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20 up-and-coming interior designers you need to know about in 2021

From the elegantly pared-back to the unashamedly maximalist, we round up 20 of the most exciting interior designers who should be on your radar

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By House & Garden | June 25, 2021 | Trends

Angus Reid

Angus Reid creates spaces that are calm, pared back and beautifully precise. Having started out in real estate, the designer quickly realised it wasn’t the career for him. He brushed up on his InDesign and CAD skills, soon scoring a job with architectural and interior design firm Minale + Mann, where he stayed for almost three years. He launched on his own in 2018, with current projects including a house in Portugal, a Georgian flat in Notting Hill and a cottage in Somerset. Angus is also working on a range of upholstered furniture – sofas, armchairs, benches and headboards – which is set to launch next spring and will no doubt reflect his clean-lined aesthetic. angusreidprojects.com

Brandon Schubert

After a three-month course at Inchbald School of Design in 2015, Texas-born Brandon Schubert decided to swap a career in law for interior design. He soon landed a job at Ben Pentreath, where he spent a formative three years, before branching out on his own in March 2019. No doubt influenced by his time with Ben, the interiors he creates deftly combine country-house style with mid-century modern pieces. As demonstrated by his own flat (which featured in the November 2019 issue of House & Garden), he is confident with colour, often introducing punchy shades to create rooms that feel joyful and inviting. As well as a handful of small schemes, Brandon is currently working on full house renovations in Hampstead, Clapham and Dublin. Brandonschubert.com

Clare Gaskin

You may be familiar with the work of Clare Gaskin, who was the subject of a Designer Profile in the June 2020 issue of House & Garden. If you don’t recognise her, you soon will. We discovered Clare's work when she became a member of our online directory The List. As well as undertaking a variety of projects, from penthouses in Fulham to family houses in Kew, she is involved with United in Design, an initiative committed to diversifying the interior design industry. Her style plays with colour and pattern, but the most important thing for Clare is that design should tell the story of the client: ‘My role is to be an invisible curator.’ claregaskin.com

Emma Grant

Since we featured Emma Grant’s flat in the July/August 2020 issue of House & Garden, there have been waves of excitement on Instagram about her curved marble-topped dining table and her equally covetable bespoke marble sink. Emma, who swapped a career in fashion for interior design last year, has a fantastic eye for unusual antiques and an incredible skill at pulling together a scheme that feels genuinely original. Her aim is to create spaces that 'feel like they've slowly developed over time', with current projects including a house in Primrose Hill. There’s a line of fabrics in the pipeline too, inspired by vintage textiles. emma-grant.com

Hollie Bowden Interiors

The projects Hollie Bowden, another member of our online directory The List, takes on are nothing if not diverse. At the moment, she is remodelling a Victorian terrace into an office space, working on a five-bedroom family house in London, a 14-bedroom house in Ibiza and a chalet in Gstaad. She garnered the skills for these projects during her time at KLC and set up on her own in 2013. She sums up her style as ‘minimal-maximalism’, using sophisticated palettes paired with diverse textures, finishes and details to create a look that is subtle and refined. holliebowden.com

Howark Design

James Arkoulis and Saskia Howard, who launched their studio in 2017, met while they were both working as designers at Studio Reed. From their west London headquarters, the duo conjure beautifully detailed interiors, describing their approach as ‘characterful and considered’. They are currently working on a family home in south-west London – described by James as ‘one of our most colourful projects yet, with a woven cherry-red and blue stair runner’ – and an apartment in a Grade II-listed former warehouse in Bermondsey. Howark-design.co.uk

Isabelle Lomas

With experience working for Martin Brudnizki, Sarah Delaney and Soho House, Isabelle Lomas was well-equipped with the tools to set up her own studio earlier this year. She studied textiles and fashion at Central Saint Martins before landing an internship at Vogue, which she credits for expanding her outlook on design and inspiring her to undertake a diploma at The Interior Design School. She has an eye for rich colour palettes and creates sophisticated interiors that are full of personality, mixing pieces from different eras to create spaces that feel as though they have evolved over time. Projects in Wimbledon and Notting Hill are currently underway. isabellelomas.com

Lonika Chande

Lonika Chande, whose own house we featured in the October 2020 issue of House & Garden, is this year’s inaugural winner of The List Award for Design Talent. Having set up her west London-based studio almost four years ago, she has a knack for creating warm and cheerful interiors, which are richly layered with colour and pattern. ‘A good room should feel lived in, heaped in texture and layered with low-level lighting,’ says Lonika, who cut her teeth working for architectural practice PDP and interior designer Juliette Byrne. ‘You can never have enough lamps,’ adds the designer, who is just wrapping up on a large family house in Barnes. lonikachande.com

Lucy Wilks

‘I create rooms that are uplifting and layered with nostalgia,’ says Lucy Wilks, who set up on her own in 2017 and is currently working on a Regency townhouse in Chiswick, a cottage in the Cotswolds and a barrister’s chambers in Bloomsbury. Lucy earned her interior design stripes working for Nicola Crawley at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, Thorp Design and finally Ben Pentreath, where she spent four years heading up the decoration team. Her aesthetic is classic and English, but not the slightest bit fussy. She layers a mix of pieces of different styles and eras to elegant affect. lucywilks.com

Miminat Design

British-Nigerian Mimi Shodeinde set up Studio Miminat in 2015, while she was still at university in Edinburgh studying interior architecture. The London studio now also produces furniture – all of which is handmade by local artisans in the UK, America and North Africa – and its current collection is on show at Roksanda in Mount Street, W1. Mimi’s latest interiors projects include a house in Cape Coast, Ghana, and a villa in Portugal. A sense of relaxed elegance is characteristic of her work, as is a diverse mix of influences and a global approach to craftsmanship. miminat.com

Pernille Lind Studio

Having worked as a designer for Soho House and Anouska Hempel Design, west London-based Pernille Lind set up on her own in 2018. Prior to this, she had co-founded Lind + Almond with fellow designer Richy Almond, which made a name for itself with its impressive renovation of Hotel Sanders in Copenhagen. Brought up by a Danish father and a Thai mother, who ran antique shops in Bangkok, Pernille creates rooms that have an obviously Nordic sensibility, balancing restraint with rich, natural textures. ‘We don’t strive to create statement interiors,’ says the designer, who is working on two Victorian houses in London and is about to take on the renovation of a house in Poland. pernillelindstudio.co

Remy Renzullo

A rising star in the Anglo-American decorating scene, Remy Renzullo splits his time between a charming former ballroom salon in Manhattan and an equally delightful cottage in London, which is soon to be featured in the pages of House & Garden. His unfussy interiors – antiques laden with a good dose of chintz – have a certain grandeur to them and he has an obvious soft spot for English country-house style. Earlier this year, the young designer collaborated with Carolina Irving & Daughters on a range of tableware, adorned with pretty floral motifs, which take their inspiration from 18th- and 19th-century ceramics. @remy_renzullo

Sarah Brown Interiors

After completing her studies at KLC, Sarah Brown went on to work for Nicola Harding and then Rita Konig, so she boasts an excellent pedigree. She now runs her eponymous studio from a base in west London, where she creates characterful interiors that are full of colour, pattern and warmth. Her rooms are unfailingly welcoming and her marriage of contemporary pieces with antiques and art creates lived-in, comfortable spaces. At the moment, she is working on a five-storey house in Twickenham, a family home in Chiswick and a full renovation in Acton. Sarahbrowninteriors.com

Sascal Studio

Sisters Caroline and Sarah Stemp founded their interior design studio earlier this year and are already full steam ahead on a five-bedroom house in East Sussex and flats in Brixton and Islington. Both siblings studied at KLC, before topping up their design knowledge – Caroline at London Design Group and Sarah at Studio Clark + Co and Hubert Zandberg Interiors. Their look is relaxed and liveable, with plenty of unexpected elements – be that a green hand-painted fabric-covered headboard, or a bespoke bobbin-legged shelving-cum-desk unit. The pair also run an online homeware shop, selling vintage pieces and a small edit of the items they have designed and commissioned from craftspeople round the world. sascalstudio.com

Stephanie Barba Mendoza

Stephanie Barba Mendoza’s sense of adventure is evident in her projects, which are bold, unique and unashamedly maximalist in spirit. ‘I get impatient very quickly,’ she admits. ‘So I love to push myself to try new things and give each interior its own identity.’ After studying interior design in Mexico City, she moved to London to complete the KLC diploma course. She then spent 10 years at Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, working on projects such as Annabel’s nightclub, before launching her studio this year. Stephanie’s current work includes a mid-century modern house in Miami and what she describes as ‘a maximalist dream’ in Antwerp. barbamendoza.com

Studio Krokalia

Pallas Kalamotusis, who founded her studio in 2014, is fastidious when it comes to sourcing original editions of vintage pieces. With a masters in history of art, she has an eye for detail, and the result is rooms that feel fresh and properly considered. ‘For me, interiors have to make sense in the context of their surroundings, but also importantly the people living in the space,’ explains Pallas, who is currently working on a flat in Trellick Tower on Golborne Road, W10, and a flat in Kensington. She founded her studio – named after a traditional Greek pebble mosaic – after what she describes as ‘a lucky break in Athens’ and continues to work on projects here and in Greece. She recently collaborated with ceramicist Freya Bramble-Carter on a collection of hand-painted vases, which are now available through The New Craftsmen and 8 Holland Street. krokalia.com

Studio Peake

Established in 2019 by Sarah Peake, this small studio majors in impeccably pulled-together schemes, which balance traditional elements with more contemporary flourishes. She credits a four-week stint of work experience at House & Garden in 2011 as the starting point for her career, but has honed her style over the past few years, working for both Alidad and Todhunter Earle. She has a keen eye for detail – ‘I love spaces to have an element of surprise and originality’ – and is currently full steam ahead with a townhouse in Chelsea and an Arts and Crafts house in Surrey. Studiopeake.com

Studio Squire

Angelica Squire set up Studio Squire in 2015, following several years in the publishing world. She trained at Inchbald School of Design, working for several small firms before Studio Squire was born and she began to embark on solo projects. These currently include an apartment in Camberwell, a cottage in the Cotswolds and a Victorian villa in Dulwich. She describes her approach as ‘inherently traditional, but with surprising details along the way’; expect unlikely paint colours, clashing prints and a good quota of antiques in her spaces. Her own home will be featured on the House & Garden website in the coming months. studiosquire.co.uk

Studio Westmaas

With a degree in Interior Architecture from Brighton University and a year with designer Rose Uniacke under her belt, Kay Westmaas founded her interior design and architecture studio four years ago. Unsurprisingly for someone who honed her eye under Rose, the interiors she creates are understated and elegant, combining soft palettes with beautiful antique one-offs. Or, as Kay puts it, ‘uncomplicated interiors that outlive fleeting trends’. She is currently working on a Grade II-listed house in Holland Park, a five-bedroom house in Richmond Hill and a loft conversion in Bow. studiowestmaas.com

Thea Speke

Although Thea Speke isn’t offering a full interior design service, she is one to have on your radar. The former Rose Uniacke designer launched her eponymous studio this year, offering a design consultancy service, as well as selling a covetable selection of antique furniture and lighting through Instagram. There is nothing we don’t like about the rooms she creates, which bring together natural textures, soft linens and, as you may expect, an impeccably charming array of antique pieces that she has sourced across the country. thea@theaspeke.com; @theaspeke

Written by Elizabeth Metcalfe & Rumer Neill.

This article originally appeared on House & Garden UK.