Indie Interiors have been shortlisted in The International Design and Architecture Awards 2023. Read more about Design Director, Stefanie Fletcher, below:

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Name: Stefanie Fletcher
Company: Indie Interiors
Position within company: Design Director
Website: www.indieinteriors.co.uk

Tell us a little about your background in design:
Interior design is actually my second career! I have a degree in Biomedicine and pursued a career with medical companies before leaving to have my first child. Whilst on maternity leave I used any spare time I had to re-train as an interior designer, an industry I had always been so engrossed in but never had the courage to go into it. I undertook various courses in interior design, electrical and lighting design and drawing packages before slowly offering out services to external clients. I had a great knowledge base in all trades due to my father who had previously ran a builders merchants for years so it actually was not as intimidating as I had perceived however I would still say I most definitely jumped in two feet first. Since launching Indie Interiors I have undertaken a number of whole home designs and have slowly found what our signature style is, what I feel our company is best placed to offer and how best to execute that for our clients. Although only 2.5 years since we set out, we now undertake primarily projects which require everything from spatial planning through to styling. Overall we relish in projects where we can have input into every single stage – that is where we find we flourish and we can design with full creative freedom.

How would you describe your personal design style?
I would say our style is fairly classic with a nod to a contemporary style. My aim is to create timeless interiors which can grow with our clients as they live in their homes. I do not like to design for only ‘now’and we are very much conscious of how our clients will live in 2,5 or 10 years time and I feel our style encapsulates that.

Where does your design inspiration come from?
I absolutely love architecture (I would have loved to have pursued architecture however I am far too impatient!) so a lot of the inspiration I take is from buildings I walk or drive past. We are fortunate to have undertaken projects all over the UK and can take inspiration from a myriad of buildings with different architectural styles, my favourites being Victorian and classic modern. I of course also seek inspiration from other well established and prominent designers often admiring styles which wouldn’t ordinarily appeal to me however appreciating the detail and design decisions made by them, taking that with me onto my next project.

In what direction do you feel that design is moving towards in a general sense?
I think overall it is about sustainability now. We are all acutely aware of designing for longevity and preventing wastefulness. I therefore think design now cannot afford to be anything but well considered. In a world full of ‘fast’ good design will always remain a careful, moderately slow but well thought out process and I think our clients are becoming much more aware of their decisions and impact when considering sustainability within their homes. Softwares and systems are allowing us to travel less, present remotely and clients so far have been more than receptive of cutting down wastefulness. I also feel we will see a continued support and expansion of British manufacturing, where we as a company can source as much of our specified items from British craftsmen as possible, again touching on the key theme for future interiors- sustainability.

Name five key themes to consider when approaching design in 2023 and beyond.
Quality, decluttering, longevity, happiness, proportionality

If you could offer one piece of advice when it comes to design schemes, what would it be?
Do not begin a design by concentrating on considering only one item such as a sofa a client is desperate to have. Always stick to your process and allow for a free and clear creative mind as it will allow you to still achieve your best work. I have found when designing ‘for an item’ rather than for a functionality, I loose rhythm with the design, feel constrained and it can even be a little defeatist. Plan your space, your interior architecture and anything important functionally and then see how to make the piece fit.

How important are The International Design & Architecture Awards?
The design awards drive a great campaign behind the scenes and allow submission from both large and small interior firms. This allows much smaller players to pitch themselves against large corporations when shortlisting and then if successful they have just as much exposure and drive behind their nomination as a large practice would have. I have observed that obtaining an award in any category within the Design et al awards can provide a huge push forward for smaller designers given the prominence of the awards themselves. It brings so many designers together into a community where all projects are viewed and voted on, meaning especially for myself, I can become aware of so many different designers and their projects.

What projects are you currently working on?
We are working on a few large projects at the moment which are either large renovations or self builds for a variety of families. These are littered throughout the UK and are all at various stages. At the moment we have a huge amount of joinery ready to be manufactured including two kitchens and also are designing a huge master bathroom which is just going to be epic!

What was your favourite project to work on and why?
I have two whole home projects I have thoroughly enjoyed- one in Wolverhampton and one in Windlesham and the main reason for this was the clients. When you work with utterly kind clients, you achieve a different level to your work. When they have complete trust in your selections and design decisions I think you untap a different level of creative freedom. When a designer feels extremely constrained and doesn’t lead, the project never feels ‘quite right’. On these however, I look back at our professional images and feel immensely proud of my clients and the homes they live in.

What was your most challenging project to work on and why?
Probably a project for a developer. A developer quite often has seen just as much as you on projects and therefore wants to push the limitations of design whilst also being extremely budget conscious as they are (quite rightly) there for profit. It did mean the project took longer than anticipated and had more revisions to meet budget but in the end I was so proud of what we achieved, and the feedback he received from viewers.

Which products/services could you not live without when designing?|Sketchup and Canva. I absolutely adore sketchup and use it for everything now. We 3D model from there, pull our renders from there, create our scaled elevation plans from there and even draft our electrical and plumbing plans from it. We don’t use Autocad and feel becoming an absolute expert in Sketchup has proved much more beneficial and fruitful than having a myriad of programmes on the go. It has also allowed us to communicate with architects much easier too. We will often send models back and forth between each other to ensure fluidity from interior to exterior architecture which is great. Canva has allowed us to create lots of brand templates, often substituting photoshop and makes sharing presentations extremely easy between team members. When I first began designing I felt as though we had to be using Adobe suite and Autocad to align with other practices but ultimately, as long as we are producing the right standard of drawing and can communicate our designs clearly to clients and contractors, you should use products and services which are most efficient and effective for your business.

What are your aims and goals for the next twelve months?
I am currently designing a bespoke furniture range alongside one of our exclusive cabinet makers which I hope to launch within the next 12 months. I would absolutely love to work on a large family, period home and also a project within Portugal- a country I adore. For the design practice itself I would like to bring someone in who can exclusively run our procurement and also an architect to help lead on more complex projects. I would like our design practice to eventually be where a client comes for it all- we manage it from start to finish and provide all services, reducing the stress and intensivity of what can be a long and laborious process for our clients.

Final thoughts; tell us a little more about yourself and your daily inspirations:
I am an extremely energetic and passionate person and bring that to all client meetings and site visits. I want all clients to feel the enthusiasm, passion and commitment I have for their projects and enjoy being around us. We know how exciting this process is for our clients and I ensure myself and my team always demonstrate that when on site. I am constantly learning, adapting our process’s and feel we can therefore offer more to each project we take on as I grow in experience and wisdom. I have three small children under 6 and they and my partner are my biggest inspiration. My partner himself as achieved so much in his career and is such a fantastic and inspirational person for me to be with. I carry all of the same principles and philosophies with me from personal to professional life and I hope is evident to our clients old and new.

Indie Interiors

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