First-Step Stories with Karen Howes

Passionate about interior design since childhood when she would constantly rearrange her bedroom, Karen Howes went on to found her first interior design business at the age of just 21.

Today, her Knightsbridge-based design studio, the 35 person-strong Taylor Howes, is a byword for luxe style, attracting clients that include ultra high net worth private homeowners, hoteliers and developers.

Howes established the professional network Business of Design in 2017, and in 2018 formed charitable initiative Rest Nest, which aims to give back to nurses by creating beautiful, comfortable staff rooms.

She has two daughters with her husband Andrew and homes in London and Hampshire.

In the early 1980s, when I was just 19, I bought a three-bedroom apartment in a wonderful Victorian mansion blocked called Hayes Court, on New Camberwell Road, in SE5.

I was working as an estate agent in the area at the time, and had been selling flats in the building, – and knew it was a good find.

The lady who owned the flat before me had lived there since it was built in 1890: she had stories of the bombing in the area during the Second World War.  

I bought it for £15,950. In those days, you could get a 100% mortgage, so I didn’t need to save up for a deposit. 

It needed complete renovation, which was part of its appeal. I managed to get a local authority grant to deal with the damp and dry rot, and then I set about teaching myself how to tile, strip and sand floors. I even made my own curtains.

I guess it was what really set me off on the path to becoming an interior designer. It became a passion. 

This was well before the hedge-funders had moved into Camberwell. It was still rather offbeat, and very arty.

Whenever my [second] husband, Andrew, and I are looking at buying a new home, it is a mix of both.

I have to absolutely love a place, and get a really good feeling about somewhere, but I also love homes that have been sadly neglected, and I look for the potential that other people might not see. That is where my head comes in.

I bought it on my own, but of course I had to find ways to make ends meet and was working several jobs – I worked in a pub on the weekends.

But I also needed to sub-let two of the bedrooms. In the process of trying to find the right flatmates, I met my first, late husband, Simon O’Dwyer- Russell, who was the youngest war correspondent ever on Fleet Street. [Tragically he died at the age of 29 in 1990.]

A client's bathroom

I am always really flexible when looking at a potential new home. If you can check most of the boxes on your wish list – and everyone has their own particular needs - then that is good enough.

As I was an estate agent, I understood how things worked. The most important piece of advice I can give is to spend as much money as you can spare on a really good lawyer. This way the conveyancing should be stress-free. 

It gave me a real sense of grounding and of freedom, and of all the things that I could achieve. It was a respite from the craziness of the world. I firmly believe everyone should have the opportunity to own their own home.  

At the time there was a vogue for stripped pine. I used to trawl all the south London auction houses to see what I could find. I was particularly in love with a beautiful chest of drawers that I stripped back.

The flat was a total pine fest – it’s not a look that’s coming back any time soon. But using auction houses is still a great way to find original pieces that you can mix up with more contemporary furniture and artwork.  

A client's Thames-view terrace 

There is something extremely satisfying about laying a tile, and doing your own grouting. Although I have to admit I haven’t done that for some time.

I owned it for two years. Looking back, it is one of the largest flats I've ever owned. I should really have hung on to it. 

Be brave, jump in, and you will never regret it. But do make sure you have done proper research on the areafirst, including the local transport links, the nearest facilities.

And don’t be afraid of buying something that isn’t 'done'. Renovating a property is a way to add real value. Yes, it may be the size of a doll’s house, but there might be room at the back for a rear extension.

Always look for opportunities to add square footage that previous owners may not have spotted.

When I had just had my first daughter, Georgie, Andrew and I went to look at a flat in Pimlico. It was rather nice, and as we were leaving, the estate agent asked me if I thought I'd left anything behind.

I looked at him rather quizzically - and then realised I had left my newborn sitting in her car seat in one of the bedrooms.

My home is my sanctuary. It's where I can really relax, walk around in my tracksuit and not have to make an effort. It's a place to spend quality time with family and friends.

As a child I moved around a lot and went to 10 different schools, and my parents lost their business, and their home, when I was 12. So, ultimately, having a secure roof over my head is very important.

At the moment, we own a small flat not far from our design studio in Knightsbridge, which we use during the week. But we are the in the midst of the huge refurbishment at our country house in Hampshire.

It’s where I do all the things I tell my clients not to do: we are designing as we go, project managing it ourselves and dealing directly with the builders.

After all these years, I had forgotten how hard it is to actually make decisions when they are for your own home. 

Camberwell is in SE5, three-and-a-half miles south east of central London, with Walworth and Elephant & Castle to the north, Peckham to the east, East Dulwich to the south and Brixton to the west.

It comes with a long history as a melting pot for lawyers, journalists and artists - the Victorian poet Robert Browning was brought up here - though today you are more likely to find hedge-funders and City traders. They're drawn to elegant tree-lined Camberwell Grove, and the roads that radiate from it with their rows of period houses.

Camberwell Station last served passengers in 1916, but transport links are still good. From Denmark Hill station, a 10-minute walk away, trains reach Victoria in 14 minutes, London Bridge in 22, with a change at Peckham Rye, Farringdon in 18 and St Pancras in 22.

The London Overground line – otherwise known as the 'ginger line', which arrived at Denmark Hill in 2012 – has trains to Shoreditch High Street. Thameslink runs from Loughborough Junction, a 15-minute walk away, to Farringdon (16 minutes) and St Pancras (18 minutes), and nearly 20 bus routes pass through the town centre.

Camberwell is in Zone 2.  

You can read more First-Step Stories from celebs, influencers and property experts here.