When UK employment for women is broken down by sector, construction comes last in the table. Only 14.7% of those employed in the industry are women. This is 32.9 percentage points lower than the national average. At a time of industry-wide skill shortages, this represents a calamitous wasted opportunity both for construction and for women.   So, what are the factors at play that keep women out of the sector? What can be done to correct this position? And what benefits will women bring to construction once they do join their male colleagues as full participants?   Hear the discussion unfold, at the Design Club in the Chelsea Design Centre, with Susie Rumbold who is joined by Karen Howes, Founder and CEO of Taylor Howes Designs and Agnita Benjamin, Senior Quantity Surveyor at Verve Concepts, where they share valued insights and experiences from their times working on site!  Thanks to our series supporters, Havwoods, the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring.

Throughout the course of her long career, international interior designer and author Kelly Hoppen, CBE, has earned and received every plaudit. Her impact on our industry and the public’s perception of the significance of interior design in their lives cannot be underestimated. She joins us for this latest show alongside Martin Waller, Founder of the Global design brand, Andrew Martin, the internationally recognised Andrew Martin Interior Designer of The Year Award and the annual Interior Design Review. Martin is also a long-time friend and collaborator of Kelly. In this episode, we learn about their own career pathways, their views on the evolution of interior design and the fruits of their many partnerships, including Kelly’s latest collection for Andrew Martin.    This show was recorded in front of a live audience of designers at the fabulous Andrew Martin showroom on Walton Street in South Kensington.

For the UK interior design industry, London acts like a black hole sucking in product, education and designers to the exclusion of everywhere else. Little wonder you might think when, with a population of 9.3 million people, it is more than three times the size of its nearest rival city, Manchester. But is this how it should be and is this situation inevitable? Talented and professional interior designers are constantly completing challenging, world-class, complex projects all over the country! We are joined by Fiona Watkins of Fiona Watkins Design, Cath McCubbin founder of Design Central UK and Kate Hatherell of The Interior Designer’s Hub to explore if interior design is too London-centric. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience of interior designers at Design Central North West, Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire. Thanks to our series supporters, Havwoods, the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring.

In this episode, we preview Decorex 2023, Europe’s leading event for interior design professionals, which opens its doors at Olympia London on Sunday 8th October running until Wednesday 11th October. We hear from four of the key figures involved in this year's event.    Listen to Sam Fisher, Event Director at Decorex, alongside Brian Woulfe of Designed by Woulfe, Mark Tremlett of Naturalmat and Laurence Katz of Elemental Studio as they explain what to look out for at Decorex 2023.  Thanks to our series supporter, Havwoods the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring. The Interior Design Business is a media partner of Decorex 2023.

We all want dream projects that will earn us the accolades of our peers and attract new clients. But what makes an award-winning project? What makes it special and worth the significant investment in money, time and effort that it takes to prepare a winning award entry? Find out in our latest episode with Lisa Keates from Keates Interiors as she talks us through her award-winning project from the Northern Design Awards 2022.  Thanks to our series supporter, Havwoods the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring.

If ‘a picture paints a thousand words’, then surely an interior can tell a thousand stories? Our most beloved interior spaces are grounded in a time and place and speak eloquently of the lives of the people who have inhabited them either now or in the past. But what is the magic essence that makes these much-loved places so special? And how can interior designers recreate this magic in their work?   To shed light on these questions, we're joined by consummate storytellers Inge Moore and Nathan Hutchins, co-founders and creative directors of global interior design studio, Muza Lab. This episode was recorded at the London home of Inge Moore. Thanks to Havwoods, the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring for their support.  The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood Plus production.

Interior designers are a bit like ‘piggy in the middle’. They must be adept at managing client relationships while also managing their supply chains in order to finish on time and deliver the best possible projects. So, how can designers find and retain professional and reliable suppliers? How can they ensure they get early warning when things are going wrong? And is it possible to build a dream supplier team that will last forever? To help us answer these important questions and more, we are joined today by Ed O’Donnell from Angel O’Donnell and BIID Register Interior Designer, Naomi Astley Clarke. Recorded in front of a live audience at the Andrew Martin showroom on Tottenham Court Road in London. Thanks to Havwoods, the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring for their support.  The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood Plus production.

Many people would love to have a career in interior design. To get there, some take the conventional route of obtaining an interior design qualification straight out of school and then gain experience within an established design practice before branching out on their own, but many also set up businesses later in life and enjoy a satisfying career having already had a career in another field. Do late-design bloomers have any advantages over their younger rivals? And is it possible to be a good designer without a design qualification? We are joined today by three designers from very different backgrounds to discuss this topic - Charlotte Dawson from Chestnut Interiors, Stephen Tozer from Boaz Interiors and Susie Rumbold, creative director of Tessuto Interiors and a Past President of the British Institute of Interior Design. Recorded in front of a live audience at Design Central South West in Blagdon, Somerset. Thanks to Havwoods, the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring.  The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood Plus production.

Sustainability is defined as ‘the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level’. But, given the environmental damage we have already inflicted on our planet, is it sufficient to maintain the status quo at our current degraded level? In other words, is it enough to merely cause no further damage or should we be setting our sights higher with long-term goals to restore the environmental quality of our home to pre-industrial levels? Mel Meale from Steer Design and Simon Myatt from Havwoods share ideas with Jeff and Susie in an episode recorded in front of a live audience at the recent Design Central South West event held at Blagdon in Somerset.  Thanks to Havwoods the prevailing name in beautiful wood flooring.  The Interior Design Business is a Wildwood production.

Buying the services of an interior designer is unlike any other purchase. The client knows they have a project and a set of requirements, they have a budget figure in mind, they know when they want the project to end, and they may know what they like, but beyond that they have no idea what the finished product will be. For most people that is a truly daunting prospect. The answer,of course, is to get help from a professional. But where can you go to find this wonderful person who truly gets you and will be able to give you the perfect product? And, once you think you have found them how can you be certain that they can deliver? Jackie Fisken from Ampersand Interiors, John Amabile from John Amabile Design and Nicky Emlick from N M Design joined co-hosts Jeff Hayward and Susie Rumbold to share their views in a lively discussion recorded in front of a live audience at the splendid sofa.com showroom in Glasgow.   Thanks to our series supporter, Havwoods.