Hello
Elaine Williams founded Interior Couture twenty years ago, having left the law to follow the eye she had never stopped trusting. A graduate of the Inchbald School of Design with a Postgraduate Diploma in Architectural Interior Design, she brings a designer’s imagination and a lawyer’s rigour to every project, uniquely creative and highly organised in equal measure.
Elaine divides her time between London and Puglia, speaks Italian, and sources suppliers and antiques across both the UK and Europe. In her atelier among the olive groves, she is developing a ceramics practice of her own.
Interiors with a European sensibility
A love of European architecture, atmosphere and design underlies everything we do, from concept ideas to sourcing items. Shapes borne of ancient Roman ruins and medieval palazzi as a backdrop to modern comfortable design. Parisian Haussmann bones with age-worn brass espagnolette handles and floor to ceiling French windows. The dynamism of contemporary art against antique finds from markets and fairs across the continent.
We love to contrast the architectural bones of a building with antiques, vintage pieces, sculpture and art - bringing depth and a layering of eras that creates an instant sense of belonging. In London this can mean restoring the delicate panelling and cornicing of Georgian and Victorian properties and layering the schemes with antiques, contemporary art, modern pieces and timeless furnishings. In Italy it can mean juxtaposing modern furnishings against ancient plaster, frescoed walls and vaulted ceilings.
We are lovers of faded grandeur, patina and industrial metals against soft linens. Sumptuous velvet against hot rolled steel. Veined marble against frayed linen. Our favourite colour is the one that changes throughout the day and you can never quite pin down. The magic is in the mix.
We have the quiet conviction that luxury isn’t loud. It’s felt in the comfortable flow of daily life, in the ease of moving through your space, in the calm it brings you at the end of the day.
Practicality made poetic. Always.
Source the world
From our base in South Kensington, we work across the UK and Europe, developing an international network of exceptional contractors, craftsmen, trades and specialist finishers over two decades.
There is nothing more enjoyable than immersing oneself in new designs at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, the Maison et Objet fairs in Paris, wandering the antique markets in Arezzo, diving into the Parma Antiques Fair, meandering medieval streets behind the Vatican to uncover an extraordinary bronzista, or screeching to a halt at a roadside marble yard in Italy on glimpsing the perfect slab. From all of this, design is made.
Our approach is deeply personal and exactingly tailored. No formula, no fuss. The result is a home that feels considered, grounded in its locale, and unmistakably your own.
Shall we...?
So, whether you are embarking on a full renovation or reimagining a single space, and have a love of mixing antiques with modern comfort, contemporary art and European style - if what we have said speaks to you …
