MAGAZINE · INTERVIEW

Henry Prideaux

Henry Prideaux is a London-based interior designer known for creating layered and characterful interiors that balance classic elegance with contemporary sensibility. With a strong appreciation for colour, texture, pattern, and decorative detail, his work combines carefully curated antique and modern pieces to create spaces that feel authentic, refined, and deeply personal.

After gaining experience at several of the industry’s leading design studios, Prideaux founded Henry Prideaux Interior Design in 2014. The studio specializes in bespoke residential and boutique commercial projects, offering a highly personalized approach tailored to each client and space.

Henry Pridaux

“The key element to any design is listening to your client and interpreting what they are saying into something tangible but better than they were thinking.”

INTERVIEW

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How would you define your signature style? Do you have “a mantra” that encapsulates your taste in design?

We don’t have a fixed style as our clients all seem to have different tastes, but I would say we like to create comfortable, functional interiors that are an updated take on classic interiors.

Could you tell us how your journey into interior design started?

I started as an intern during university holidays for the interior Designer Jonathan Hudson, who was helping my parents refurbish their house. Post University, I went back full-time.

I enjoyed it so much and from there never turned back. I then worked for Nicky Haslam for several years, followed by time designing projects for Harrods’ top private clients before setting up Henry Prideaux Interior Design in 2014.

Do you think there has been a defining moment in your career?

A few key moments would be securing my job with Nicky Haslam, which really opened my eyes to all sorts of design styles. Then, I created the entrance display for Decorex International, the preeminent Interior Design Show in the UK, in 2018. I was then selected in the list of House and Garden’s Top 100 designers in 2024.

What do you think is the key to a successful interior design? And in your business in general?

The key element to any design is listening to your client and interpreting what they are saying into something tangible, but better than they were thinking. Within the business, it is having a happy team all working towards the same goal of creating joyful interiors for our clients.

What would be your advice to beginner interior designers?

Learn the software packages designers use on a daily basis. Learn about who the designers you admire use as their furniture and fabric suppliers. Keep sketching – this will always come in handy to show ideas on the fly.

How do you start your interior design projects? Do you usually start with a certain element of design or a keyword? And how do they develop?

There are three main things that inform the design of a project. First, the client brief and what they are hoping to achieve, including their taste and how they want to live. Second, the property itself and the way it feels it should be designed. Third, my interpretation of the client brief within the space they have acquired aligned with my own ideas for how the interiors could look and function.

A keyword can often help inform the design direction. We are currently working on a house where the key word is “Seventies,” which is bringing all sorts of unusual colour and pattern to the forefront. Equally, we can turn our hand to more pared-back and calm projects, as long as the brief is met. On the design side, the architectural layout is usually the first point of focus, ensuring the flow of the house works properly.

Could you tell us about one of the favorite projects that you worked on?

All projects become your favourites; it’s so hard to pick just one. We are working on an art deco themed sailing yacht, a seventies themed house, a pared back oast house, and a Jacobean Priory, amongst others, that are all going to be spectacular in their own way. If I could choose one to live in, though, apart from our own home, it would be a small city house we recently completed with a beautiful entrance hall, cosy sitting room, and brilliant work-from-home area complete with a large fitted bar. A great entertaining spot in town.

What was the best advice you have received in your path?

The best advice for the design to be a success is simply to listen more, in particular to your client. And then for the finances, don’t pay for goods in advance of receiving the funds for them. These should stand you in pretty good stead.

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What was one of the hardest learned lessons in your journey?

Knowing when to let go is hard, as your business becomes your baby. I think I should definitely have hired a bookkeeper sooner, though, to take some of the more complicated finances off my plate.

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Are there any books/podcasts you would like to recommend to our readers?

House Guest podcast by Carole Annett for Country and Townhouse is a great podcast with some short, sharp insights into top designers’ work.

A book I return to time and again to learn and inform my interiors is: ‘The Elements of Style: An Encyclopedia of Domestic Architectural Detail’ by Stephen Calloway, but it is now sadly out of print.

The Nicky Haslam book: ‘A Designer’s Life: An Archive of Inspired Design and Décor’ is a great insight into a really creative mind.

If you could pick one interior design tip that is important to you, what would it be?

I generally use three colours in any one interior that provides enough impact without overpowering.

Finally, what are your upcoming projects? Anything you’d like to share or add to the interview?

We have a fishing lodge in Scotland, a family house in Fulham, a villa in Richmond, amongst others. All have a different aesthetic, we’re excited to showcase them in due course.

favorite pieces from the Philia Collection

Henry’s Selection
Large Beveled Couch by Marc Dibeh 1

Large Beveled Couch by Marc Dibeh

€30,800

There is a simplicity to this but it has a real presence to it.

Sculpted Calacatta Marble Lamp by Henry Wilson

Large Calacatta Viola Pillar Lamp by Henry Wilson

€5,390

I love marble and love this lamp.

Source Console Table No.2 by A Space 1

Source Console Table No.2 by A Space

€19,800

The curve shapes here are classic but it is a very modern piece that looks intriguing.

VIEW FULL COLLECTION

Thank you so much Henry, for this lovely interview!

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