Design, refine and repeat, and keep learning all the way along. It sounds bland and pedestrian, but in fact, it's the reverse. Anouska Hempel More Quotes by Anouska Hempel More Quotes From Anouska Hempel It was the corner sweet-shop in Australia that first piqued my interest in interior design. I went into this space with a mixture of apprehension and excitement as a child. It was filled, floor to ceiling, with the most incredible rounded glass bowls filled to the brim with bonbons, buttons, and sweets. Anouska Hempel child australia design space When building in a place that already has a dominant style, it's important to behave yourself. Look around; refer to what you see. In the mountains above Salzburg, I saw charming chalets and wildflower meadows. The chalets are cozy - I don't do cozy. The meadows are in a soft disarray - I don't do soft, and I don't do disarray. I do order. Anouska Hempel yourself look you style I'm not an interior decorator; I'm a designer, and that includes the architecture. The package must be strong and controlled, the rooms aligned, and the windows positioned to make sense with the furniture. Fluff it up, and you've got big trouble. Anouska Hempel be-strong you architecture strong From the age of five, I was organizing everybody's everything. If I didn't like the way it looked, I'd rearrange it. From a very early age, I saw life from my point of view. Anouska Hempel view age life way Sure, I'm hyperactive. I make my staff a bit hyper, too, but motivating someone else is what gives me a buzz. Anouska Hempel sure make someone me I'm never short of inspiration. There are always new ideas - and new adventures. Anouska Hempel short new never ideas A house must be bedded in the landscape. They both have to work together. In and out, every view from a window has to be sensational. Every view into the house must be the same to ensure continuity. Anouska Hempel view together work window India. From Goa to Kerala and Mumbai, it gets me every time. It's the food, the people, and the colours. The magical atmosphere and the accepting nature of the locals. Anouska Hempel me nature time food Work's a way of life. It's the way you live; it's what you do, and it's how it is. It's not work. It's a lifestyle. It's life. It's what one does. You can't not work. Anouska Hempel you work life way 'It can't be done' is not a phrase I recognize. Anouska Hempel phrase recognize done England used to be known for making beautiful things. Then we became the rag trade, known for our street fashions, which were picked up around the world. I want us to be recognized for quality. We have the hands to make the clothes. What we need is the motivation. Anouska Hempel clothes quality beautiful world I buy the best fabrics from small mills in Italy. That is the basis for my clothes. Anouska Hempel buy small best clothes It is not me who is to be noticed. It is my work. Anouska Hempel noticed who me work Being a rather second-rate actress, I finally thought, 'I'd rather be a designer.' I knew I could make things look good. Anouska Hempel thought things good look If I set off to do something, why not do it properly? Otherwise, what's the point? Anouska Hempel point why something why-not Comfort? If a choice has to be made between style and comfort, style wins every time. Anouska Hempel choice style comfort time The champagne tastes the same if you're sitting bolt upright or sunk back into a sofa, so you might as well be upright, because you look better. Anouska Hempel better look you sitting I think if you have an eye and the ability and the confidence as a designer, you can turn your hand to anything. Anouska Hempel think you confidence eye The architect who first inspired me to follow this profession was Sir John Soane and his Regency home; well, his three homes, now a museum. The place is like an encyclopedia of paintings, antiquities, furniture, sculptures, and drawings. Anouska Hempel place me furniture home I feel that, historically, the Art Deco period has the most resonance for me. As a person, it has to be the plucky Clara Bow, the heroine of American silent movies of the 1920s. She embodied feminine dressing mixed with men's style. All this then evolved into the exquisite style and simplicity of Coco Chanel. Anouska Hempel me style men art