House style: Todhunter Earle

Todhunter Earle are one of only a handful of design teams to have been continuously included in the annual Top 100 lists in House & Garden and Country Life. Emily Todhunter founded the company in 1988, with Kate Earle joining in 1998. Today, they head up a team of 22 designers, interior architects and illustrators at their studio on Lots Road in west London. Their projects range from classic English country houses to city apartments, restaurants, boutique hotels and chalets. The studio has also produced collections of wallpaper, lighting, furniture and rugs. Todhunter Earle’s book Modern English was published by Vendome Press in 2021.

Where do you live? And why?
Emily Todhunter: I live between London, Wiltshire and the Greek island of Kalymnos. It’s London for work, Wiltshire for the countryside, family and horses, and Kalymnos because it is very beautiful – but also because it’s where my husband, Manoli, is from.
Kate Earle: I divide my week between London and our family house on the Suffolk coast. Like Emily, it’s London for work and culture, and Suffolk for the contrasting peace of the countryside, interesting people (lots of friends from the design world are based there) and, like Emily, horses.

What’s the style of your house?
ET: Our house in Wiltshire has been our family base for 20 years. Originally a farmhouse, it was gentrified in the Queen Anne period and is very pretty, with a classically proportioned brick façade, a stone porch and original sash windows. There are beams and fireplaces in nearly every room. Inside, I have avoided the feeling of it being “designed”. Rather, it is thrown together – furniture, fabrics and floors that work with a large family and country living, which can be quite a challenge! The house is surrounded by the Marlborough Downs and, so as not to distract from these, the curtains and walls are deliberately simple, with colours that echo the outside.

KE: Our Suffolk house was constructed around 1800 and remodelled between 1896 and 1914. When my husband bought it, time seemed to have stood still – there was a lot of work to do. The rooms in the house are generous in scale, with high ceilings and original period detailing. They lend themselves well to powdery paint colours, patterned wallpapers and textural fabrics. We have acquired most of the contents at auction and local salerooms – in style, it is a triumph of our differing tastes. My husband is the more traditional of the two of us, and is a collector of antique English furniture, portraits, porcelain and books. My tastes are more contemporary – midcentury and continental furniture, art and ceramics.

What’s your design philosophy?
One of the reasons our long-standing partnership continues to thrive is that our design philosophy and approach are similar. We don’t just share a sense of aesthetics, but also the same sense of humour and approach to life. We never impose a Todhunter Earle design signature on a project. Instead, we respond to each individual property, its architecture and surroundings, and how our client would like to live in it. It is a joy, every single day, to be doing this.

Do you have a signature design style for your chalets?
We like clients to give us a really clear idea of how they are going to use a mountain home. We want them to be involved so they end up with a chalet they love. We use materials that convey a sense of place, which means lots of timber – as well as reminding you where you are, it’s cosy, textural and good for sound-proofing. We’re being asked more and more often for outdoor entertaining spaces with a fire pit, and sofas with weatherproof upholstery. One top tip is a heated drive: it allows clients to drive straight into the garage and unload luggage and skis.

Are there any pieces of art on your hit list?
ET: A Phoebe Dickinson portrait of my husband, Manoli. I love her interiors scenes, too.
KE: I’m a great admirer of Kate Malone’s sculptural ceramics. I’d love to own one of her pieces.

Any suppliers you can recommend?
ET: Lorfords Contemporary for the comfiest sofas and armchairs made in England.
KE: Dix-Sept Antiques in Framlingham, Suffolk, for unique finds. 

And furniture and textile designers you love?
ET: Hervé Van der Straeten for statement furniture and lighting – they are works of art in themselves.
KE: Sabina Fay Braxton for sumptuous textiles and cushions.

Do you have any original artwork in your houses?
ET: It’s mostly things I’ve picked up here and there – all things I love, but none of the greats.
KE: Masses! We have work by the contemporary figurative painter Henrietta Charteris and love to support local Suffolk artists.

Can you name some key figures who have influenced you?
We are in agreement on this: our design heroes are David Hicks, John Fowler, Renzo Mongiardino, Jean-Michel Frank, André Arbus and Jules Leleu.

And to finish: which object would you save from a fire?
ET: My photo albums, or some of the gorgeous watercolours done by our interior illustrator, Marianne Topham.
KE: My family photographs, without a doubt.

Todhunter Earle Interiors

Pictures from top: Kate Earle (left) and Emily Todhunter (Lara Arnott); and a selection of European chalet projects by Todhunter Earle Interiors (Ray Main)