An American Interior Designer in London

Textile designer turned interiors expert, Kelly Fannon, has more than 20 years’ experience making homes beautiful. She lives in London, but regularly works in New York and Florida as well as the UK. She runs her own design business, www.kellyfannon.com.

Kelly is a London based designer with a difference, with US roots and a background in textiles. As a textile designer, she spent more than a decade producing patterns for curtains and wallpapers.

Now she applies her artistic vision to entire homes. Her unique understanding of colours and surfaces combined with a passion for fabrics means she’s the perfect person to give advice on dressing windows.

In this interview, she talks about windows, controlling light and where to find inspiration.

Light Up Your Life

Kelly loves curtains and blinds. For her, they’re a chance to enhance a space using beautiful fabrics. But it’s also an opportunity to play around with one of the biggest tools at a designer’s disposal – light.

“I use blinds and curtains an awful lot – in every project I do. I like to use blinds to bring in that beautiful, filtering light you get. When the light hits the glass it causes glare but when you have a nice blind in front of it, it disperses the light and gives a soft glow to the room.

“Think about what’s on the outside. Think about the quality of light you’ll get from that window before you cover it all up with lots of fabric.”

Kelly has created a light, spacious feel in this Brooklyn apartment.

Don’t be Blind to the Challenge of Bay Windows

“Bay windows can be very tricky. My first inclination with bay windows is to use blinds because they’re easier to use. It also depends on the client’s budget and how much they have to spend on their window treatments. Blinds can be more affordable.”

But for a luxurious feel, says Kelly, curtains are the way to go.

“When you have a nice bay and there is enough height, it’s good to put a curtain in there. You need specialist tracks and poles to hold it all up – and that can be very attractive.

“For bays, you need to think, think, think. You need to consider what’s outside. You need to think about whether to control the light. And you need to consider your privacy.”

Inspiration is All Around

Kelly’s artistic background means she’s learned to look all around her for inspiration.

“Inspiration isn’t necessarily just in a well designed room. I think you need to go to museums and listen to music and do art. It’s all of it. It’s culture,” she says.

Blogs and online resources can be useful as well, whether you’re looking for window treatments or advice on interior design.

“Blogs are so prominent in what we’re doing. You can get lots and lots of inspiration through all the different types of blogs out there. They really give you visual impact and ideas.”

Kelly’s favourite blogs include Vosgeparis, Emma’s Design Blogg and Decor8. She also likes Tumblr and Pinterest.

“Pinterest is immensely useful. I’ll put together a board for a client to get their ideas going and see if we’re thinking the same way. If someone’s into industrial chic, you can get lots of images representing that style. You can send them the link and start communicating.”

You can see Kelly’s Pinterest profile here. Before the internet, interior designers had to make do with scrapbooks, mood boards and magazines. Nowadays it’s much easier.

“Clients would sometimes bring in a board with lots of cuttings they’d done in order to get an understanding of what they want and their style. And then I’d have to apply it to their space. A lot of it was through magazines. Digital photography has changed things immensely. It’s easy to send photographs back and forth now,” she adds.

Spotlights and monochrome prints create the perfect mood in The Buttery Hotel, Oxford.

Modernise the Space with Technology

Kelly loves to integrate technology into her designs to give homes and workplaces a more modern feel.

“On a project I was working on in New York, we had electric blinds installed. The client particularly wanted to control the light. It worked out beautifully,” she says.

In this case, the blinds worked via remote control, but there are versions available that use light sensors and timers. And technology doesn’t have to stop with the windows.

“The audio visual areas within a home are quite complicated and technical now. You can have music through the whole place. And the other technology I use is in lighting design,” says Kelly.

Having a well-lit home is everything.

If you’re thinking of redesigning your home, take a look at the other interviews on The Curtain Track and Pole Company's blog – all with prominent interior designers. Tracks-Direct create bespoke curtain tracks and poles to help you create the perfect space. Call on 01494 535699 or email for more information.