A place for everything. Interview with Diane Berry

I have loved designing peoples homes from the very start of my career in 1980, I find the kitchen one of the most challenging spaces and the devil is in the detail.

In honesty, I love getting to know my clients needs! It’s fascinating! Whether it’s a couple with no children who like a tidy home or a huge family with loads of children and hobbies happening all over the place. I just love working it out. Finding a place for everything and tying to make it instinctive, so everyone simply put things back where they belong as it is obvious.

This could come from my father as he had to have a tidy home and with six daughters and a son it was like a mission to have a place for everything and everything in its place. I do also think I am quite nosey, as I never stop learning or being curious about people and what makes them tick and be happy. The feeling I get when a client says their kitchen is so easy to look after and keep tidy is immense. Even better than the kitchen looking great; as this is when it truly works. Perfection is to achieve both – that’s what drives me day in day out.

It is, and has been the most satisfying career and forty years on I am still here, listening to clients and absorbing information to work hard to get it perfect for them.

I guess the funny thing is I don’t love to cook! I love to clean and keep a tidy organised home, but truly cooking isn’t for me. It’s a lot of work and then people just eat it! As a creative I like to be able to see what I make for longer than a dinner or a cake takes to eat… I can cook, but do I like it, not really, I prefer to bake.

I visit amazing exhibitions in Europe to find inspiration. However hotels are also an amazing source of inspiration. Many years ago I visited Vegas and there was a light bulb moment. I realised it was a great way to see huge areas of amazing tiling, fabrics, colour and art all come together. It was a place that made my eyes pop and has had me visiting many luxury hotels since, to see what the interiors designers are using to make spaces come alive.

The most challenging kitchen I have designed was for my father as he originally trained me. Many years later he asked me to do his kitchen and then proceeded to tell me how to design it! So I went away, designed it his way and presented him with that design. My Father said “great just what I wanted”. I then proceeded to show him how I would have designed it for a client. He absolutely loved it and bought it my way! I never ever thought he would accept anything other than his way, and it was a brave day when I said to the man who trained me that I could do it better. Luckily, he loved it and had many years of joy from the room.

I do all my own lighting design as there is nothing worse than electricians making domino patterns on a ceiling without any thought as to where the lights shines. I work on mood and task lighting, creating variable settings for different times of the day. To really talk about lighting I would need a whole day. This can make or break a room and I always hope clients hold back some budget for nice fittings.