NEVER MEET YOUR IDOLS

They say you should never meet your idols (due to the potential for disappointment when the reality of a person doesn’t quite match the image you see on television or online), but that does not apply to interior design legend Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. What you see in real life is what you get on television, and I can say I have been lucky enough to meet him twice so far this year in the space of two weeks back in March.

Here I am with interiors legend Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen at an event at Eastbourne’s Brewers Decorating Centre.

At the beginning of March I visited Brewers’ Decorating Centre’s flagship showroom and cafe in Eastbourne for their 10th anniversary celebration. As part of that, LLB gave a fascinating and insightful talk about wallpaper and some of his inspirations for his own designs. After the talk, I was lucky enough to meet the man himself, when he took the time to answer my questions, to give me some valuable advice, to pose for a photo or two and to sign my copy of his brilliant book “More More More”.

Laurence took time after his talk to sign my copy of his brilliant maximalist book “More More More”.

So what did I learn from the talk? Here are a few exclusive snippets:

Wallpaper is quintessentially a British institution, and LLB’s exotic wallpaper pattern “Suburban Jungle” (see below) is heavily influenced by William Morris’ famous “Strawberry Thief” pattern.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s “Suburban Jungle” pattern was influenced heavily by William Morris’ “Strawberry Thief” print. I love the placement of the leopard print lamp in front, to reference the leopards in the print itself.

LLB owns an archive of over 2000 patterns and imagery that he has designed and printed himself, which is sound advice for future-proofing your creativity and brand.

The flamingo in the “Flamingo-go” wallpaper (see below) is a deliberately subversive piece of iconography and a punk message about LLB’s personal style; it’s a clear statement against the popularity of magnolia and the idea of “taste”.

Laurence’s “Flamingo-go” wallpaper is a subversive piece of iconography and a punk message about his personal style; it’s an anti-establishment statement against the overuse of magnolia and the concept of taste.

The word “style” comes from “stilo” which is Italian for “stylus” or “pen”. Style differs in that you write your own (with a pan) whereas taste and the perception of whether you follow good taste relate to current trends. Your style is absolutely timeless, whereas trends don’t tend to stand the test of time or reflect your true personality.

Finally from this event, I learned in a private conversation that in order to influence the future in the best way, we must learn from the past and absorb as much visual history as possible. Visiting the V&A Museum in London is a great way to start (and I will blog about my findings when I visit the museum myself).

If you want to learn more about Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s philosophy, I recommend picking up a copy of his book “More More More”. This volume is a unique and individual viewpoint about the concept of Maximalism.

The next time I met LLB was at The Ideal Home Show. He was there showcasing the House Of LLB and his brand new range of luxury kitchens. My mum got to meet him this time after years of watching his shows (particularly Changing Rooms!) on the television. The best bit was that he remembered exactly who I was, which I was very impressed with seeing as he must meet hundreds of people a week. He had also seen the social media posts I had posted about meeting him previously; for that he expressed his gratitude.

My mum and I meeting Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen at his stand the Ideal Home Show 2025.

So his brand new range of House Of LLB kitchen designs is called “Quintessential”, reflecting a need to challenge the common perception that kitchens should purely be grey or white functional boxes. My personal favourite design is the confident and exuberant “Kitchen Disco”, which is a vibrant and playful celebration of maximalism. LLB’s fabulously anti-establishment “Flamingo-go” wallpaper is features as an added extroverted statement.

As an aside, I would love to be involved with installing this collection in someone’s home (get in touch if this is you!)

My favourite collection from LLB’s “Quintessential” kitchen range is “Kitchen Disco”. This is a photo from the catalogue as well as a sample of “Flamingo-go” wallpaper in the background.

The kitchen space nowadays is so much more than cooking and is a hub for all family activity; as Laurence observes it’s the heart of the home and the hardest working room in the house. Therefore the kitchen design needs to reflect the personalities of those who use it more importantly than ever before. This is sound advice to keep in mind if you’re a fellow designer who designs kitchens, or more importantly if you’re thinking of renovating your own kitchen in the near future.

So back to the Ideal Home Show… a little later on in the day after admiring the exhibition stand and enjoying some well-needed lunch, my mum and I watched LLB give a talk called “Blending the past with the future” on the Super Theatre stage.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen on the Super Theatre stage at the Ideal Home Show 2025.

Here, he gave away some further interior design wisdom. Firstly, “you should never ever ever see your home, see where you live, as anything else other than the museum of you”.

Next, he gave some advice as to how to steer the rooms in your home away from looking like Modernist white boxes with harsh corners, and that’s to create curves in your space instead. The photo below is a brilliant example of how to do that:

Two armchairs, a bold lamp on a vibrant side table and a statement mirror help to blur the edges of what could look like harsh corners in this living area space on LLB’s exhibition stand.

Another tip is using a patterned wallpaper with a dark background to blur the corners of your room, like in the bedroom space of LLB’s stand as shown below. The wallpaper works to create depth in a space, pushing the walls away from you to give the illusion of a much larger room.

LLB’s bedroom space on the House Of LLB exhibition stand; the jewel box greens and yellows make for a sophisticated and luxurious scheme; would you expect anything less from Laurence’s designs?

So that’s all the interior design wisdom that I learned from meeting Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen twice in March.

If you do ever get the opportunity to hear one of LLB’s talks or see him or his work in real life, I would definitely recommend going. As an interior design student I have learned some really valuable insights from both talks that I can share far and wide, as well as gaining some personalised advice. I also hope that you’ve learned something from reading this blog post… even if it is just that it is okay to meet your idols!

Until next time and all the best,

Rhiannon.