Yeoward at Home | Meet the Designer: Tiffy Rook
Yeoward at Home | Meet the Designer: Tiffy Rook
At Yeoward we love nothing more than to immerse ourselves in the fantastic resource that is our wonderful design community built up around the brand for 40 years as well as share our pieces at home in the real world. From London’s finest residential and commercial design projects we’re proud that each new William Yeoward collection continues to inspire the country’s finest tastemakers. For the first instalment in our Yeoward at Home series, we join the Interior Designer Tiffy Rook along with her two very amicable assistants Dolly and Stokes at her latest Chelsea Project to learn more about her journey into design, what it is that inspires her craft and her go-to William Yeoward pieces.
WY: Tiffy, how would you describe your own personal interior design style/ethos?
TR: I like to merge classical and modern design to evoke that sense of warming nostalgia and homeliness but to ensure that we are carving a new path and delivering a product that feels contemporary for 2022-2023. I like to try and find ‘harmonious clashes’ or ‘beautiful contrasts’. To find balance in a mix of two things and create a compelling tension between the two.
Living Room - WY Products Featured (left to right): Melbury Sofa (made to Order), Oval Desk Tray in Orange Leather, Leather Ice Bucket with Tongs.
Living Room - WY Products Featured (left to right): Kristiana Table Lamp - Slate
WY: So where would you say your design inspiration evolves from?
TR: Certainly, it evolves from my day-to-day life, the homes I have lived in growing up and my love for art. I grew up in a beautiful and classically designed home near Cambridge as my mother was always a bit ‘out there’! Her favourite fashion brand was BIBA in the 70’s so we were always dressed in the latest attire. She was supremely bold in her design ideas around our family home too which was later used to film Tom’s Midnight Garden. When I set up a family and life of my own in London without knowing it I followed her path and fell in love with finding contemporary touches to bring our home a bit more life. I would say this is what resonates in our work and projects.
Hallway - WY Products Featured (left to right): Giardino Vase - Medium, Carved Wooden Turtle, Felixston - Ochre Wallpaper (Available from Designer's Guild)
WY: Fascinating, so when you’re pulling a scheme together what would you say is the most important thing to consider?
TR: Definitely the owner’s passions. A home has to be a place that brings the best out of you, and so of course it needs to bring people together and be a calming wonderful place of rest and socialising, but what really makes a home magical is that it is a place that you do the things that you love.
Living Room - WY Products Featured (left to right): Linen Napkin with Framed Edge - Aqua, Glass Napkin Ring - Moss, Black Paper Placemats (Pack of 6)
Kitchen - WY Products Featured (left to right): Linen Napkin with Framed Edge - Aqua, Glass Napkin Ring - Moss, Black Paper Placemats (Pack of 6), Makitori Rug, Victoria Cator 100cl Candle - Madame Julia
WY: That certainly seems like a good ethos to us! We know you have been a fan of WY for many years, can you describe what it is about the brand that you love so much?
TF: Thats very easy, everything! It excites me. I remember the first time I came across William Yeoward, I knew it was special and I knew that because I wanted to own it all. For me, it’s not just the genuine quality but every piece screams GORGEOUS. It’s very recognisable, too. A William Yeoward piece is, of course, desirable but the recognition is clever as it is without a huge awful label or logo needing to prove it. It is just stand-alone beauty. From your art glass to your lamps to your furniture, everything is presented with a huge amount of care and timeless comfort. It is hard to put a year or date on anything which I think is genius! If this sounds too gushing, then add some more gush as I honestly love your shop and your things.. all of them.
Bedroom 1 - WY Products Featured (left to right): Triple Elka Stool (Made to Order), WY Malia Grass Fabric
Bedroom 2 - WY Products Featured (left to right): Milla Bronze Table Lamp
WY: We couldn’t have put it better ourselves and we love your passion for Yeoward! We’re also a big fan of your use of colour. Colour is a big part of our ethos and approach to design but we know it can sometimes be daunting to pull together, what would be your advice for using colour and pattern confidently in your home?
TF: Do not have rules - none! Of course, glaringly awful clashes of primary colours can create a horror but done well it can also be hugely successful and for the most part a joy. Colour provides purpose and an uplifting feeling. Just like using tones of the same colour, using a total array of colour can give the same effect, then add lighting and BINGO…the best!
Living Room - WY Products Featured (left to right): Aragoa Table Lamp - Midnight, WY Scortozi - Rouge Fabric
Living Room - WY Products Featured (left to right): WY Scortozi - Rouge Fabric
WY: We hope everyone can agree from the photographs that this project feels like a celebration of colour, tone and texture. Could you tell us a bit about the client brief for this project?
TF: Comfort, comfort and more comfort! This client is super-efficient, very organised and structured and operates their life with precision. They have a wonderful eye for detail and so we were very much lead by them on this project!
Living Room - WY Products Featured (left to right): Palmer Chair (Made to Order), Giardino Vase - Small & Medium, Carved Wooden Turtle
WY: We know that choosing your favourite room can be a bit like choosing your favourite child, but if you had to choose which room would it be and why?
TF: The master bathroom. Pre-renovation it was a bit miserable and dated and with no window to bring in natural light I knew it had to be bright and bold. Like the adjoining master bedroom it has now been totally uplifted and transformed with fresh green palette which gives it a wonderful glow.
WY: We certainly agree! We love how you seem to effortlessly create a room that is so full of character. How do you strike a balance between creating a space that is considered without feeling too contrived?
TF: I have worked on many smaller spaced properties in London so maximising space and storage is something that is a vital component of these briefs, from there popping character on top is the easy part. That being said the character of a room does grow and evolve as each project progresses. Managing the balance between something that maximises what a space can be without feeling cluttered is something I am always conscious of with every project. To add character to a blank space should be a joy!
Bedroom 1 - WY Products Featured (left to right): WY Malia - Grass Fabric, WY Perzina - Grass Fabric
Bedroom 1 - WY Products Featured (left to right): WY Perzina - Grass Fabric
WY: As a collector of things with an eye for lovely objects it must be tempting to keep adding to a room, how do you know when a room is complete?
TF: I see everything that I design in my head before it is put together so in terms of how I experience it, it is a realisation of a vision. I usually have a feeling that my vision gives me and so once the tweaking is done and I feel that feeling I’ve been searching for, then I know that the room is complete.
Hallway - WY Products Featured (left to right): Giardino Vase - Medium, WY Felixton - Ochre Wallpaper (Available by the metre from Designer's Guild)
WY: Could you tell us a bit about the Yeoward pieces you’ve used in this project?
TR: We have used many William Yeoward pieces in this apartment: Melbury Sofas, Palmer Chairs, a Kristiana Lamp, an Aragoa Lamp, a Makitori Rug, Atworth bar stools, Alfie Lamps, Bywater Mirrors, a Milla lamp and an Elka Stool. I love them all but most of all so does the client! Even the wallpaper in the hall is Yeoward…
Kitchen - WY Products Featured (left to right): Atworth Barstool (Made to Order), Giardino Vase - Small & Medium
WY: Just because we simply must ask; do you have a favourite Yeoward piece?
TR: I honestly love them all...your sofas because they are dreamy comfy but for me it has to be the Alfie lamps. They bring joy and a true William Yeoward style to any project without a need for a WY logo, they are just beautiful and ‘elegance supreme'.
Bedroom 1 - WY Products Featured (left to right): Alfie Table Lamp - Moss, Bywater Mirror