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Susie atkinson design


Designer Profile: Susie Atkinson | Homes & Gardens

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(Image credit: Liz Seabrook)

Creating memorable interiors that ‘feel’ as good as they look takes enormous attention to atmosphere and detail and Susie Atkinson has amply proven her deft touch in both regards. 

From her studio in London, Susie and her team of 10 offer a full interior design service from concept to completion for both contemporary and traditional settings. Residential projects have spanned the Caribbean, Majorca, Greece, Scotland and Germany in addition to those in the UK. In 2020 the studio also completed a 1930s motorboat.

From the cossetting glamor of Beaverbook Hotel (below) to the timeless sophistication of Dean Street Townhouse  and Limewood Hotel, the relaxed classicism of Babington House and the soft modernity of Soho House Berlin, she has had a remarkable influence upon hotel design alongside her work with discerning private clients around the world.

Here we explore Susie Atkinson ’s design ethos and her support for artisan makers and reveal why comfort and warmth are pivotal to her work. 

The glamorously inviting Parrot Bar created by Susie Atkinson at Beaverbrook Hotel

(Image credit: Susie Atkinson/Simon Brown)

Step into any room created by Susie Atkinson and you immediately feel a harmonious sense of comfort and connection to place. Every project begins with meticulous research into the history of a property as well as its locality, alongside thoughtful consideration of the client’s lifestyle, aspirations and design brief, of course.

(Image credit: Liz Seabrook)

'I need to spend a lot of time in the places that we are designing because I believe in the atmosphere of a space: whether it feels cold or dark or light. I’m very sensitive to the warmth or coldness of a space and I also look at the surroundings outside to really get the feel of a room,' Susie reveals. 

The timelessly elegant morning room created by Susie Atkinson at Beaverbrook Hotel

(Image credit: Susie Atkinson/Simon Brown)

'Achieving the right balance of color and texture is so important in designing rooms that are instantly welcoming so that the moment you walk in you just think, "Oh yes, I really just want to stay here and relax".  

'At the heart of what I aim to create is somewhere that people feel completely cossetted or indulged, whether in a traditional or a contemporary setting.'

One of the recently redecorated bedrooms at Limewood Hotel, created by Susie Atkinson

(Image credit: Simon Brown)

Personal passions

The Rudyard Kipling Suite created by Susie Atkinson at Beaverbrook Hotel

(Image credit: Susie Atkinson/Simon Brown)

Natural materials are the bedrock of Susie’s aesthetic. 

'My big emphasis and focus is to use as many natural materials as possible, it’s something I’m passionate about and always have been,' Susie says. 'I love stone, slate, wool and cotton and linens, the texture of wood , or the coolness of leather.'

Championing artisans and furniture makers wherever possible is another great passion. 'We spend a lot of time researching an area to find out if there are quarries, craftspeople, ceramicists locally we can work with. We aim to design specific pieces for each project – from beds to tables – and, wherever possible, we use local craftspeople. '

Susie’s desire to support skilled specialists led to the launch of her own ranges of artisan-made pieces – starting with her much lauded ‘Laid Bare’ furniture collection in 2020. 

Fabrics, lighting and accessories, including Bobbin mirrors, soon followed. 

Championing craftsmanship

The Bulrush Day Bed from the Laid Bare collection from Studio Atkinson

(Image credit: Studio Atkinson)

'I love discovering new talent from young people but I’m also very aware of old skills dying out and those need to be tapped into before it’s too late,' Susie says, 'I’ve worked with many of our suppliers for many years and to be able to showcase their work is fantastic. It gives me the ability to design things I love – or that we can’t find  for a project. The combination of being able to use trusted suppliers as well finding new ones is a great joy and such an exciting part of my job.”'

The Slider Reclining chair from the Laid Bare collection from Studio Atkinson

(Image credit: Studio Atkinson)

Susie’s own ranges of artisanal products (above) fall under the ‘Studio Atkinson’ branding and the newest collection, launched in November 2021, is the Plato range of colorful powder-coated steel lamp bases (below). These are handcrafted by metalwork specialists and – like all Susie Atkinson pieces – proudly made in Britain.  

Plato light by Susie Atkinson

(Image credit: Alexander Edwards)

Susie Atkinson has a passion for art. This vignette is in a penthouse suite by Susie Atkinson in London

(Image credit: Susie Atkinson/Alexander Edwards)

As with a surprising number of hugely respected talents, Susie’s first career was not in interior design. She moved to London after her A levels for her first job as a pudding chef in a Fleet Street club then Directors dining before becoming a PA in the financial department of a city firm. Her yearning to seek fulfilment in a creative profession was encouraged by her sister-in-law who worked in interior design and when Susie signed up for an intensive course at the Inchbald School , she knew she had found her calling. 

'I was totally inspired. It set my creative juices going and I felt so happy to know that I was on the right path,' she says.

Her first position was with Chester Jones . 

'I went for an interview and was completely terrified but luckily got the job,' Susie recalls. 'I was very much a junior, learning as I went. He was the perfect person to work for. He is a true all-round designer – an architect, an interior designer, a furniture designer, a brilliant colorist – he’s super talented and a perfectionist. It was an amazing experience and I think I almost only knew later how very lucky I was to get that role.'

Susie worked for Chester from 1987 to 1990 and after having her second child set up her solo design practice from her kitchen table – learning every element of running a business and growing her client base by word of mouth. Her eponymous London studio and team was officially launched in 2010. 

Formative influences

Organic shapes and natural materials in a penthouse suite by Susie Atkinson

(Image credit: Susie Atkinson/Alexander Edwards)

It seems obvious to ask a designer what formed their design aesthetic and yet the responses are rarely the same. It is immediately apparent why Susie’s most potent memories play a subliminal role in the importance she places on the feel of a room and the use of handmade pieces within it.

'My mother and grandmother both had amazing taste. But it was whilst visiting a boyfriend’s aunt that I remember a standout moment. The house was in Yeovil in Somerset and on arrival we had drinks in the drawing room and I was mesmerized by the way the room had been decorated. It was the first time I had ever seen seagrass on the floor and I remember thinking it was unusual and strange. There was a pale blue moiré silk taffeta on the walls and I absolutely and instantly loved the mix and the contrast which seemed to me so glamorous yet relaxed; formal yet informal at the same time. I loved the color palette of pale blues and natural sandy tones alongside beautiful art, low lighting and candles. It was quite a defining moment.'

Her school education was also pivotal. 'I don’t think I realized, until recently, the impact that being brought up in a very strict convent school had on me. I remember everything being cold with hard surfaces, uninviting colors and feeling that I didn’t like the atmosphere: it was very tangible and had a significant effect on me giving me a life-long aversion to unwelcoming spaces and to being cold.'

The love of handmade 

Contemporary luxury by Susie Atkinson

(Image credit: Susie Atkinson/Alexander Edwards)

Susie’s love of pieces made by hand also began at a very young age. 'It’s something that has always been with me,' she says. 'I love nature and spent a lot of time pressing leaves and flowers in my childhood and one of the things that was very good from my schooling was that every child had to knit four 6in squares each month which the sixth form sewed together to make blankets for the homeless. We were taught many skills using our hands: sewing, cooking, knitting and needlework.  So I think I’ve always been interested in how things are made.'

She later expands, 'I also remember my grandmother knowing where every item in her house came from: who made it or who gave it to her. The next generation moved into a throwaway era where you could have anything and buy things so cheaply but thankfully there is now a reversal. I’ve noticed that the younger generation is so interested in how things are made and where they’ve come from, and it really matters to them. That’s how it used to be and that’s how it should be: to have less and value it more. Hopefully there is a big movement towards that sentiment again.'

Susie’s championing of British craftsmanship and honoring of local materials aptly  demonstrates her own commitment to that cause.

'Chester Jones is obviously one of my heroes and also Roger Banks-Pye. I’ve always loved Veere Grenney ’s work too. I’m always visually inspired, so visiting exhibitions, galleries and looking at artists and fashion designers also influences me.'

'I do feel I have a winning team and a very loyal team… We all work very closely together – everyone in the studio knows what is happening on every project and I think we have a good system in how we approach and complete projects. A really dedicated team makes everything work efficiently and effectively, enabling us to deliver on budget and on time; that is our mantra and we are all really proud of that.

'There is so much more to a project than just designing; it’s a complex series of balancing acts; the relationship with makers, workmen on site, the support of my team and most of all keeping the client happy and managing their expectations!'

Dream project

'I would love to do a hotel on the coast... that would be a dream. I love nature and being by the sea and I love the possibility of creating something different and unique. There are some Victorian brutes of properties on the coastline that need to be taken in hand and could be transformed into something incredible.'

Interiors editor and brand consultant, Kerryn Harper-Cuss has worked on four interior magazines and edited three of these, most recently The English Home, where she was Editor-in-Chief of both its UK and US editions for almost 12 years. She now writes for a number of high caliber publications, moderates design seminars and is particularly delighted to pen profile features on world-class interior designers for a regular slot on the Homes & Gardens website. 

The warm, inviting family home of a designer known for cool interiors

There are interior designers – more than a few in the US – who change their own interiors every three years. It is a way to show they are abreast of the latest trends – and helps, too, if the redesign appears in magazines. So it seems like heresy for Susie Atkinson to admit she has done almost nothing to her kitchen – and other rooms in her house – for 20 years. 

During her time bringing cool (and warmth) to several of the Soho House clubs, Susie would rejoice in being described as ‘the interior designer you won’t have heard of ’, though that cover was blown when her designs for the Lime Wood and Beaverbrook hotels were received with joyous plaudits. The joke was that Susie had been working on projects all the while for a returning roster of showbiz and mediabiz stars on condition of the strictest secrecy. ‘I’m known for my hotel work, but whether it’s a hotel, a club or a private house, you want people to find something interesting to look at in a relaxed atmosphere,’ she says. 

Arriving at the immaculate white gates of the Hampshire house Susie shares with her husband Justin feels rather like stepping into historic Williamsburg. Garden rooms are bounded by perfectly trimmed hedges on stilts and tall domes of beech enclose a formal box garden that leads to the front door. Yet once you are inside, every semblance of showpiece falls away – it feels like a warm and welcoming home. 

When Susie and Justin arrived 22 years ago, the original part – a tiny two-up, two-down cottage built in 1846 – had been expanded into a large, somewhat rambling house, with a galley kitchen and a narrow hall with a vertiginous staircase. ‘We gutted the house,’ explains Susie. ‘We created two new staircases and a large kitchen, ideal for family life – the youngest of our children [now 29, 27 and 23] was only one. ’ Susie has managed the low kitchen ceiling by breaking it up with battens at regular intervals, which seem to alleviate its lack of height. An antique kitchen table stands on a blue-striped dhurrie, surrounded by Susie’s own ‘Craftmaker’s’ chairs. 

Five years ago, one simple change she made was to open up the kitchen to the drawing room with openings on either side of the table. ‘It made all the difference,’ she says. ‘We love entertaining and this is an ideal space.’ She chafes at the fact that the drawing room – the outline of which is unchanged from the arrangement created by the previous owners – is lopsided, with the chimneypiece opposite the bay french windows and a narrow part at the back, without the bay and with the arched doorway leaving less usable space, which she has furnished with an L-shaped sofa. ‘I keep thinking of adding on a glazed garden room, which would extend out beyond the french windows behind the blue sofa, to balance the space,’ says Susie. She has kept the colours in the room light, to focus attention on the garden, where there is a stream and a swimming pool, set in a mix of formal and meadow-like areas. Every room in the house has a view over its intense green. 

The central core of the house, bounded by the two staircases, is painted in ‘Leather III’ by Paint & Paper Library. This includes the panelling under the main staircase and a curve of tulipwood tongue-and-groove around the walls of the spiral kitchen staircase. Beside each of the staircases is a charming lingering place, a comfortable chair and – as everywhere in the house – marvellous artwork and craft pieces. 

Susie cannot help collecting. There is a grid of Jo Waterhouse collages, bought years ago, in one daughter’s bedroom; pieces by Aldermaston Pottery are displayed on the kitchen chimneypiece; and a pair of delightful framed Fifties table mats, found at Jenna Burlingham Gallery, hang on the kitchen staircase wall. The upper landing wall is covered in 28 framed cases of shells hung in a grid pattern. And on shelves above the blue-painted bath in the guest bathroom there are more shells. ‘They were collected by the children and the bath salts jar was my mother’s. I had to hang on to them,’ says Susie. 

In the spare room next door, a small-repeat wallpaper pattern makes a background for floral curtains. Beyond, a corridor bedroom – which connects the spare room with the landing but can be enclosed by a door at either end – with bunk beds for visiting friends’ children, completes the ideal guest set-up. Susie has used small-repeat wallpapers in other bedrooms, too, and in the dressing-room corridor, picking up their colours in the curtains. However, in the family bathroom, a larger-scale wallpaper of birds and flowers gives a warm glow to the space, in which a 19th-century bamboo table stands beside the generous basin. An exception to the wallpaper theme is one of Susie’s son’s bedrooms, which is lined with Shaker panelling and wall pegs, a clever solution when he was a teenager and did not feel like picking up and folding clothes (what teenager ever does?) – and just as useful today when he is home for the weekend. ‘Don’t even look in there,’ Susie says with a laugh.  

She has just finished working on a modern Soho flat with a sitting room she describes as ‘the size of a tennis court – I’m not kidding’. She is designing more members’ clubs, as well as houses in Greece, Holland, the US and Scotland – interiors we shall probably never see. However, what excites her most is her new collection of wallpaper and chic paper borders. ‘Younger members of my team ask, “What’s a border?”, but this is a new take on Eighties borders, reimagined in contemporary designs and colours with much more impact. Our horizontal stripe under the nosing of a painted staircase looks fantastic.’ 

And there cannot be many interior designers’ homes where the pencil markings of children’s heights can be seen on the kitchen door jamb. ‘It’s a home, not a showpiece,’ Susie declares. Heresy or not, it makes for happiness. This is a good place to live. 

Susie Atkinson is a member of The List by House & Garden, our essential directory of design professionals. Find her profile here.

Susie Atkinson: susieatkinson.com

SUZIE ATKINSON: HUSBAND, WEALTH, AGE, CHILDREN, HEIGHT, BIOGRAPHY


Spread Love

Susie Atkinson is an experienced and successful British interior designer. Susie Atkinson has outperformed her interior design business for decades with her vast knowledge and inspiring design philosophy.

Brief information:

Susie Atkinson's family: husband and children

Susie Atkinson is considered one of the most influential interior designers in England. She is a married woman. Come as an absolutely mysterious person regarding her personal life, she never told her anything about her family life or children.


However, it is known that one of her daughters is studying at the University of Brighton, who followed in her mother's footsteps and became a future interior designer.

Atkinson was born in the United Kingdom, has an English nationality and is white. She has a sister named Lara Atkinson. There is no information about her childhood, parents and family background.

Brief Information:

9000 Flower and Nancy Lancaster, and American designer Dorothy Draper. From a young age, she showed great interest in the past and was constantly looking for innovative ideas in design.

She took a design course at the Inchbald School of Design in London in her early twenties. Immediately after training, she got her first job at the design firm of Chester Jones, where she worked for three years.

After that, she was assigned to work at Shoreditch House, where she was asked to fill the outer space with furniture and decoration in the shortest possible time. She later completed her notable assignments at Babington House, Dean Street Townhouse, Soho House Berlin and Electric.

Susie Atkinson: age, height and weight

Susie Atkinson, responsible for the design of numerous hotels and residences in the capital, is distinguished by model height and weight. She has a gorgeous hourglass body with a very seductive personality and charm.

Known for her captivating interior design skills, Atkinson is also known for her stunning personality besides her profession. She may be in her fifties, but she still continues to look very glamorous and attractive, which people can hardly say about her as a mother of grown children.

Brief Information:

as well as its model, as well as its model, as well as its model, as well as its model, as well as its model she looks charming and calm thanks to her sophisticated fashion choices and minimal makeup. Her down-to-earth demeanor, excellent conversational skills and her courage to fill life with dull old houses made her one of England's most influential designers.

She has short blond hair, expressive gray eyes, is tall and has a flawless fair complexion. She has distinctive high cheekbones and wears round glasses. She accidentally appears in formal attire, especially a light-colored shirt, sweater, and gray jeans.

A fitness freak, Atkinson regularly goes to the gym, where he does hard workouts. She prefers a discreet lifestyle and leads a healthy lifestyle. She loves to read, draw, cook, travel, wine tasting and walk along the beach.

Susie Atkinson Net Worth and Salary

Susie Atkinson's net worth and salary are impressive, but she chose not to disclose her holdings. During her illustrious career in interior design, she has amassed a wealth of fame and money to allow herself a sophisticated life.

Personally behind numerous Soho House projects, Atkinson has raised her profile and assets through her luxury design projects from boutique hotels to restaurants and homes.

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Susie Atkinson

Whether used around doorways, under stairs, or as a makeshift dado slat, one thing is clear: edging is back in style and more versatile than ever

Traditionally used to hide imperfections, loose joinery and peeling paint, wallpaper tapes have a somewhat old-fashioned reputation. But brace yourself for that to change: Like many formerly outdated design details, this décor element (typical of 90s homes) is enjoying a modern renaissance.

CommonRoom ‘Ribbons Wrap You Up’ border in pink. CommonRoom

"Now we're seeing borders being used in new ways," says Aimee Lagos and Christiane Koop, founders of wallpaper boutique Hygge & West. “In the past, borders were often paired with matching wallpaper and applied on top as an accent strip. Now they are used to highlight architectural elements such as windows or ceiling beams, most often without wallpaper.” The sky (or rather the ceiling) really is the limit when it comes to where to apply the border - any flat surface will do."

Hygge & West 'Diamonds' Border in 'Parchment'. Hygge & West

For an inexpensive and dramatic update, the borders are almost unbeatable. “I like to compare them to the highlights you find in paintings, they can create a real sense of light and shadow in a room,” says Keith Hawkins, founder of wallpaper brand CommonRoom. "They also add interest and fun without requiring a huge financial or emotional investment."

Interior designer Susie Atkinson, who sells wallpaper borders of her own design on her online store, agrees: “Front is less of a hassle than wallpaper, it can be used in many more ways and can be dramatic. Try to double them up and combine two different designs together.

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