DKT Interior Design Studio

I finally started my own Substack. 🙌🏽

It has been a goal of mine this year but I didn’t announce it because I didn’t feel ready. Nevertheless, it is now here and I need to get out of my own way.

My latest entry: How slow work shows up all at once.
You spend years doing the unseen thing. The drawings nobody asks for. The late nights. The supplier meetings. The hundred small decisions, most of them invisible by design.

And then a season arrives where several of those quiet years stand up and ask to be counted.

This is one of those seasons. turned a year older yesterday. Our Invisible House Reimagined was published in as an eight page spread in May. We were invited to the WOW!house preview. And tomorrow I sit on my first panel at the Design Centre with Manuela Hamilford and Brian Woulfe, which will be hosted by the wonderful .rich
I wrote about all of it, properly, in a letter this morning. About friendship. About science and instinct. About what it actually costs to build a studio quietly over years, and the difference between the visible moments and the work underneath them.

Link in bio if you would like to read.

Consider this your Memo | Not a trend report. Not a mood board. Design intelligence — the kind that doesn’t expire. Read carefully.

1. Tiles: Tiles are a design decision, not a checkbox. Pattern, layout, mosaic, inlay — the floor is literally your canvas. You don’t have to go wild. You just have to go intentional. Plain white subway is a choice. It’s just a poor one.

2. Planters & Vessels: Stop buying basic pots. Start finding vessels. There’s a difference. Age, patina, tension, contrast — these are the things that make a room feel collected rather than decorated. If it looks like it could be in every showroom on the high street, put it back.

3. Stair Runners: Not my first choice. But if we’re doing it — we’re doing it properly. Sisal with a contrasting border if you want longevity and texture. A considered pattern — animal, ombre, native print, ikat — if you want personality. What we are not doing is beige loop pile from a catalogue. Its screaming mass production. The staircase is the spine of the house. Dress it accordingly.

4. Bed in front of window: London square footage is not a limitation. It’s a brief. The bed in front of the window works — layer blackout blinds behind sheers, add a console or side tables, dress with lamps. You’ll sleep exactly the same. The room will feel entirely different. Be brave.

That’s All,
Dhil
X

What lies Beneath | Everything that is captured for socials is only the tip of the iceberg.

The hundreds of decisions, the sleepless nights finalising drawings, the skills it takes to bring a vision into reality or to help a client understand why some Pinterest dreams cost double or triple what they expect to spend, countless phone calls with contractors, site meetings, changing a kitchen layout, replacing products sourced months in advance because they are now out of stock. It takes patience, dedication and a true passion to do what we do.

Not everything is painful but there’s tremendous bravery that goes into showing up everyday with a solution focused mindset despite a mountain of responsibility and deadlines. Our role is to be calm to our clients chaos, their compass and their dream maker, but that the reality is that we have so much on in the background, it really comes down to ensuring we are good first and foremost. Clear communication, financial planning before the build even begins and scheduling is a critical part of that process and wellbeing in long run.

Just because Pinterest and AI make vision boarding exciting and just because DIYers on shows like Interior Design Masters or YouTube are MacGyvering their way on pennies. It does not mean the same for your £100k FF&E budget for 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, media room, entrance and open plan kitchen diner - and you want marble architraves with limewash walls.

I love that we attract clients who have impeccable taste. And I have learned that it also means that no matter what the financial bracket there always needs to be a long hard conversation about the investment it requires to make their dreams come true.

We are a creative powerhouse, small but mighty because we have refined our attention to detail. We are not afraid to tackle complex projects or hearing “no that is impossible” - everything is possible with the right investment, the right team and the right attitude.

Swipe for the Before | This is the same kitchen.

Same footprint. Same structure. No extension. Just a complete reimagining of how it feels to exist inside it.

The original was architectural minimalism: white surfaces, clean lines, fluted panelling. But it felt like standing inside a document or a sci-fi set. White reflecting off white. Nowhere for the eye to rest.

Here’s what we changed, and why it matters:

Material contrast | Stainless steel that shifts with the light. Taj Mahal quartzite countertops and backsplash for organic veining that gives the eye something alive to follow.

Light temperature | One shift from cool to warm kelvin and the entire emotional register changed. Cool light keeps cortisol elevated. Warm light signals safety. Same fixture. Different instruction to the nervous system.

Sensory texture | Handmade Shearling barstools. Bauwerk limewash colour-matched to Forcrete microcement, so the space envelops rather than exposes.

Warmth through function | Dead side units became backlit wine storage. Depth, glow, and purpose where there was once nothing.

The original kitchen was designed to be unique. This one is designed to be lived in, to lower the shoulders of someone who’s been carrying too much all day.

This is what I mean when I say we design the “Off”.

Not luxury for luxury’s sake. But material psychology, light science, and sensory calibration in service of the human body inside the space.

It starts with one question: what is this space doing to the person inside it?

The Invisible House Reimagined.
Design:
Construction:
Decorator:
Microcement:
Metal Work: .furniture
Applicator: .interiorwraps
Plumbing:

Material Bank on Bank Holiday |

Sampling is a pretty important part of the interior design process.

Every project on my desk, whether it’s a private residence, a developer scheme, or a commercial space, all goes through the same material process. Because getting it right on paper and getting it right in person are two completely different things.

This is what my desk looks like when I’m testing a palette. Stone against timber. Linen against brass. Cool against warm. Every combination gets held, turned, placed next to its neighbour and asked: do you belong together? Does this feel like one story or three?

The sampling process actually reveals how materials talk to each other. A marble can read cold next to warmer oak and warmer next to a polished concrete. The material doesn’t change, but the conversation around it does. If you’re not sampling in context, you’re guessing.

Whether the balance holds. Every palette needs tension between warm and cool textures. Because if its too warm the space feels heavy, and too cool makes it feel clinical.

The balance is what makes a room feel considered and that balance only becomes clear when you’re holding the physical samples together, in the light conditions of the actual space.

Whether the material language is cohesive. In a hotel, the lobby, the corridors, the suites, the restaurant… they all need to feel like chapters of the same book. Not identical, but unmistakably connected. That coherence starts here, on a desk covered in swatches and offcuts, long before anything gets specified.

I apply this process whether the budget is £50k or £500k. Because cohesion isn’t a luxury finish. It’s a design standard.

I find this part of the design process quite satisfying, because when we model spaces and play around with the material mix, it’s only half the story. Although quite compelling it really matters when seeing those materials together. It’s exciting and really helps our clients trust our instinct and expertise. How do samples board make you feel? Is this mandatory for you too?

As I post this on the eve of my 40th birthday, all I can be is grateful.

Currently playing Jenga with my darling daughter (who is up well past her bedtime) and husband while watching Mary Poppins.

Reflecting on the last decade… wow, the chaos. I really just threw everything at it. One thing I can say for sure is this next decade looks like alignment. Finally.

Looking forward to the metamorphosis 🥰🤭🙌🏽💃🏻💎🙏🏽👑

April Mood | Its my birthday month and I’m not holding back. ✌🏽