It's a new year and we have a brand new Q&A post for you, part 5 in our interior design interview series.
We had the pleasure of speaking with Jenny Gibbs, Principal at KLC School of Design, the go-to place of study for interior and garden design courses.
We wanted to find out more about where her passion for interiors started, the creation of KLC and which countries she's had the pleasure of visiting throughout her journey so far.
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Firstly, explain a little bit about how your passion for Interior Design started
When my parents bought a rambling old farmhouse at auction, I had such fun helping my mother, who had a wonderful eye, putting schemes together, arranging furniture and sourcing bits and pieces in antique shops.
And then when I had my own first tiny apartment the design bug really bit.
Which Interior Design projects are you most proud of to date?
One of the most challenging and rewarding projects I was involved with was the re-planning and re-organisation of a building to accommodate a number of different small charities.
The budget was inevitably very tight, each charity had its own agenda and the challenges were considerable.
One particular charity was for the deaf and we had to make sure that the materials and finishes in meeting rooms maximised sound and that signs flashed up when the fire bell went, in case this was not heard
What aspect of Interior Design excites you most?
I love the way that good interior design can transform lives and spaces and I am not sure that it is always understood how much analysis, research and development is needed to create fully successful design solutions.
My own particular passion is detail and I love to pick up on shapes in architectural detail and then repeat them in the detailing of pieces of joinery, and my particular current passion is for some of the really beautiful door furniture around
Tell us more about KLC, what was your inspiration for getting started
I never really planned to start a school but when I put together a short course to look at some of the practical issues of re-decorating your home, those first students suggested all sorts of other courses and, somehow, KLC was born!
Which is the most interesting country you’ve visited when giving specialist talks?
Russia was of course fascinating but I was particularly intrigued by the constant contrast of old and new in Japan.
Our taxi driver wore neat white gloves as he drove us from the airport through hi-tech retail areas with vast neon signs.
At our cutting edge hotel, we saw brides wearing traditional kimonos and headdresses, while the fast-travelling bullet train took us to Kyoto a city of many temples and traditional tea ceremonies.
Which of your books are you most pleased with, and do you have any other publications planned for the near of future?
‘The Country House’, which involved a huge amount of research and was the first book I had written on my own, seemed quite an achievement at the time but ‘Interior Design’ is the one I am most proud of as it has been published in something like 10 different languages and has been included in college reading lists all over the world.
There is nothing immediately in the pipeline at the moment but it would be rather fun to write some fiction for a change.
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