to do was just explain to her that for me, this is this is perfection. This is the best.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And she tried to share with me why she was on the the opposing side, as it were. Well, not not that we're taking sides, but um now who do you think won in the I think I think you won. No, she won. And what I will say is that they're not to my taste. But actually, when I walked into that apartment the other day to um to talk to somebody about lighting them beautifully, I sort of walked in and as you say, they're not to my taste. I try to guide in a right direction, they're not wrong, they're just in a in a different direction to ultimately how I feel about something. Of course.
SPEAKER_03But we you know at a certain point you have to it's their home.
SPEAKER_00And and it goes back to it's their home, it's a portrayal of what interested her.
SPEAKER_01Sure.
SPEAKER_00Um, it was something that she really loved, and it was something that she would walk past and would feel something, you know, she was motivated to look at them. Whereas I don't think the two pictures that I came in with had the same, it didn't strike the same chord. Right. Um, so I offered to take the pictures away. She said, No, no, no, no, no. She said, We'll still take those pictures. I just don't want them for here. Okay. So they they they went somewhere, and I guess what I'm trying to say in like a very convoluted way is we can only try and share with our clients why we feel something.
SPEAKER_03Sure.
SPEAKER_00It's up to them whether or not they choose to put it into another room, focus on something else that sort of piques their interest, and again is like demonstrative of or representative of how they want to live.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Their character, their personality.
SPEAKER_03Exactly. And ultimately, you can only take them so far, and then exactly what you said, it's it's their decision in the end. But I think that's a great example of kind of the push and pull and then finding the happy medium.
SPEAKER_00And the compromise. And sometimes there is compromise and sometimes there isn't. I mean, and I think it's also about picking when the right time is to compromise, because there are just some things that when you fund there was nothing wrong with her selection. It just wasn't slight to it wasn't what I had in mind. But when you when there is fundamentally something that doesn't sit, then it is your job as a designer to say please. And you but again it's about it's about communication, it's about trying to to share with them why you feel a particular way. Exactly. So that sort of answered the question in a very round, a very long-winded way.
SPEAKER_03Story in my future um explanations to clients, so thank you. Um I think I mean this is kind of a cliche question, but kind of looking at social media and you know, now we have Pinterest, we have Instagram, which are great sources of inspiration in our industry. Um, but also sometimes I feel like it can be such a great benefit, but it also can be, you know, come with its challenges as well, because it can also influence people to kind of design like what they see online, or clients will show you a picture they saw on Instagram or Pinterest and say, I want this room exactly. Um in that sense, how do you kind of stay true and anchored in your design self and your design ethos with all everything going on online and seeing everything all the time?
SPEAKER_00I guess we we live in a highly visual world which is so extraordinary. I love to, you know, wake every morning and it's switch off the alarm.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And it's go onto Instagram.
SPEAKER_03I don't, you know, it's sort of like Which like they say it's not healthy, but it's in our blood.
SPEAKER_00It's in our Do I guess it's a way to sort of connect, but it's also just a way to. I guess I'm a typical consumer in that respect. So you I think you have this, you have a world that is you're saturated by visual imagery. And we all understand algorithm, and we all understand that depending on what we we talk about or click on, um, it's sort of fed to you. I think it's our job as designers or creative people to be mindful of the echo chamber that one is digitally in and actually remove yourself from it. And I don't mean in a kind of detox way, I just mean like shift up your own algorithm because there's only so much that's going to be fed to you in the same way. So for me, a deep, like you know, a kind of deep-rooted source of inspiration constantly is my architectural digest and world of interiors, you know, architectural digest back to the sort of late 70s, early 80s, okay, world of interiors to the 80s, and just a constantly rich source of information that those images I don't even think some of them are sort of digitalized yet. Or they are, but I mean, there are ways, but you they're not being fed to you.
SPEAKER_03Sure. Um looking back historically, yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I found like the other day, I can't remember what it was, but it was a I guess it would have been like in the 90s, and it was the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire's flat in in Mayfair, and I was flicking through it because it was in a pile of of um of you know constant pearls of magazines that I have dotted around my flat, and um and I and I hadn't I hadn't registered it before, and when I looked at it, I mean it was just like the most beautiful bedroom with this amazing stripe and the wet the whole composition of it, and Simon Upton had sort of photographed it, but it was the first time I had ever seen this image, and I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen it.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00And I think that's the point is that you've just got to be inquisitive enough to constantly reference the books and the magazines. And I I say this all the time to you know, mm people, colleagues. You know, recently I was um recruiting for a new position, and I was asking somebody who you know who inspires them? What what do they like to look at currently? You know, where do they source all their sort of information? And she just sort of bluntly looked at me and kind of said, Well, I just kind of sourced it all on, you know, in Pinterest and Instagram, and I was like, but you like books? And she's like, Well no, I mean it's and I I sort of couldn't quite get my head around it.
SPEAKER_03Sure.
SPEAKER_00But I think that that's where that's where I'm always looking for sort of a back catalogue of things to inspire me. But I guess what was the original question?
SPEAKER_03No, I think you answered it. I think you answered it so well. I think, you know, taking a step back from online digitally and looking at historic examples um through published works like books, magazines. I think that's a great, a great way to do it.
SPEAKER_00Or just going to, you know, I I have two great friends um and the four of us go off for the weekend, and we sort of they're Americans, so when they come here, we kind of say, okay, we're gonna do Norfolk this weekend, and then we'll do Yorkshire, and we sort of go off and we see all the country houses that I've sort of seen before.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Because I all I was always obsessed with wanting to go to National Trust houses when I was a child. But there's nothing there's nothing that can be better than seeing something like in the flesh, yes, and just something can something can sort of give you a seed of inspiration, a colour on the wall, a and then it grows into a whole new scene. Yeah, you know, a painting.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, and that's the I guess it's just about being receptive and nimble enough to sort of look for all of those sort of elements of inspiration, but we're creative, so that's what we're always doing. We're just consuming it.
SPEAKER_03Yes, everywhere we go. That's a good kind of segue then. Whose work, past or present, are you super inspired by?
SPEAKER_00So yesterday I th I think um I look at often I make reference to um the Sotheby's catalogue of Bill Blass and his collection. Okay, which was an extraordinary collection of beautiful objects and the most sort of sort of intellectual interiors. So I I sort of love, you know, I love that. I I look at the collection of you know Yes Salon and Pierre Berge and I look at their catalogues, which again I've you know I've made it, I I've I found them from the I think it was the Christie's sale um back in the early I guess it would have been in the 2000s and I I can't quite remember, it would be 2000s, early 2000s, and um, but I mean I I I look to so many people for inspiration. Um, and now you're putting me on the store.
SPEAKER_03No, that's okay.
SPEAKER_00Maybe who would I think the Sotheby's catalogues, is it like furniture shapes and stuff that that really or just the whole Again, I guess what those catalogues provide you is like a genuine like understanding about how people collect. So I'm always really interested about like collecting and like what motivates you to collect it. So looking through catalogues I find really interesting because you really do get a very distilled sense of of like somebody's vision.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00Um, or like somebody's interest and appetite because they're often collecting the same types of over and over again. Yeah, you know, like there's there's a common thread, there's a there's a collection theme there. Right. Um but I think you know, if I think about designers who I sort of um, you know, sort of reference um Renzo Mongiano for his great love of you know specialist painting and sort of trickery. Um more contemporary would be Stephen Sills, who I think I just adore what he does with great beautiful pieces of furniture and sort of um, you know, wonderful spaces. Um I mean there are just that there are there are too many. I mean, I could kind of list them, list them off, but I think that's great.
SPEAKER_03I think that's wonderful to hear. And I think that's a new nugget of information I've never heard is looking at um collection catalogues. Very, very interesting.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, I sort of I guess I've have been lucky enough to work with so many clients that are sort of great collectors of you know, major auction houses and by and sort of I guess by being their decorator you get sent these wonderful because you're you're intrinsically part of their them collecting. But then that sort of piqued a real interest in me to sort of locate these collection catalogues that you know uh I was missing.
SPEAKER_03Right. Um that have happened in the past.
SPEAKER_00And and that's a brilliant, um, you know, a brilliant, as I say, sort of like snapshot into somebody's world.
SPEAKER_03Somebody's life. Yeah, and that's so interesting too. I think you bring up a good point is like with each client, you also learn something new.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um, and they teach you as well every time you work with them, especially when you're working with them over years long of a project, um, whether it's the way they look at something or the way they feel. Feel about something, and you're like, I've never heard it said like that, or I've never had someone tell me that about a specific material or a room, and then you take it on with all your clients.
SPEAKER_00Um, you know, sometimes they concede something in you that you wouldn't have even considered before. Right. Um, and that's really that's sort of it's it's like a sort of imparting of sort of wisdom or interest.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Where do you decide what decide where to splurge and where to save?
SPEAKER_00I guess it's just about being resourceful. Yeah. Um because I think things like beautifully made sort of you know, custom pieces of furniture, sofas, right, you know, of course, curtains, like those, they look beautiful, they're going to stand the test of time. You probably want to invest in those because they're the things that you're that are sort of the key elements of the room. And then you could probably, if you can't quite afford the table or the ottoman or whatever it is, you can probably build it. You you don't want to be replacing your, you know, your L-shaped sectional sofa or your big sort of null, yeah, whatever it is. Those are really, those are sort of to me, kind of no-nos. You just want to do them once, right? You know, and then you want to recover them in like a decade's time or whatever it is. Exactly. Um, I think it's just about being resourceful. I think it's also about mixing, you know, to use that term high and low. Yeah. And when you've got really great things, you know, there can be things in there that are not worth, you know, they're not, they don't have to be museum quality pieces, they don't have to be things that are tens of thousands of pounds. Really, what you're only ever looking for is just like beauty and objects.
SPEAKER_03Exactly.
SPEAKER_00Um, so and there are so many ways that you could do that. And I think that as designers often, especially in London, you're sort of spoiled because you might walk along particular roads, Pimlico Road, Lily Road, Church Street. Um, and it's important again not to just live within that echo chamber, but to sort of open it up and just make sure that you are sourcing from a diverse um a diverse perspective. Yeah. It's also just really important that you just you're not always going for the very best of everything because it can kind of look too rich.
SPEAKER_03It can, and like that's what I was saying about everything being new new. Sometimes that's like not the benefit of a room where it actually doesn't end up looking that that great because everything is shiny and brand new. Whereas maybe um, you know, buying an antique piece that is 10 times less expensive than the new piece will actually do the room a lot better. Completely.
SPEAKER_00So I mean, I have a very beautiful like Anglo-Indian tray table in my uh sitting room at home, and everybody comments on it. It has a it's this beautiful sort of carve face and this sort of beaten brass sort of tray table with the zodiac, and it's so divine. And I bought I bought it from this dealer that I you know often go to, and it I mean it cost a few hundred pounds, like if that, right, but it's the thing that it just makes the room, and everyone comments and everybody comments on it all the time, yeah. Um, and that's what's really curious, and I think that you've just got to be looking all the time, but I think in a in a sort of to sort of go back to your initial question, I think you were asking about where you sort of can spend the money. Yes. Um, and if I look at an example right now of working on a townhouse in London, and you know, they spent a great deal of money on the architectural and the build side, and we're now doing the FFE, and you know, they they want to spend on beautiful pieces, on quality pieces, but they can't do it over the five floors. So it's about saying, well, where are we going to spend the money? And actually, the daughter's bedroom right on the top attic floor could maybe have some pooky lights because what's wrong with them? They look they look amazing, quality is great, they don't have to be, you know, like collier webs or you know, stones that are kind of cut down through through the other areas of the house, and and they look brilliant, and actually she's responding to them in a really positive way.
SPEAKER_03She likes them better, maybe.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. And um, so I think it's just about how you try and you know and kind of spread the budget, spread the budget, so you know, do your great pieces of like beautiful antique, you know, sort of max rollet sofa or something in the drawing room. You don't need the same down in well, actually, you want characteristically something very different in the media room in the basement, which is just very much a family room. Right. So you could go to um somewhere that wasn't a bespoke sort of sofa, you know, it could just be a more off the peg.
SPEAKER_03Sure.
SPEAKER_00Um so I think it's just about trying to reasonably kind of divvy it up.
SPEAKER_03Yes. And I think you're so right as like just being knowledgeable of all the options out there, like constantly, because for you know, like lighting, there's new places all the time, and they're, you know, a high budget, or there are some that are low, and going seeing them in person and being like, you know what, this this place down here is actually making really great lights that are at a great price point. And so you really just you have to know everything all the time and what's out there.
SPEAKER_00You've got to be you've got to see as many people as you can, and when people are gracious and they, you know, companies call and they say, Could we come and show your collection? And as designers, I'm sure that you know you feel the same thing. Often you're so focused on what you're doing, and then there's not enough time in the day because you're recovering from the last client meeting and prepping for the next one. So actually, somebody coming in to kind of effectively pitch a product, um, you don't always make the time for it, but actually, it's so important to make the time because that can just pivot you in in the right direction, you know. Friday was a really good example. We had this beautiful sort of sheer, um, I think it was made from like alpaca or something. And I said, I'm just not sure that this is gonna work for this particular project. Like there is gonna be a price sensitivity around this.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00And we were like, but it's just so perfect. And we then saw somebody on Friday and it completely sent us in the wrong in another direction. Which yes, it wasn't alpaca, but it gave us, you know, it gave us what we wanted for for half the price. And that was just because somebody wanted to come and see us and we made the time, and that's what's really important.
SPEAKER_03I think that's a really great point. Often it's kind of begrudging where like someone will send an email like, hey, Friday at one o'clock, we're gonna have an hour um presentation, and everyone's like, oh my gosh, I'm in a deadline, I'm working on a plan, I'm doing something, but then it is always so important. Yeah, it is very, very important. And getting out too, like leaving the studio and going to events of uh different showrooms and different lunches and things like that where people are showcasing new products.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you I mean, there's you just you have to be able to go and and see things. You have to be able to just like check the finish on something that you can't that you you can only do that in per in person.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Um, but also the scale of something. I mean, that's why I love working with antiques for the most part, is because you can literally, you know, sort of chuck them in the back of the car, drive to a job, yeah, stand with the client and say, I've got 10 wall lights, and rather than having to sit there with tear sheets and work it out and elevate them onto CAD and do all of these kind of things, you actually what you're saying to the client is like this is this is what I'm suggesting, and it's it's there, like there it is. And actually, that's just that's a brilliant way to work. I love to try things out. It's why I never really, and I know people will often say it's the wrong way to decorate, but I never start with the rug, very seldomly. I always add in the rug at the end, which is often an antique rug, because it's the thing that slightly messes up the scheme. It's the thing that slightly might not break it, it makes it.
SPEAKER_03But it's then it kind of is not all perfect, perfect. It's not the exact same colour with the palms.
SPEAKER_00If I was going to custom make it, would I have, you know, got into this like nuanced detail of colour? Probably. Right. But is the fact that it's slightly off makes it more interesting? Absolutely. And is the size a little bit irregular? Yes, but so that there are those all those things that that's personally why I and we love to use a lot of antiques because I think it gives you this great sort of versatility, um, but I also think it just gives you a great sense of being able to try something, yeah.
SPEAKER_03And I think if you have the time, if the client or the project deadline allows it, it's always so wonderful to have things on site. And that's why also, if a client is really unsure about a piece, we'll say, Hey, live in the space for a little and let's check back in in three months. And do you need something there? And how do you feel about it?
SPEAKER_00And that that's the kind of thing about when we talk about like the the evolution of something. I recently had a client and she, you know, she wasn't criticizing, but she was sort of saying, Well, why can you not just kind of give me the whole scheme? Like, why can it why is it have to she was sort of new to this, and that's fine, you know, we all ask questions, and and what I was trying to explain was that like we could, we really could just do the whole kind of turnkey sort of thing, but it's it's not really us. Yeah, and it doesn't it it just it doesn't allow you like reflection, it doesn't allow you to find the time the things that might work better in time, right? Sometimes I just cannot find the sideboard, yeah, or I cannot find the chair, yeah. So, yes, it just isn't there for a while, but when I find it, it's the perfect one. And that's what I love about what we do is that I think again, a lot of our clients are very, I mentioned it at the beginning, very enabling, they're very trusting, and they allow us the freedom, the time, the self-expression. So as long as the kind of bones are in there, sure, then actually waiting for the something to arrive a little later, just being patient is is great.
SPEAKER_03And like what a great um chemistry then with clients. It's like the perfect recipe, they're trusting of you and you understand them. And it the result is just beautiful, as we've seen in your work, because you've allowed these spaces to breathe and like find themselves over time, and then you kind of keep layering and adding stuff in. So I think that's wonderful. Um okay, just a few more questions. Um, how do you stay creatively energized between projects? I mean, oftentimes I know that's a hard one, but you know, you'll be working on something for years. You'll have a crazy install, and then you have to come back and start all over again with a new project. And sometimes it can be quite daunting, like you have been in a vacuum thinking about this one project, and maybe it was super Georgian, and you've had Georgian on the mind, and that's what you've been thinking about, and now you're starting something that's a bit different. How do you get creatively inspired and energized between projects?
SPEAKER_00Hmm. Well, I think I'm not sure we're sort of um we're by no means purists. So, like if we're working on a Georgian building, it doesn't mean that it has to sort of be. So I think that's kind of what makes it interesting is that we're always we're sort of doing something that's appropriate, but we're not wedded to something. If that makes sense. I mean, like architecturally, we sort of we want to it to be correct, but we also want it to be relevant. And so I think that how do how do we sort of stay energized?
SPEAKER_03Um Do you travel?
SPEAKER_00Do you like have to take a break and say Well, I mean, if I think about but I mean travel is so important insofar as it's like recently um, you know, it's been a busy couple of months. I felt like I hadn't really been anywhere apart from like London and and going out to the country, and then all it took was three days in Florence to just feel like my batteries were fully charged or a trip to Paris because it just it it energizes you and you see things and you you you know you're taking something in, you're seeing a specialist paint finish, you're you know, just in the same way that we were talking earlier, like you're just seeing something that is outside of your your standard periphery, right? And there's something so invigorating about that. Like you I find that I have to kind of go on those kind of cultural tours, yeah, if you like, yeah, like intensively, and then I come back and I just I just feel like I want to, you know, I don't know, I just I just feel energized by something like that's the best thing.
SPEAKER_03I think travel, you're so right, is absolutely the best way to continue our creativity and and keep energized throughout the whole process. It's been so wonderful speaking with you. Can you tell us a little bit about like what's next for Steven, what's next for Guy Goodfellow? Um, how do what do you see in the future?
SPEAKER_00I think it's about like just an unwavering commitment to Guy and I work hand in glove together. We look, we sort of view the world like not in the it, we sort of do see it, I think, design, you know, sort of um through the same lens. That's not to say it's mutually exclusive, it's not like that would be unhealthy. Um, but we do have a common, we do agree rather than disagree, um, and we challenge each other. And I think that you know, what is next is to just continue to to do work that has integrity and relevance, um, and to continue to put our clients like front and centre. Like we work in a service industry, right? That is what we do, right? Um, and we are here to provide a service and to provide one in a market that is heavily saturated, so a sort of a commitment to them, um, but also a um, you know, constantly trying to. I talk about often we talk about how we obviously have a sort of style. I mean, you you've you've sort of um that that's recognizable, but actually I think like sometimes I try to think about what that style is, and maybe it's not so much about a style, it's about a feeling, it's about feeling of like comfort, integrity, humour, character, patina, all those kind of things. And I think that that is what we're sort of committed to. Um, and we're committed to trying things out for the first time. Like if you if you think about um there are many design houses and they do a wonderful job at doing a particular type of work, right? There's there's hallmarks to it, but there's nothing to knock about that at all. Yeah, it's actually it's tried and tested, it's it's actually very smart. What we constantly try to do is like rewrite the blueprint because it's so deeply personal. So we're not trying to replicate the same thing over and over. We might have some things that we like to use, right? A particular fabric or a particular light. But I think it is this I use the term like unwavering commitment to providing a deeply personal service, um, a deeply personal design that makes that people identify with and want to come to us for.
SPEAKER_03Basically, you guys are doing everything perfectly now, so it's just continuing this practice that is just tried and true and and beautiful spaces, but evolving them over time and and taking risks each time and listening to clients.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. It's it's just it's it's about trying to to do something to sort of challenge the status quo or you know, to to to reinvent something, not because it's just it's not about sort of being contrary, it's it's just about like a a want a desire to do that. Like I want to use a new product, I want to design something new, I want to customize something, I want to do a new rug, I want to commission a new artwork. Like that's that's really what it's about.
SPEAKER_03It is. It is well, um, I think that's amazing, and everything that you've shared today, I think is so wonderful, and it's so lovely to hear from you because I admire everything that you do and and Guy Goodfellow Interiors. So it's so wonderful to have heard for from you and and all your feelings.
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you very much for asking.
SPEAKER_03Of course, coming here to Langton's. Of course, it's been lovely.
SPEAKER_00Like heavenly sunny day.
SPEAKER_03I know, a rare sunny, our first sunny day in like eight months. But well, thank you so much, Stephen. Yes, okay. Thank you. Bye.