Words by Rosie Cattrell
In conversation with Chloe Morris, an expert in articulating her clients' idyllic visions into effortlessly stylish interior spaces.
Infusing her love of the Cornish coast with a passion for creating beautiful interiors, Chloe Morris has been transforming homes all over the country in the image of her clients' dreams and aspirations. With an aim to find out a little more about the inner workings of Chloe Morris Interior Design, I speak with the woman herself about exactly what it is that goes into creating the interiors that she’s built such a sterling reputation on.
Tell me a little bit about yourself, and how you incorporate your own passions into your work?
The sea has probably been my first and greatest love. I’ve managed to hug the coast from the moment I was born, growing up in a 400-year-old farmhouse by the sea, through to university amongst all sorts of interesting interiors, not to mention travelling the world and absorbing Australian, Californian, Balinese and Sri Lankan designs. Today, I live minutes from rolling Cornish dunes.
Me and my whole family surf, so the idea of ‘coastal living’ and ‘beach house chic’ are not interior terminology to me, they are a way of everyday life for us. I’m not sure I could be more ‘grass roots’ when it comes to coastal design; I’m constantly inspired by the ever-evolving dance between the elements and nature – if I could live outside I probably would, which is bizarre when my passion is interiors, but perhaps explains why I am consistently looking outside to find inspiration for inside. Nature is the greatest colour pallet and there’s no better place to draw upon that than Cornwall; the marriage of dark stormy skies; vibrant yellow gorse; blonde warm sands with barely blue skies; green rivers and sharp grey rocks. There isn’t anywhere quite like the outdoors to inspire my designs, so every sea swim, surf and river dip is like flicking through the finest interior books for inspiration.
Talk me through your particular style.
When it comes to interior design, my main aim isn’t to achieve a style, but rather to carefully curate a space with natural, elemental textures and tones that look entirely effortless, and not overly styled. Selecting eclectic elements, from the smallest nick-nack to astonishing pieces of art that anchor a whole space, means that each home is unique, with a sense of intimacy and personality. It’s my aim to let each home achieve its design possibilities, to capture the best views, the best moments of light and enhance the best features of each space I see.
What do you think it is that sets you apart from other interior names?
While I have my own style that may suit my home and my way of living, it won’t necessarily work for anyone else. Each of my clients are completely individual and unique; it’s my job to listen, to ask the right questions and to observe the space, the people that inhabit that space and the way they live. Everyone’s aspirations for their homes are different, everyone’s routines, pleasures and passions, so each home should reflect that individuality – which is why all my designs are completely unique. It’s my job to translate what my clients tell me their aspirations are for their home and how they want it to feel, into interiors. When they see their finished space, I want them to feel it is perfectly designed for them, a perfect translation of their style and their lives.
Take me through a project that you might be particularly proud of.
In all honesty, I’m proud of every project I’ve completed so far because I know I’ve brought to life the aspirations of each of my clients. From modern and bright, architecturally designed beach houses and 18th century palatial mansions, to cosy Cornish cottages and perfect barn conversions with Dartmoor backdrops, to farmhouses, apartments and townhouses; I’ve taken pride in every space that a client has entrusted me with transforming. I particularly like to personalise each project in some creative way – whether it’s sourcing original photos of a shipwreck from which a beam in the house belongs; finding lyrics to a wedding song incorporated in a piece of art; bespoke dining tables with hand-picked flotsam and jetsam encased or sourcing 1970’s Italian, one-of-a-kind, retro orange Perspex chairs. I’ve found a particular passion for antiques and period properties, which are always a dream to work with. As a child I spent hours in the barns at my parents’ farm ‘making home’, dragging old furniture around to create ‘homes’. I would dress the ‘kitchen table’ with jugs of fresh flowers, and use left-over paint to paint old brass bed ends. What I’m trying to say is that I’m probably most proud that my great passions – creating beautiful spaces and being ever close to and inspired by the coast – have become a career that I could only have dreamt of.