Interior designer Kelly Hoppen makes her mark in the UAE

Kelly Hoppen often gets messages from kids telling her she’s their idol and asking for her advice. On the morning of our conversation, she had just replied to a letter from a young boy who was struggling with mental health.

“Just believe in yourself,” was her response to him — words one could feel had put her in a good position throughout her 43-year career.

She started designing kitchens for a family friend at the age of 16.

“It was a disaster,” she said with a smile. “I wish I still had pictures. But that’s not what it looks like, it’s the fact that I have the perseverance to do it. I’m motivated and passionate about starting my own business.”

Since then, she has worked on thousands of projects, including houses, luxury hotels, private jets, superyachts, cruise ships and commercial airlines. She has written nine books, won numerous awards, achieved great success in Asia, created a range of products for families, and appeared on numerous TV shows. In 2020 she was awarded a CBE for promoting creativity in UK business and an MBE in 2009.

She thrives on the connections she builds with clients, especially when designing their homes.

“If it’s a private residence, you have a very close relationship with someone,” said Hoban, who was born in Cape Town, South Africa but moved to the UK as a child.

“A dream client is one who wants you and has a relationship with you so you can create something very personal.”

An important lesson she learned along the way was letting go of herself. “I think when you’re young, you have a huge ego. Everyone does that. But, you know, the older I get, the smarter I get, and I don’t think the ego is where you help other people create their home play a role in the profession.”

Her years of designing her own home have helped cement this, though she admits to being a “client from hell”. She is currently designing a new house for herself, but declined to give any details.

“I know how hard it is for me because you’re in such a vulnerable state. I think because I’ve built so many homes for myself, it makes me a better listener and a better person when it comes to building homes for others And, the older I get, I just think you have to enjoy the process. There’s no need to fight. There’s enough of this in the world.”

Her experience designing private homes informs her work on large-scale projects, ensuring they remain private, authentic and “livable”.

she is currently Dubai to keynote at Downtown Design and unveils her designs for the Lanai estate, a new project Majid Al Futtaim Tilal Al Ghaf Community. Hoppen said the homes, designed by award-winning South African architecture firm Saota, offer “wish list” level luxury.

Even in a design of this scale, she would first envision an imaginary client in her mind, in which case, “Of course, this is an amazing person. This is a person who appreciates art, culture, history, land and the environment.”

“The building itself is extraordinary. It’s very ‘inside-out’ living, but because of its scale, the challenge was to make it warm, inviting and livable, which is something we do well here , because we love scale and we love intimacy. So it’s all about lighting and levels and creating textures with marble, stone and wood.”

Hoppen has long favored the iconic East-West aesthetic, combining the order, harmony and balance of Eastern design with more minimalist elements of the West. Unexpected juxtapositions are her forte.

“I like to find balance in everything, so I like the element of nothingness in everything. That’s probably the easiest way to describe it,” she said.

In a design context, her definition of luxury is something warm, functional, balanced and beautiful. “It’s about having things around you that you love to touch and see and taste. It’s on a very raw level.”

Her biggest taboo design is chintz. “I don’t like rooms that are overcrowded. That’s not my design. I admire what people do in this form, it’s not who I am, and I never will be.”

She said one of the few things left for her to design was a train, and she also wanted to do another urban hotel, since most of her hotel projects are on the beach, including the new Lux Grand Baie Resort and Residences Mauritius. Hoppen believes that a lot can be done in the hospitality space to eliminate the “cookie cutter” that creeps into many hotel designs.

“I think hotels have to pay more than they used to. I think people want to be in a home away from home environment but let them taste something else. Everything has become too similar. I think we need to go back to discovering new things in new places and that needs to be considered in hotel design rather than sticking to one formula. “

She has redefined the cruise industry through a partnership with Miami-based Celebrity Cruises, which has led her to design the ship’s 1,500 suites This celebrity fringe And recently, beyond celebritiesset sail this summer.

“When we launched edge, it changed the face of the industry. That is my intention. I said I wouldn’t take this project unless I could, and I’m lucky that at Celebrity, all the people involved at the top level have given me such a long rope to really push the boundaries. It’s a real moment in my career because it’s a big thing and totally different from the work we do. But I love it, and so does my team. “

More than four decades later, Hoppen is still excited about design. “I was excited to have someone come and show me a new technique for marble yesterday. It’s exciting to look at sustainability in architecture and design which is more of what I’m learning. I have this An amazing team of young people who are really inspiring. It has been amazing to mentor them and build a business around them.”

Although she did say she hates being a boss “because you don’t think you are that way, but you are”.

Updated: November 9, 2022 5:46 am