Quiet sophistication, elegance, eclectic taste, a keen sense of proportion, and a distinctive feeling that living is easy, are the hallmark of Kate Instone, Founder of Blush International, a luxury interior design firm based in deca steroids for sale Dubai, UAE.
Kate’s client list boasts of clients like Madonna, Seal, Thierry Henry, and Lindsay Lohan among others. While she focuses purely on residential interior design, she has superyachts and private jets tucked away in her portfolio too.
As Kate has recently done a bespoke project in Bahrain, Life N Style caught up with her to get an insight into what it takes to design living spaces for the most discerning people in the world.
You have been designing luxury spaces since 2007, tell us how does one take luxury design beyond the cookie-cutter approach?
Kate Instone: I believe that luxury is subjective. For example, one client’s idea of luxury could be a dressing room with perfect make-up lighting, meters of customised storage painstakingly designed to house each individual item of clothing, chilled cashmere storage and a private spa. Another client’s idea of luxury could be a rooftop art studio, a private yoga space and a copper-lined sleep chamber. The key to creating true luxury is understanding your client; until then, you will not be able to create their version of luxury.
I don’t believe that creating luxury is filling a home with Baccarat chandeliers and Hermes furniture, anyone can do that!
You’ve designed for several Ultra High Net Worth clients, kitting out superyachts and private aircraft, which of these has been creatively the most satisfying project?
Discretion is a key tenet of the industry and while I cannot name several of my clients, including several Presidents, I have worked on interior design projects for Madonna, Seal, Michael Flatley, and Lindsay Lohan among others.
One of the most creatively satisfying projects is one that I am currently working on – a privately owned Boeing 777. The brief is to create an interior that looks like an elegant London penthouse, not a jet! It helps that we have been given a very generous budget to create new and unique finishes as well as a full bespoke fabric and furniture collection for this project. It has certainly got our creative juices flowing!
Designing luxury spaces means sourcing one-of-a-kind furniture that must have taken you on many a hunting trip. Do share some of the interesting tales from your travels.
Kate Instone: I have made so many memories whilst sourcing furniture for clients. I am very fortunate to have worked with some of the most fascinating people alive who have wanted to fill their homes with rare and interesting pieces.
I have spent weeks at Paris’s Saint-Ouen sourcing antiques. I have been sent by private jet to bid on rare Louis Vuitton trunks at Christie’s auction house in London. I have found crazy antiquities for sale whilst exploring Aynhoe Park in Oxfordshire.
Designing for superyachts and private plans must be very different from villas and living spaces – how do you approach these projects?
Kate Instone: Designing these mobile palaces is something of bespoke art.
There are obvious space constraints when designing a yacht or a jet, you need to be skilled at maximising storage and functionality while still creating a luxurious and comfortable environment.
The other factor is to find durable materials that can withstand high humidity, salt, and UV rays, ones that can withstand movement and vibration.
They need to be bespoke, unique and sophisticated environments that reflect the client’s status and tastes.
You have recently designed a luxury project in Bahrain, tell us what that experience was like.
Kate Instone: We found Bahrain to be business friendly which helps the progression of a project allowing for a seamless experience. There is a wide range of suppliers from the East and the West and everyone in between. Both the local and expat clients are well travelled and have gained inspiration from all around the world, enabling a designer the freedom to create beautiful designs.
Among your many projects which one did you have the most fun designing, and which was the most challenging?
Kate Instone: I think my most fun project was working on Madonna’s London home in around 2007. When I was growing up, she was such an icon, a successful, strong and forceful woman. I loved working with a client who had such a powerful and creative vision.
I think the most challenging project to work on is my own home. A very important part of Blush’s design process is to really get to know our clients. When designing my own home, I needed to take time for some serious self-reflection and reconnect with ‘me’.
