Entering the smart Taylor Howes Knightsbridge studio, you are welcomed with a warm smile and shown to the waiting area. Designed to impress, Taylor Howes’ new offices are as much a showcase of their work as their exceptional portfolio. Headed up by Karen Howes, this 23 year old business is regarded as one of the top interior design names in the business.
Their portfolio includes London’s largest private residence to date and their projects can be found on the most elite addresses in London. However, they have a global presence, having worked in Europe, the US and the Middle East.
Karen Howes was recently named CEO of the Year at the 2016 Business Excellence Forum and Awards. We sat down for an hour to discuss design and more importantly the business of design. Karen’s passion for interiors is palpable, but so is her passion for business. I’m from the city and love business as much as design, and it’s this combination of being good at both disciplines that has helped to propel Taylor Howes to the top.
Karen is very aware that she needs the best of the best to support her. The team at Taylor Howes are carefully selected to ensure that they fit into the culture. Karen also openly talks about her business coach that helps to keep her focus on driving the business forward.
I’m always interested in finding out where design businesses see their future and in general how they see the interior design industry evolving. Karen was very quick to answer and firmly believes that there will be a much stronger collaboration between architects and interior designers. This is already evident with a lot of interior design firms hiring architects or interior architects and a few architects that I know who have started interior design firms. Karen is of course ahead of the game and has a created a partnership with architectural firm Rigby & Rigby, called Howes & Rigby, who are based in their Knightsbridge office.
Taylor Howes are very active in the prime property development market. They understand every aspect of how HNI’s live and how they and their staff use the space around them. They probably know more about how their clients live than the client themselves. Going into such detail as to which side of the bed their client sleeps on, they design spaces that work hard for their clients.
Karen is highly respected in the industry due to the incredible achievements she’s accomplished in the last two decades. I for one am very excited to see how Taylor Howes evolves.
You can get in touch with Karen Howes through her website Taylor Howes.
