A Visionary Approach to Interior Design
Sometimes it takes a lot of vision and imagination to make a big impact and elevate a room’s aesthetic from straightforward to showstopping. For Benjamin Reynaert, a magazine editor, regular contributor to publications including Elle Decor and House Beautiful, and stylist behind @aspoonfulofbenjamin, more is more… and then some.
By browsing his Instagram account, one can see that the stylist’s posts feature interiors saturated with color, splendid backdrops, and beautiful artwork and fabrics. Evidently, this approach resonates with his 126,000 followers… and it was only a matter of time before Reynaert merged these artistic flourishes into his first book, The Layered Home, in which he steps inside the spaces of some of his favorite tastemakers.
In this book, Reynaert explores the interior of India Holmes’ house in north London, where the designer and textile expert has made her signature mark. “Holmes has lived in a world of color, pattern, and play since she was little. It’s built into her outlook on the world, and expressed through her work as a designer and creator,” writes Reynaert.
“She’s always interested in fresh options for how her home can look; rooms are spaces for embracing change and instilling opportunities for purposeful inquisitiveness.”
Moreover, he says, “a lot of art has been gifted by friends, all of it cherished. And much of what is kept hails from somewhere or someone else, as recycling and reuse are extremely important to Holmes’ way of living. A philosophy that shows in her commitment to working with a community of conscious buyers, designers, and artisans.”
The sofa cushions with playing card designs, for example (above), were made from her childhood bedroom curtains, highlights Reynaert. He continues: “Her entrance area is amazing and deserves all the attention it gets. For this space, she had good ‘tent’ reference points and was able to create something magical on a bit of a budget. She’s quite skilled at getting at the essence of an idea and executing it herself for less, with her signature wit and whimsy.”
With a kaleidoscope of color and texture, as Reynaert puts it: “Strikingly theatrical, the room evokes the spirit of a homemade circus. Above, a treatment of red and white stripes radiates across the ceiling, with the walls drenched in a vibrant blue-green shade. Disparate patterns, stripe widths, and chromatic tones unite largely in part to the tasselled bunting, which is equally a visual distraction from the bold ceiling, and a quiet harmoniser for the busy space.”
Of the striped bunting, India Holmes says: “It ties everything together, when most of it wants to clash!”
These small yet substantive decorative details hold similar sway in every room Holmes has designed, writes Reynaert. “Constructively bringing order and alignment to rooms where color, pattern, objects, and textures massively converge.”
India Holmes says: “Like a magpie drawn to shiny objects, I have an insatiable love of decorative objects, ceramics, paintings, fabrics – anything and everything handmade or just beautiful to look at. I am a total sucker for souvenirs and trinkets. During wonderful trips abroad, I have always made sure to fly out with half a suitcase free!”
The creative director at design studio Pelican House, Holmes advocates for the staying power of furniture and objects within living spaces. “Once something has served its purpose, I often resell it and buy what needs to go in its place. Where possible, I like to sell and rebuy within the same price point, creating my own cycle of free design – these being secondhand objects to begin with – and buying secondhand or antique in some cases.”
As Reynaert underlines, her personality plays out in the heavy influence of color and pattern that imbues each space. “The default is layering patterns, a reflex that is informed primarily by gut feeling and a penchant for taking chances.”
For anyone looking to loosen up their pattern-mixing skills, Holmes says color can be a good reference to use as a guide. “If you know you love a pattern and every time you look at it, it makes you happy, the likelihood is it will fall into place with the rest of the patterns in your house.”
Extracted from The Layered Home: Inspiration for Creating Cosy, Collected Rooms by Benjamin Reynaert. Published in hardback by Mitchell Beazley, priced £35. Photographs by Manuel Rodriquez. Available now.
