Hannah Farley

Hey Hannah, tell us about how you got into the industry?

“I studied Textiles Design at Central Saint Martins, and I specialised in knit design. However, unlike my peers who focused on fashion, I designed my collections for interiors, designing a whole cushion and throw collection on Indian doorways for my final project. This then led me to an interior design internship, and so on, to where I am now. I am very thankful for my days learning textiles design, as we use textiles and fabrics daily when designing schemes, and it’s nice to have the knowledge on how the fabrics are made when selecting fabrics.

 Starting as an intern really allows you to gain first-hand experience in the industry. For the first time Accouter Group of Companies have joined forces with United in Design, a charitable organisation set up to address the lack of inclusivity in the interior design industry. Starting in April, we will be hosting our first apprentice as part of the United in Design’s Apprenticeship Scheme 2022. Click here for more information about the apprenticeship scheme and how you can get involved!”

Not only are you busy designing, but we hear you are also the Minister of Fun! So, what does a typical week look like for you? 

“I regularly have some sort of installation each week; we are very busy here at BoxNine7. This means there is always work to be done pre and post an installation, whether that be, designing upholstery items, following up orders, and ensuring we give the best 5-star rated aftercare possible post-installation. When I have my Minister of Fun cap on, you can find me organising social events for the company or giving out prizes for our ‘Wowee Wheel’ winners. Our Wowee Wheel is spun monthly at our company huddles, and the top crew members of the month win prizes such as pub pints, activity days or even a day off! We recently added a ‘Plant a tree’ prize, which is just a fun extra incentive we’re doing in a bid to make the planet a better place.

What is your best-kept interior design secret?

“This will be to do with styling. Styling is super important when finishing off a property, and my top-secret here would be to divide up areas within a room instead of spreading out your accessories all across the room and hoping for the best. Section up areas like a chest of drawers or the wall your bed is on and make each individual area look full and complete. There is no shame in a blank space or empty white walls if you have beautiful pockets of loveliness in the rest of the room!” 

See Hannah and the team’s styling work in action by heading over to our TikTok profile, for more behind the scenes.

Where do you source your inspiration? 

“When designing, I always select my artwork first. Artwork already has a beautiful colour scheme sitting ready for you to draw inspiration from. Another handy tip is to use your artwork to make the colour scheme for the rest of the room. Artists know their colours very well so why not capitalise on that!”

What is your favourite interior style?

“As mentioned above, I LOVE COLOUR! So, any interiors that pushes the boundaries with colour is very inspiring to me! I love pairing colours that originally you wouldn’t have seen paired together before. For example, in the Pemberton Place project I paired mint green with a rich burgundy which wouldn’t of been the obvious choice, but it worked, Check it out for yourself here!” 

Can you tell us about your latest project? 

“A recent project I completed was for a private client. We had a lot of work done in the property prior to the furniture install such as, a new tiled backsplash in the kitchen, full decoration throughout including wallpapered feature walls in the bedrooms and new pendant lighting installed throughout. A fun challenge I had was, I also had to pair the new furniture with a few existing items of the clients which raised multiple obstacles, as there was lots of different wood finishes used. We brought this project together by adding in a sideboard which had several wood finishes within it, tying together all the finishes within the property. The sofa in this property is also to die for! You can catch our latest project reels on our Instagram.”