Who is she? Kerri Lipsitz started off working in PR and communications for Prada and Yves Saint Laurent before switching to interiors. ‘Growing up, I was always interested in both fashion and homes. I enjoyed working in fashion but seeing creative people every day made me miss being creative myself. Studying architectural interior design at Inchbald School of Design felt like a natural progression,’ Lipsitz recalls. After that, she immediately began renovating homes for friends, officially setting up her Primrose Hill studio in London eight years ago.
What’s her style? Until now, the majority of Lipsitz’s projects have been residential period properties, where she sensitively restores or re-introduces appropriate architectural detailing. ‘Then I think about balancing opposing elements such as strength and softness, masculine and feminine, past and future,’ she explains.
Signature touches include using a timeless palette of earthy neutrals, combining antique finds with bespoke pieces, and weaving in plenty of natural materials. ‘I tend to use lots of wood, stone and unlacquered brass – materials that improve with age and evolve with daily use. It’s important that a house feels lived in,’ adds Lipsitz. She cites Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi, especially his play on light and architectural detailing, as an inspiration.
What are her recent projects? One especially notable project was a Victorian townhouse in Primrose Hill, where she re-jigged the bedroom layout to make space for a dressing room. She also installed new Crittall doors from the kitchen out to the garden.‘Decoratively, it was at the more traditional end of the spectrum; the idea was to create a calm, uncluttered space with plenty of storage that was refined and elegant,’ she says of the home, which was completed at the end of 2017. She has also worked on a Georgian townhouse in Hampstead (completed in 2018), where the owner’s contemporary African art collection was complemented by antique and mid-century furniture.
What is she currently working on? A 1920s Arts and Crafts-style family home in Belsize Park. ‘It’s quite unusual compared to the typical houses in the area,’ she says, ‘as the entire home is spread across two floors, which makes for a more lateral way of living. The spaces open up and flow in quite a different way.’ She says: ‘I feel it’s very important to allow a room to breathe. It’s as much about what you don’t do, as what you do.’ kerrilipsitz.com
This article appeared in the April 2020 issue of ELLE Decoration.
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