Claire Clarke adds comfort to modern decor

The career really chose me. I did the interiors of my home 15 years ago and the architect use to bring her clients to see the house. A few asked who had done the interior. At the time I was taking a break from a stressful job in the IT industry, so the architect asked if I would help one of her clients with their interior. The rest, they say, is history.

My style is to create spaces that work and look comfortable. I’m of the opinion that one should design and decorate a space for how it will be used 90% of the time rather than for the occasions you use it for the other 10% of the time. I love travelling and I gain inspiration from all the places I visit both locally and abroad. I recently went to India for the first time and the colours were so vibrant and the architecture so intricate, suggesting anything and everything goes and just works.

I’m currently updating a beautiful farm house. We are still wanting to keep the farm house feel but update it with current colours and textures so we are painting the interior lighter, changing the roof from green to grey and updating the screed floors to a more neutral colour. Once the bones of the house have been done we will mainly be going with white and off white furnishings and accessorising with blues, neutrals and greys.

Don’t be scared of scale, for example, always get a rug bigger than you think you should. Paint your ceilings the same colour as the walls. The more layers and textures you use, the more finished a space will feel even if they are the same colour or tone.

I would say my art is really the only thing I’m attached to in my home. I see so many gorgeous things all the time and I like to change up my space and colours.

The Zemora Chair paired with the Zemora Ottoman. It’s the most comfortable chair ever and when you put your feet up on the ottoman it's pure heaven. I could sit in it for days! I like to use wicker inside and outside and this chair is one of those that can function well and look great indoors and out.

Don’t try and make everything a feature. Pick what you want to highlight in a room and focus on that.