Reader event report: Spaces that feel like home

On March 26, Country Life hosted an event at which interior designer Emma Sims-Hilditch and Amanda Barrett of George Smith discussed the secret to interior design with a distinctive, personal feel.

bed
The clean lines of George Smith and Sims Hilditch’s bedroom collection.
(Image credit: Sims Hilditch)

In the 21st century it’s easy to be swamped with visual inspiration. ‘The problem,’ said Country Life's Executive Editor Giles Kime, ‘is when your head is so full of other people’s ideas that there’s not much room for your own.’

Emma Sims-Hilditch said that the solution lies in travel, in her case countries such as Belgium where she finds inspiration in the timeless character of its design.

For Amanda Barrett, timelessness lies in the forms inspired by antique elements that have been at the heart of George Smith’s business since it launched over 40 years ago.

Afterwards, there was a chance to explore its new collection of bedroom furniture designed by Mrs Sims-Hilditch.

George Smith, 587-589 King’s Road, London SW6 2EH — 020–7384 1004, www.georgesmith.com

Giles Kime
Giles Kime is Country Life's Executive and Interiors Editor, an expert in interior design with decades of experience since starting his career at The World of Interiors magazine. Giles joined Country Life in 2016, introducing new weekly interiors features, bridging the gap between our coverage of architecture and gardening. He previously launched a design section in The Telegraph and spent over a decade at Homes & Gardens magazine (launched by Country Life's founder Edward Hudson in 1919). A regular host of events at London Craft Week, Focus, Decorex and the V&A, he has interviewed leading design figures, including Kit Kemp, Tricia Guild, Mary Fox Linton, Chester Jones, Barbara Barry and Lord Snowdon. He has written a number of books on interior design, property and wine, the most recent of which is on the legendary interior designer Nina Campbell who last year celebrated her fiftieth year in business. This Autumn sees the publication of his book on the work of the interior designer, Emma Sims-Hilditch. He has also written widely on wine and at 26, was the youngest ever editor of Decanter Magazine. Having spent ten years restoring an Arts & Crafts house on the banks of the Itchen, he and his wife, Kate, are breathing life into a 16th-century cottage near Alresford that has remained untouched for almost half a century.