Notting Hill-based interior designer Tala Fustok honed her eye for vintage pieces as a child, roaming London’s flea markets and galleries with her parents. ‘Growing up, I had a constant passion for design and interiors and was always exposed to a rich mix of influences, thanks to my British-Palestinian heritage,’ she says.
The interior designer went on to study architecture at London’s Architectural Association, which informs the spatial discipline that underpins her work today. Before setting up her studio in 2016, she spent six years in Paris at Beirut-born architect Aline Asmar d’Amman’s practice Culture in Architecture, where she was in charge of the materials library and worked on high-end projects including the renovation of the remarkable Hôtel de Crillon.
‘My work in the library was immensely useful as I was immersed in all the finishes that make up a project,’ Fustok explains. ‘It gave me the savoir faire to push boundaries and develop things that are unique to a space.’ Now, she leads a small, all-women team that delivers a tailored service to clients.
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What are her more recent projects? Fustok describes her style as ‘bold and original – I like to play with opulent materials and juxtapose textures to inject character’. Her diverse list of inspirations – which includes 1970s glamour alongside French modernist Jean-Michel Frank and stainless-steel artist Maria Pergay – comes through in the playful apartment she’s recently created in Avenue Foch, Paris.
‘Capitalising on the space’s grand proportions, we exaggerated the scale of the rooms with oversized lighting and natural materials such as marble, bronze and limestone to create pockets of romance and poetry,’ she says. ‘The client wanted a dreamlike home, so I sought out fantasy finds in flea-markets.’
In contrast, her design of an apartment in London’s Palace Gate is calm and classical, honouring its owner’s travels in Europe and Africa. It includes a beautifully curved wall featuring built-in shelving that doubles as a room divider. ‘The design embraces soft colours that reflect a sunset setting, contrasting these with stone textures and darker, earthy fabrics to create a harmonious tension,’ Fustok adds.
What is she currently working on? A warehouse conversion in Cambridge, ‘with a magnificent glass-bottomed swimming pool that sits above the sitting room, with its five-metre-long brass fireplace’. Plus, a London penthouse with a mix of open spaces and intimate corners. ‘It challenges the meaning of “homely”,’ says Fustok. ‘The transitional spaces – which include an infinity-mirrored corridor with integrated lighting – are key.’
She says: ‘I believe that interior design has the power to enrich lives and evoke powerful emotions. The spaces I curate with my team are considered and designed to inspire.’ talafustok.studio
Expert advice
Tala Fustok on how to add maximum drama to your home…
Materials such as brass and timber introduce rustic warmth to a home. I love to use them alongside raw yet refined finishes, such as travertine, marble, zellige tiles and concrete. Play with these alongside strong metals, such as bronze, and you’ll be impressed by how they complement each other, softening and elevating your space.
Approach lighting as a mechanism to divide or fuse spaces. It can take a design to a whole new level, creating pockets of energy and multiple scenarios of living within a space. Take our Palace Gate project in London, for instance, with its illuminated dividing wall that separates the dining and living quarters.
Good lighting isn’t just about artificial illumination. Start by identifying where the natural light hits a space and maximise that by creating focal points. I also find that open fireplaces are highly underrated – they radiate a timeless elegance within any room.
Statement colour blocking can define different zones while eliminating the need for dividing walls. With our workspace for game developer Ninja Theory in Cambridge, we honoured this technique, creating secluded seating spaces and versatile breakout rooms. For an instant dose of glamour, introduce pops of gold.
