Appetite for Decoration: The Queen of Colour
Creative, colourful and compelling – Rebecca Jamieson-Dwyer meets Bettina McILwraith, the founder of Appetite for Decoration – a unique concept store and online marketplace that came from her passions for travel, textiles and the beauty of handcrafted goods.
What inspired the name Appetite for Decoration?
Do you remember Guns N’ Roses’ first album Appetite for Destruction? Well, Appetite for Decoration was inspired by the positive flipside of that title. The opposite of destruction is creation, and A4D merges my love for good food, slow design and creativity.
How did your business start?
Appetite for Decoration was seeded in my studio in East London in 2010, when I was managing a gargantuan print and textile archive alongside working in trend forecasting and launching an upcycled textiles homewares collection. Appetite for Decoration as an identity and mindset brought it all together and simplified it all for me.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
Soulful, inspired by nature, celebratory, ritualistic, joyful, adventurous, intentional, playful, personal, nourishing, regenerative, foraged
and colourful!
Why are you so passionate about living a colourful life?
Colour has a language all its own; it nurtures our souls and our nervous systems. Colour creates a mood, and its combinations hold a particular frequency. There’s an intuitive process to choosing colour and listening into or thinking about how you want to feel in a space is imperative, I believe. Mine is absolutely inspired by nature and my travels. I get very easily excited by new-found combinations. My mama had an amazing sense of colour, and she was elaborate with it. Every room was painted in a different colour: there was yellow, salmon pink, lime green, and her signature, hot pink. It was joyful, playful and generous.
Where do you source your items from?
The custom A4D collections are co-created with artisan groups that I have lived and worked with in Kenya and Ghana. I also work with communities and entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Senegal and Morocco. I’ve been sourcing vintage furniture, objet d’art and textiles since 2010 when I was living in London and trading at Spitalfields and Portobello markets. Vintage pieces add an element of surprise and nostalgia to a space. Sourcing from brilliant worldly friends and their offerings tie it all together.
Why is stocking ethically made goods so important to you?
I’ve been working in the slow design and ethical fashion spaces since the year 2000, so for me, ethics and aesthetics go hand-in-hand naturally. I’m invested in the lives and wellbeing of the artisans and craftspeople we work with. I like to know who exactly made our special pieces, and that they’re being respected and paid well for their traditional skills and cultural knowledge.
What’s your best styling advice?
Be true to you and how you want to feel, and style your space in alignment with the seasons. In winter, introduce more textiles and rugs for warmth, cocooning and cosiness. Layer beds, sofas and windows with extra textiles that are packed away and stored for the summer months. Plants change everything – bring the outdoors in! Your home tells a story – your story. A successfully-styled space for me feels like reading someone’s autobiography, layered with personal stories, joy and intention. I’ve started offering colour consultations and home styling for clients, and a lot of this comes down to listening into how a client really wants to feel.
How do you make any room come alive?
Colour, texture and pattern make a room sing! I’m not interested in following home trends, so it’s about listening into how you want to feel in a particular room – rested, balanced or energised might be some examples – and then intuiting the necessary elements. I study aspects of Sacred Architecture with Maria del Carmen Arevalo (follow @sumaranah), which looks at connecting with the soul and chakras of the spaces you inhabit, and from this perspective your spaces become a true reflection of you. My home and work spaces are consistently transforming, as am I.
What are some of your favourite products?
Textiles bring warmth, texture and personality during the colder months. We cosy up with colourful, hand-woven rugs from Morocco in the living and bedroom spaces; bundle up beds and sofas with artisanal throws and vintage quilts, and a few extra cushions to encourage longer lounging. Handwoven curtains that fall to the ground are a delicious luxury that soften hard edges and offer protection from the cold. Our placemats with purpose and hand-woven tablecloths grace tables and anchor daily dining rituals.
What do you love most about your store?
The community, absolutely – the incredible artisans, social impact projects and designers I have the privilege of collaborating and co-creating with, and the interactions and relationships I have with customers, especially on the shop floor. I love to see people’s reactions to our wares – the basketry, in particular, has a rhythm and energy that holds a higher resonance in person.
