Luke Arthur Wells collection: an Interview with the Designer

We teamed up with interior designer Luke Arthur Wells to launch a new collection of Model 01 armchairs and 3 seaters. The limited run of 26 pieces comes in Boucle Ivory, Steel and Natural.

We wanted to get to know the man behind the collection, so we had a quick chat to ask his thoughts on interior design, get to know his style and to share the story of the collaboration.

Q: How did you get into interior design and blogging?

L: I studied styling at University, and it quickly became clear that I loved the set and interior design element more than the fashion. After I graduated, I was at a loose end figuring out my next steps, so I took a chance and applied to be on the BBC’s ‘The Great Interior Design Challenge’ show. I managed to get to the quarter finals! It’s now on Netflix, but just to warn you my taste has changed quite a bit since then.

I didn’t start blogging until later, but I’ve really enjoyed building it and have found a like-minded audience who like the same neutral, yet exciting interiors I do.

Q: What rules do you follow when designing a new interior - any secrets you can share?

L: I think it’s always good to pick one item as a starting point - whether it’s something you already own or something you 100% want to include. Any object, from art to furniture to a simple accessory, gives you a starting point to guide your design. Whether that’s the colour palette, the combination of shapes or a material finish, while still giving you lots of wiggle room to be creative.

I don’t like to make any decisions until I have the whole room in mind - even if it changes, if you make an impulse buy but then don’t have a scheme to back it up, it’s a quick way to waste money.

Q: Do you have a particular style you stick to when it comes to interior design?

L: The way I style interiors is to find interest in neutrals - specifically beige. I’m not a huge fan of colour in my own home, but I appreciate it in others. I’d like to say I’m minimalist, but compared to some of the great minimalist Instagram accounts around, that might not necessarily be true.

I love playing with texture and shape to create the intrigue which is left behind by the absence of colour. Having said that, the people I’ve designed for often challenge these perceptions, and end up with a version of a particular scheme; from a more classic inspiration to a design with a slightly more colour threaded through it.

Q: What’s your favourite room in your home?

L: We’re in quite a skinny terraced house, but our bedroom gets a beautiful amount of light from the two original south-facing sash windows, which makes for a lovely space to spend time in at any time of the day. It was also the first room we renovated when we moved in, and though I’ve tweaked it as time’s gone on, I still love pretty much everything in there, even three years on.

Q: You own a Model 03 - can you tell us why you chose this sofa?

L: Over lockdown, I took on a new studio space to cope with the demands with two of us working from home. I was looking for something practical, large enough to fill the space and of course, beige - well Pumice in this case. It’s a modular sofa, so it's easy to move if I need to shoot around it, and has a modern, linear style which I love, but that also doesn’t feel boxy. It’s comfy, and has a memory foam layer, and the fabric is super durable with an aqua clean finish which means it’ll stay looking its best for longer.

Q: Tell us the story behind your limited edition collaboration with us

L: I’ve been obsessed with bouclé of late, and have done a few projects with the material over the year, so when Swyft asked about my dream collaboration sofa, I only had one fabric in mind.

One problem - good quality bouclé is not only hard to find, it’s traditionally quite expensive too. But Swyft’s head of creative Kelly put in the hours to source an ideal fabric for the Swyft factory in Portugal to make the perfect bouclé sofa at a reasonable price. We chose to introduce the range in three colours - a beautiful Natural and Steel for the three seater and an Ivory white for a statement armchair. I was so excited to see them in the flesh, the look and feel definitely exceeded my expectations.

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If you love boucle as much as we do then take a look at the new Luke Arthur Wells collection - we are only launching with a run of 26 pieces, so be quick.