Tess Newall
photo by Alun Callender
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? In Sweden, in a wooden cabin on the edge of a lake.
What are three words to describe your style?
1. Patterned
2. Colourful
3. Whimsical
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? I spent a lot of time rearranging the things in my bedroom. The walls were sponged like a sunrise, from red at the base, through to orange, to yellow at the top. My mum is an artist and we painted it together when I was about 10 years old. She made the curtains, which are a Collier Campbell print called 'Cote d'Azur'. I had a dollshouse which used to be mum's as a child, which was full of old chintz fabrics and pieces of furniture I had made from old spools of thread and toothpaste caps. The dollshouse has recently made its way to my own daughters' bedroom and is undergoing extensive re-decoration!
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? An original Orkney chair from Scotland, made from woven straw. Their hooded design stemmed from the need of the islanders to protect themselves from the cold and the wind. I love seeing it sitting at the end of our kitchen table and thinking of all the things that it's seen.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? Robert Kime.
No room is complete without some red. Diana Vreeland said red “is the great clarifier - bright, cleansing, revealing. It makes all colours beautiful.”
People maybe think of me as whimsical and delicate, but I am actually quite tough which is essential for painting murals!
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Anything without a smell
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Pickled onions!
A bar cabinet: Anything made of plastic
A song for:
Dinner at home: The Corries 'Wild Mountain Thyme'
Working at your desk: Enya 'Orinoco Flow'
Going for a run: 'She Drives Me Crazy' by Fine Young Cannibals
Biggest Vice? Chocolate in all forms.
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? A set of antique Delft tiles from 1st Dibs.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? I always feel myself if I'm wearing something with a floral print, even if it's hidden under dungarees or a paint splattered apron.
Who is your star crush? The primatologist Jane Goodall.
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it?
Using a lot of black.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? 'Décors Barbares', Nathalie Farman-Farma's interior book.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? For bringing joy.
photo by Alun Callender
A Few Favorites
Movie: 'The Constant Gardener'
Book: 'I Capture the Castle' by Dodie Smith
Scent: Rose water
The fabric you always come back to: I don't know its name but it has tiny clusters of flowers, by Laura Ashley - I've been stockpiling it on ebay to make a canopy for my daughter's bed.
Dream project: A domed ceiling to cover in gold leaf stars.
Meal: Pesto pasta
Drink: Hot toddy or hot chocolate
Hotel: Thyme in Oxfordshire
Travel Destination: A Greek island
Artist: Natalia Goncharova
A cause near and dear to me: Rainforest conservation
Thing to collect obsessively: Paintbrushes
Era in the history of design: 19th century Europe
Museum: The V&A Museum, London
Paint Color that always looks great: Terracotta
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: @parnaramarama
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Dogs
