21st December 2023 | IN DESIGN ADVICE | BY SBID ShareTweetPinterestLinkedIn Faye Robinson-Hey, Founder and Director at Faye Robinson Interiors has given her insights into the industry. What’s the background of Faye Robinson Interiors? I originally went to university to do a law degree however had a change of heart and realized it was not the career path for me! After a brief stint working in estate agency, I ended up going back to university and graduated with a BA Hons in Interior Design. I worked as a lighting designer, gaining an LIF accreditation before moving into commercial interiors working for a national 4 and 5 star hotel company as part of their in-house interiors team. After a few years I then moved into residential interior design working for Harrogate based companies before freelancing on a five star hotel project and a number of residential projects. I was also a contributor to a national newspaper for a number of years with a monthly interior trends columns and contributed to larger interior styling features. Finally I managed and designed for a family joinery company which I still do alongside setting up Faye Robinson Interiors, a luxury, award winning interior design company which has a strong ethos of providing a premium but approachable and dedicated design service. Faye Robinson Interiors Faye Robinson Interiors Why did you want to work in the interior design profession? I have always been brought up around property development, my parents renovated houses and my mum worked in interior design, my dad had a construction company. I have always been creative and interior design presented an opportunity to be able to combine my interpersonal skills and artistic flair whilst being a viable business model. To be able to create long lasting and permanent new interior spaces which impact positively the people who inhabit them was such a big draw for me and remains a key motivation. I consider it such a privilege to be invited into our client’s lives, we forge great and long lasting relationships with many of our clients which is one of the best things about my job. We get to know them, understand how they live, meet their families etc and so to be able to create a new business or home interior which transform spaces and brings people joy is a lovely perk to the job. Faye Robinson Interiors Faye Robinson Interiors Which elements of your profession do you enjoy the most? Obviously I enjoy the creative side of the job much more than the inevitable business admin which comes with running your own business! I enjoy the initial client briefing and working up a concept design as this is always the exciting first step on the design journey. The implementation stage is very rewarding, seeing your designs go from paper to reality will never get old – it is the most nerve wracking but enjoyable part of the job. It is also always a joy to be able to discover new talented trades people, artists, suppliers, products and materials, the interior design industry is a fast moving and fascinating world to be a part of. Faye Robinson Interiors Faye Robinson Interiors What has been your most memorable career highlight from the past year? I would say without question being awarded the ‘best luxury residence UK’ award at this years International design and architecture awards (design et al) was a great highlight. It was an honour to be amongst such talented designers and we were thrilled that our Georgian renovation project which we worked on for a total of two years from concept to completion was recognised at such a high industry level. We were also delighted that the project was finalist in two categories at the Northern Design awards, where we had previously won a commercial category in 2018. The completion of our Georgian renovation project at the beginning of this year is, to date our proudest moment, it was a labour of love and we were as thrilled as our clients were with the finished results. Faye Robinson Interiors Faye Robinson Interiors What are your favourite types of projects to work on and why? Over the years I have worked on some great projects but I would say the larger remodel projects are one of my favourites because we get to be involved in everything right from the beginning of the design journey to completion which, although stressful at times is such a great creative honour. Larger projects also allow us to work with trusted suppliers and artisans which is always a great experience – there are so many skilled and talented trades and suppliers out there, discovering them is a great part of our job. Also projects where there is a meeting of minds between designer and client are great because the process runs so much smoother when you have a client who is fully on board and trusting – it allows great creative control and results in beautiful and personal design details. Faye Robinson Interiors Faye Robinson Interiors What are the most challenging aspects of working in interior design? I think it is a very misunderstood and at times mis-represented industry, there is a lot that goes into creating beautiful interiors and it isn’t as glamorous as everybody seems to think it is! I think being able to find solutions and over come issues that can often arise on bespoke projects with time and budget constraints can be quite challenging and stressful, but that is part of what we are here to do, we take the stress away from our client and deliver beautiful results as intended. It isn’t always easy and I have suffered quite a few sleepless nights while working on live projects but it is always worth it in the end. A new challenge that has arisen is also the introduction of AI within interior design. I feel that AI can be a great tool for the industry to be able to be used as a tool going forward but we have also seen a rise in CGIs and AI generated interiors, especially on social media which although look very impressive are not a tangible and installed scheme so can be misleading in certain circumstances. What do you wish you knew before working in the field? I think perhaps having a greater understanding of technical drawings and manufacture would have been helpful, also I believe they should teach business/financial education in secondary school, nobody teaches you how to run an interior design business and it can be a very steep learning curve! If you could give one tip to aspiring designers, what would it be? I would say keep an open minded, tenacious attitude and also if possible aim to carve out a design aesthetic that while is commercially viable also has an air of individuality about it. A lot of our clients come to us saying that they do not want a regurgitated version of what everybody else is doing, while impressive and high end there is a definite ‘look’ that a lot of premium interiors have and it can be a little lacking in personality. I would also recommend getting as much industry experience as possible, there is so much to learn in the interior design sector, its not just colour schemes and styling, it is important to know how to present well to clients, understand the financial side of the business, specification and budgets and always keep researching and exploring new suppliers. In my experience there are no short cuts to becoming a successful, well rounded designer- everyday you learn something new – learning what not to do is sometimes just as important as learning what to do well! I learned a lot of valuable lessons whilst working for others and watching how they run their own business. Faye Robinson Interiors How do you see the interior design industry evolving in the year ahead? Within interiors we feel that people are more willing to consider bespoke furnishings, handmade joinery and luxury, hardwearing but beautiful materials such as stone and wood considering it as a quality investment that will bring them joy for years to come. There is definitely a movement toward sustainable design, ethical, environmental friendly materials and an approach that favours quality, well made pieces as opposed to fast changing fashion and trends. Of course everybody is also keeping an eye on how AI will influence and shape the interior design industry and digital technologies such as VR are also something that is going to continue to grow, develop and become more common places amongst our sector providing new, progressive tools to help us communicate our designs to the end-user. What does being an SBID Accredited Interior Designer mean to you? It means a great deal to be recognised by a professional industry body. There are a lot of different types of ‘interior designers’ out there and I feel it can be a job title that can be thrown around quite a lot. To be a SBID Accredited Interior Designer means that our clients can have complete faith in the fact that we are a legitimate, qualified and experienced interior design professional company and that is a badge we are proud to wear. Faye Robinson-Hey, Founder and Director at Faye Robinson Interiors About Faye Robinson Interiors Good interior design can transform a space and the way the occupier feels about it, it starts at the beginning and it is worth getting it right. Faye Robinson Interiors start by looking at the space planning and design concept and use our technical know-how to plan the layouts and fit outs. We look at incorporating interior details, review how the interior architecture will work and utilise our extensive knowledge of fabrics, wallpapers and specialist finishes. We start with a design concept, we develop that concept into a scheme and then we turn that scheme into reality. Visit Profile If you’d like to feature your news or stories on SBID.org, get in touch to find out more. If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.