Good interior design is something many of us aspire to. With the demands of modern life, more of us are turning to professional Interior Designers to create stylish functional spaces. Social media – particularly Instagram – have amplified interest in exceptional interiors. Publications like Architectural Digest, with over 11 million Instagram followers, provide an insight into how the market is evolving.
What may surprise you is how interior design trends can affect the value of your collection. As a valuer anticipating and spotting taste makers can help predict future value.
Against this backdrop, auctions reveal an interesting phenomenon – the rise of the interior designer led sale. Where sales were once titled “Fine Art & Antiques”, “Interiors” has become the modern cover all term. Similarly, designers are being used as auction curators, and their involvement being advertised prior to sale.
Within these sales, buyers are often seeking the comfort of association with an interior designer, either as a manufacturer or retailer. Recently, interior trends have moved away from minimalism. Today, prominent interior designers, are embracing antique and vintage pieces, creating patina, character, and a sense of warmth.
Certain designers have taste so highly regarded, that pieces they have owned or designed, can have an increased value by association. Buyers reassured by the name, and knowledge that the designer will have acquired only the finest or most interesting objects. These interior designers are a shorthand for luxury – and if they have produced it, it is a designer piece.
The late Robert Kime (1946 – 2022) was a renowned interior decorator and antique dealer, celebrated for his unique eye. He was a master at creating timeless interiors, using what might be described as a modern Grand Tour aesthetic, incorporating objects from antiquity to present day. Kime, was not only a ‘decorator’ but an expert, renowned for his knowledge particularly in antique textiles. He produced his own range of fabrics, available through his London shop ‘Robert Kime Ltd.’.
He was trusted with some of the nation’s most important interior spaces, and notable for his work for King Charles III.
Illustrating his importance in 2020, Christie’s held an auction titled ‘Wilton Crescent: A Robert Kime Interior’. The sale included over 200 lots and achieved over £2 million in total. It is rare for a sale to be named not after the collector, but the interior designer. The sale included antiques sourced by Robert Kime, alongside pieces produced by Robert Kime Ltd.
In 2023, Dreweatt’s held the auction of Robert Kime’s personal collection. The auction attracted an audience beyond that of ordinary antique sales, notable attendees of the viewing included the Prince & Princess of Wales.
Kime’s reputation extended beyond interior decoration; as a respected dealer and authority, his name conferred desirability on to pieces included in the sale.
The Kime effect could be seen on those lots where price comparisons were available. Lot 403 was a stunning Charles I needlework picture emblematic of Fidelity. Kime had purchased the piece from Christies auction of the Simon Sainsbury collection in 2008. Whilst English tapestry values have increased over the past decade, the effect of the provenance was obvious. Purchased for a total of £5,625 in 2008, it was sold for a hammer price of £15,000 in 2023.
Similarly, historical Interior Designers can command significant interest from buyers; if your ancestors engaged their services, it is essential to examine those pieces, as they may hold considerable value.
Syrie Maugham (1879 – 1955) was one of the foremost Interior Designers of the inter-War period. Earlier this year, an auction was held dedicated to her life and family, including pieces from her archive. Maugham, also had celebrity clients, including Noel Coward and the Duke & Duchess of Windsor.
In defiance of the dark maximalist Victorian aesthetic, Maugham signature were rooms decorated entirely in white or pastel shades. Her influence endures in homes today – Maugham would surely approve of Pantone’s recent selection for colour of the year 2026 ‘Cloud Dancer’.
To contemporary eyes, her approach to furniture might be described as ‘upcycling’– yet this was an innovative technique. Maugham, transformed pieces by stripping dark varnishes, treating or ‘pickling’ them and then finishing with pastel or white craquelure. This created an entirely new look for those pieces and a brightness and lightness to the spaces.
Maugham pieces are rare, and seldom appear on the open market. When Maugham’s desk, painted in her signature style, was offered in October it was estimated at a not unsubstantial £3,000 – 5,000. Despite having a cigarette burn and worn condition it generated a great deal of interest, selling for a hammer price of £17,000.
Similarly, a pair of painted and upholstered ‘Dolphin’ chairs designed by Maugham were included with estimate £4,000 – 6,000, this time selling for a hammer price of £11,000.
When acquiring antique and vintage pieces, look out for provenance connecting objects with important figures, for example dealer and taste maker Christopher Gibbs (1938 – 2018), decorator and designer David Hicks (1929 – 1998), Sybil Colefax (Lady Colefax, nee Halsey, 1874 – 1950) & John Fowler (1906 – 1977).
Treasures which can go unnoticed – a painted pine dressing table by Colefax & Fowler sold April 2024 for hammer price £1,600 at Woolley & Wallis – insurance region of £5,000.
Celebrated Interior Designers working in Britain today include; Rose Uniacke, Beata Heuman, Soane Britain and Studio Ashby. These designers and their teams are amongst the names combining fine art, antiques, and 20th century design with their own contemporary creations.
If you are working with designers of this calibre, they will likely be acquiring art, antiques, and vintage objects on your behalf. As prices fluctuate, it is important to assess replacement costs of the designers’ own creations alongside your antiques.
Stephanie has worked in the fine art and antiques industry for over 20 years. She is the former Department Director of Collectors sales at Bonhams Auctioneers. Stephanie was additionally the Head of Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia department and is a recognised expert in Popular Culture.