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Charles & Co

Having won global acclaim for her work for Soho House, Brit designer Vicky Charles is now an independent style powerhouse, thanks to her trademark cosy, layered look

Who is she? Even if you don’t know Vicky Charles by name, you’ll know her style: as the former design director of Soho House, where she worked for more than 20 years, she shaped the aesthetic of all its global members’ clubs and, in the process, defined the modern ideal of cool-meets-cosy interiors. Charles didn’t follow the obvious industry route: she studied fine art and English literature at Exeter University, and began her career waiting tables at Soho House. ‘When I was a kid, I wanted to work in a shoe store and didn’t know interior designers existed,’ she remembers. ‘I only learned about this world from watching designer Ilse Crawford work during the early days of Soho House.’ Charles’ lifelong love of colour, plus early practical experience organising events at big film festivals, paid dividends. By 2016, when she established her own studio in New York, she had already won some prestigious private clients (such as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who commissioned her to revamp Frogmore Cottage, and celeb royalty the Beckhams) and launched Soho Home, the homeware arm of Soho House. Now, she and her 20-strong team at Charles & Co inject relaxed yet vibrant style into homes and hotels around the world.

What are her recent projects?

‘We tend to work on full restoration projects, and have recently completed a New York townhouse,’ reveals Charles. ‘The clients, like us, love to search for vintage pieces and so the house is full of a mix of furniture, sourced from Europe and America, that blend old and new. Mid-century pieces sit alongside fine antiques and modern designs. I believe that it’s so important to be surrounded by things you love, and to look at things that make you happy – even if they aren’t from the same period or style.’ Charles restored many of the townhouse’s original features, including a smart inlaid wooden kitchen floor with classical Greek details; the room itself featured dark-painted cabinetry and brass details. Seeking to reflect her clients’ warm personalities, she created ‘vignettes with multiple experiences throughout the house’, such as a reading nook and music area in the living room (the latter complete with baby grand piano). Charles & Co’s signature love of fabrics and tactile textures is also in evidence: the main bedroom has velvet-lined walls, while the bathroom is clad from floor to ceiling in hand-painted tiles.

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