A reimagination of space
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Words by Hannah Tapping
Celebrating Frances Healy’s rich and varied contribution to interiors and exploring why the decoration of interior space is as significant as its structure.
Frances Healy has always been artistic, something which she believes informs her design in a way that allows her to have an unashamed and strong sense of colour alongside an understanding of the necessity for good proportion. Having honed her interior design skills at Charles Hammond on Sloane Street, Frances tells me that: “Every day I use what I learnt in that great studio. It was classic, traditional, at the top of its game and has stood me in good stead for all of my working career.” Her experience over many years has covered the full gamut of interior design and her eminence in the design world means that, while based in Cornwall, she now works on projects across the South West and beyond.
For Frances, colour is clearly central to everything she designs and I’m intrigued as to how she is able to read a space before ever introducing a palette and if there is a moment where she knows what a room wants to be? “Actually,” she tells me, “what I want is irrelevant, it’s the client that matters and my job is find out what they really like and then work with that. Of course, I will add in some extra magic and new ideas for them to consider, but I design for them and their home.”
While Frances’ work spans period country houses, contemporary riverside apartments and coastal new builds, there is a common thread that joins them: listening to the client, asking about their wish list, exploring their lifestyle and then creating a design that suits and is unique to them. This, of course, can often be influenced by the style and location of the property as Frances explains, “I do feel that a house ‘talks’ to you and from this I get a sense of what will and won’t work”.
For Frances, every home should feel welcoming, restful and safe. In a world of Instagram interiors and fast-moving trends, it’s important to her to ensure that a client’s home doesn’t feel dated in years to come. “I try to avoid trends (and social media!) and will always discourage clients from following them, as they never last. I work very hard to create designs that are timeless and will last for years and years.”
Having worked in London and ahead of a move back to the West Country 25 years ago, I wonder how living in the South West has influenced Frances’ design sensibility and does the landscape find its way into her work? “I was brought up in Cornwall and so the region runs through me. We live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world where the changing seasons are very apparent. The weather is never the same from one day to the next, so the scenery also changes daily and so, without doubt, influences my designs.
Beyond the influence of the landscape, and the use of colour, craftmanship always holds a place of importance for Frances: “I absolutely love to use real craftspeople in my business especially those who are local to the property. In this technical age, it’s a delight to actually communicate personally with a supplier and work together to achieve just the right piece and know that you are helping another small business in the process. The client also gets something totally bespoke and unique.” Recent projects have included some significant ambitious and complex properties. “I have been so lucky to work in amazing houses with adorable clients who often become friends, but two projects stand out,” Frances tells me. “One was a very contemporary build in South Cornwall where nearly every room had a curved wall and was shaped like a segment. It was particularly tricky finding furniture that suited the shape of these rooms, as you can imagine, but we did it! The other was a much more traditional house in South Devon, the client lived in the USA and the pandemic struck just as we started work, so we had to do all the designing via WhatsApp and Zoom, which was quite a challenge.”
High-end residential design is clearly an incredibly intimate process as you’re essentially shaping how people live, so I ask Frances how she navigates the balance between her creative vision and the deeply personal nature of someone’s home? “It’s really very simple,” she replies. “With a lot of listening, a lot of experience and some deep breaths!” With over three decades of experience behind her, Frances approaches each new project with the same excitement: “Every day is school day and you never stop learning, which keeps me fresh and on my toes. Every house and every client is different, so there is no time to rest on your laurels or be bored. I’m always excited by the next new project!”
