In conversation with... Benji Lewis
Describe your signature style – what would we find in a Benji Lewis room?
Well, I enjoy a blend of periods. My training really was in traditional country house interior design, so that's where I learned my vibe, I suppose, but I like a blended approach. I enjoy traditional furniture, I've got a big love for that, but really and truly, I think an interior comes alive when you blend traditional and contemporary together. I try not to get stuck in just traditional or just contemporary; I would much prefer to blend styles.
Where do you find your inspiration?
I find a lot of my inspiration at the auction house. I worked for an auction house in west London a long time ago, and it was at that point that I developed an appreciation of handling porcelain, wool, furniture, textiles. I travel the auction houses routinely to see what's coming up for sale, and then I look at objects, furniture, paintings, whatever it might be, that might be interesting for a particular client. Then I blend and dovetail in textiles, colours, patterns, and texture from that point onwards.
What would be your key pieces of advice when restyling or updating a room?
The excitement you get from an interior really is by looking at various bits and pieces and then pulling them together. Any design has to start with a floor plan anyway, so you get your scale and proportions correctly sorted out before you do anything. Start with a floor plan, start with an understanding of the space you've got, and then build your interior from that point onwards.
Tell us about the pieces you chose from our spring/summer homeware and furniture collections. What made them stand out and how have you styled them in your home?
I loved everything that Oliver Bonas designed for that spring summer collection, so it was easy to choose. It really was a kind of Aladdin's cave because everything was so perfect with the way I design anyway. The cute little glass pieces I loved, I love the bookends, the vases were perfect. Everything chimed perfectly with what I would do with an interior. The little glass pieces, I mean, what could be better as a present if you came to someone's house for dinner instead of taking a bottle of wine? A sweet little posy holder is just enchanting. The photo frames with the enamel and the gold finish were absolutely perfect. So really and truly, it wasn't hard to choose stuff.
It’s important to us that we create quality pieces designed to bring lasting joy. What’s your advice for those who want to make sure they’re making sustainable choices when updating their interiors?
Timelessness is something that I always think about when I design for clients. I think it's very easy to get swept into a kind of trend obsession, and I try not to get too tied up in that. I'd say the pieces that I chose from Oliver Bonas, I think they'll stand the test of time. They're charming now and they'll be lovely in years to come. I think it's important to think about whether you'll love it now, and hopefully you will, and then in ten years' time you'll be thrilled with it too. You might just move things into a different realm or swap things over. Timelessness is something that I really think about, and I think what Oliver Bonas designed in the Spring/Summer collection really harmonises with that thought process.
