Today’s interview is with the very talented Snowden Flood. Thank you so much Lianne for introducing us!

1.) Could you tell us a little bit about your background and interests and…. of course your present involvement with interior design and styling?
My background is a degree and a masters in Sculpture and Fine art respectively. I was a practicing artist in NY, then worked as a designer for the Brooklyn Museum of art before moving to Peter Marino + Associates Architects, NY as a designer and textile specialist. I’ve been in London and self-employed since 2000. My work is a mixture of design consultancy for Interior designers and architects, (which includes styling) and also building up my own business of interiors accessories which I am increasingly involved with as my distribution increases.

2.) When you enter a room what is the first thing you pay attention to and do you focus on any particular item in the room?

After my initial first impression of the space as a whole, I generally would focus on the most personal possessions in that room, the things that differentiate the space from every other space. Also the light quality is very important to me, so I’ll always be looking at that.

3.) What do you think is important to show in a room?

[image above via threepotatofour shop]

Hmm….personality really, and this can be shown in very simple ways, for instance with photography, keepsakes, things that mean something to the owner. I don’t mean fill the place with a load of junk but just that these are predominantly the things that mark a room out for me. And at the same time there needs to be clarity in a room in order to be able to distinguish each piece.

4.) Can you tell us about one of your recent projects and why you loved doing this project so much? Why did you choose a particular approach and style for this project and what can we learn from this?

My most recent project, (which is still ongoing with plaster dust in my hair as I write), is my own house! The house was an ugly little house built in 1973 that was owned by an elderly couple. It involved tearing out a lowered ceiling and several walls and generally opening up the main space to emphasize the great light. I employed a Latvian builder and project managed it myself which has been stressful at times and made me glad I do not usually get involved with structural work!

My approach was basically to try to pare back any unnecessary additions to the property to return it to it’s era architecturally. So without the moulded fake Victorian cornices, ceiling roses and general decorative clutter it became very clean and crisp looking with lots of light as all the doors on the ground floor are glass. I replaced the floors throughout using neutral and sometimes strong colours: large panels of very dark brown wood in the halls and living room, grey industrial flooring in the kitchen, grey slate in the bathroom and dark brown sisal on the stairs & upstairs hallway. So then with that mixture of bright light and dark neutrals I was able to use areas of bright colour, like bright Kelly green countertops in the kitchen, acid yellow Bisazza tiling in the bathroom; vintage wallpaper in the bedroom and a mustard yellow ochre wall in the living room. So it’s a house of strong contrasts in many ways, in terms of colour but also from using materials, which are all somewhat textured in feel. It prevents the space from becoming clinical or overly minimal, there’s warmth but also clarity to view all the personal things like the art on the walls or the few pieces of furniture that are precious to me

5.) Can you give us any advice about how small adjustments to a room can have a great impact and visibly improve the look and feel of a room?

[Image from an apartment in the Pierre Hotel NY, styled by Snowden Flood]

Well one way is as I’ve described above, by using colour. It doesn’t have to be a huge area or even be permanent, but by painting a wall, changing your curtains, covering a chair or buying a new cushion you can make a big difference. I also think light is very important, it makes a huge difference to the way you feel when you are in a room.

6.) Which materials do you love to work with most, e.g. paint, wallpaper, textile, and which designers and manufacturers are among your favorites?

I think having a background in sculpture I’m very drawn to textural materials like textiles, rugs, tiles and slate etc. Where possible I tend to buy antique and vintage textile products and customize them for my clients. I think the Moroccan Beni Ouarain carpets are gorgeous (see Gebhart Blazek for these) I like a company called Architectural Textiles as I’m keen on their textured wallpapers. I buy vintage wallpaper from Ebay and use it around the house – to line drawers, cupboards and insides of bedside tables. I like textiles a lot as well though usually the ones in my home are my own samples! I very much like Kasthall rugs and the Josef Frank printed textiles for Svensk Tenn.

7.) Besides a good couch or chair, which other items should be in any living room, or perhaps we should leave the couch and chair out?

No lets keep them in. Well it’s essentially a room for comfort, so we first we need some beautiful Snowden Flood cushions on that couch and chair. Then how about a pin up striped throw from Mrs Me. (striped throw from Mrs Me) Hmm.. books definitely. I don’t mean a couple of Taschen coffee table books but actual books that the inhabitants of the room would like to look at. And art or some things in the house that mean something to the owners and show their personality and what they are interested in.

8.) What do you think will be the new trend in interior design for 2008 and beyond?

I think that the interiors accessories market place has really fragmented over the last year or so, powered by the internet. So people don’t have to just buy from Ikea and habitat for convenience. They have access to independent designer-makers and design led stores all over the world and they can buy from collections like my own and all the other excellent designers out there. So there’s an emphasis on detailing and individuality – as opposed to a few years ago where every photo shoot had the ubiquitous Eames, Jacobsen, Van der Rohe, Panton etc (great though they are) pieces in them.

9.) To what extent is your work influenced by trips abroad and experiencing other cultures? When you are visiting a foreign country are there any special items you look for to bring back home?

Having a young child I travel much less than I used to. But I do have lots of things from trips. I’ve moved around lots over the past 10 years and generally lived in very small apartments so this house is the first time I’ve ever got all my possessions together in one space (many things were boxed in a friends cellar!). There are more patterns to what I’ve acquired than I realized, I seem to be particularly drawn to naïve and outsider art. Whenever I travel I always go to flea markets and antique dealers so there’s rather an eclectic mix here. I also like graphics on food and drink packages so I do have some odd things in my cupboards for no other reason other than the design on the tin!

10.) I am sure I forgot to ask you many important questions….. is there anything that you think we should all know about interior design to help us create a special home?

I think it’s very easy to end up in Ikea buying a chair, some shelving or a table because it’s cheap and convenient to do so. I don’t hate Ikea or those sort of places but then you do end up seeing the same objects in everyone’s houses. There are markets and auctions and second hand stores to buy much more interesting things that you would treasure forever, and you’d have much more fun doing the looking around as well. To create, as you said, a special home, you have to have your personality in there, and that is not about doing things right or wrong but just about taking risks sometimes.