Lucy Barlow

The rising star designer reveals how her love of maximalism and architectural features gives a modern twist to classic interiors

- Fiona McCarthy

At just 32, Lucy Barlow is one of London’s rising interior design talents, working alongside her lighting specialist and cinematographer brother Max as Barlow & Barlow. With projects such as sleek offices for a music company, funky luxe houses for movers and shakers in fashion, film and PR and glamorous apartments for a new development in Gatti House on the Strand, she’s becoming known for her eclectic meets modern style. Here, she shares her design inspirations…

How did you get started?

I had always wanted to be a fashion designer, but after a foundation year at the London College of Fashion, I fell out of love with it and went travelling. On my return, I realised interiors might satisfy my desire to do something with design, so in 2009, I studied at the Inchbald School of Design for a year.

What was your first big break?

After graduation, I worked with the interior decorator Mark Gillette in the north of England for two years, working on a variety of large-scale country houses around the UK. It was a huge learning curve and I loved every minute of it, but I missed London, so I moved back to work with designers like Fiona Barratt-Campbell. A property developer then asked me to work on four apartments in a Grade II-listed building on the Strand.

When did you start your own design practice?

Max and I set up Barlow & Barlow in 2013 – he’d previously worked on large-scale ambient schemes for big parties, including the Queen’s 80th birthday, before working with specialist John Cullen Lighting. We work both together and independently, depending on the project.

Describe your style?