Maximalist Luxury Home Decor – Claire Elsworth Design

AD| I received an Claire Elsworth Design Ento Placement Cushion from the Entomologist’s Garden Collection for the purposes of this post to showcase the design in the home.

There’s nothing more refreshing than discovering new small independent interior brands. And, as sharing is caring, I thought I’d introduce you to the unique and opulent hand-drawn designs of Claire Elsworth. If you’re looking to introduce colour and pattern into your homes and adore biophilic design, then you’re definitely in the right place. So without further ado, let me introduce you to Claire Elsworth Design, the home of maximalist luxury home decor.

Maximalist Luxury Home Decor – Claire Elsworth Design

Today’s Meet The Designer is the incredibly talented Claire Elsworth. This Maximalist Style Luxury home decor brand will literally stop you in your tracks with unique and opulent designs. And with Maximalism set to be on the rise as we embrace colour and pattern in our homes, her designs fit perfectly with this latest trend. It’s one that I personally love and you may too!

About Claire Elsworth

A long-standing adoration with pattern since childhood, Claire was destined for a career in colour and pattern. Her fascination with how patterns fitted together and travelled across wallpapers, carpets and curtains has always been something she has loved. And it’s an aspect of the design process that she enjoys applying to her own designs today.

Like many of the designers I have featured on here, Claire found her vocation later on in life. After many years in finance, Claire took a career break to have her family. It was then she decided to attend art school as a mature student. Claire also studied digital surface pattern design through on-line courses such as Make It In Design and Mark Art That Sells.

Her end goal was to create a new career from something she loved and to fit around her family. Determined to get her own designs on to home decor products she set about product developing her wallpapers and cushions with English manufacturers until she found the right combination of luxurious quality and environmental sustainability to realise her dream:

Claire Elsworth Design Heading For Success…

Last September, Claire finally realised her dream when she officially launched her brand, Claire Elsworth Design at Top Drawer in London. Thereafter, Myza became her first stockist and Wolf and Badger are soon to be stockists too!

You may have even seen Claire’s fabulous cushion designs on ITV’s Dancing on Ice.

Maximalist Luxury Home Decor

Each of Claire’s unique and opulent designs is drawn by hand and then digitally worked up into patterns for luxury interior wallpapers and cushions.

Claire Elsworth’s Design Process…

There’s more to Claire’s ability to create beautiful hand-drawn designs. There’s also the narrative behind her work that inspires her creations. You could even mistake Claire’s design process to be that for a beautiful illustrative book.

Claire’s exquisitely curated collections are founded upon her imagination and ability to curate short concept stories that then transfer to her hand-drawn designs. Combined together, you have a greater sense of meaning and connection to the designer and her work. It’s something I personally love about designers such as Claire. And more importantly something you don’t get when you buy from larger multiples.

When you possess a design made by an independent designer, you are in reality owning a piece of not only the person creating it but their design journey too. Claire’s magical stories and exquisite illustrative hand-drawn designs are literally brought to life through wallpaper and cushions. They are quite simply more than just the decorative. They’re to be cherished for years to come and not just the here and now.

Maximalist Luxury Home Decor – Claire Elsworth Design

The Stories behind Claire Elsworth’s Designs…

Each of Claire’s collections centres themselves around an imaginary Duchess called Violacea Macrobothrys and her beautiful old aristocratic house. Fused with a love of maximalist interiors, old English houses and a passion for drawing highly detailed depictions of nature, the stories draw upon the emotions surrounding why we love ‘home’ and how our homes reflect our identity.

Claire’s story is both brand identity and imaginary muse for Claire’s designing. This process provides her with a potentially endless source of inspiration.

The stories weave through six collections and inform each of her designs. I’ve included them here because they’re the narrative behind the illustrative maximalist designs Claire creates.

Peacock Maximalist Collection

‘Hidden deep somewhere in the countryside, down a winding once-grand driveway there is a long-forgotten beautiful old house and garden. Few have stumbled across it and those that have were transfixed by its decaying splendour and magical spell. Long, long ago a Duchess and a handsome peacock walked together in the manicured gardens. Alas, all that is left now is overgrown but some have seen the peacock’s elegant descendants poking through the ancient wisteria, planted on the whim of the Duchess, Violacea Macrobothrys. Legend has it that the duchess is still there, guarded by the peacocks…’

Peacock Maximalist Collection – Claire Elsworth Design

Jay’s Jungle Collection

‘In its heyday, the house had a tropical green house along a south facing crenellated wall that was warmed by the sun. Full of exotic tropical plants and flowers with a luscious canopy of ferns, palms and banana leaves it was tended to by the meticulous gardener Edgar Arboreus. It was also home to the Duchess’ beloved grumpy pet jay named Lidth. The greenhouse was the scene of many dive bombing battles between man and cunning bird as they did not get along, such battles would abruptly cease the moment the Duchess entered to pet her precious Lidth while Arboreus silently seethed.’

Jay’s Jungle – Claire Elsworth Design

Entomologist’s Garden Collection

‘Every year a botanist would bring plant specimens collected from faraway lands for the tropical greenhouse. The Duchess Violacea Macrobothrys was rather taken with the dashing entomologist who accompanied the botanist’s visit to the house that spring and whilst they peered into glass display cases of butterflies, grasshoppers and beetles a spark flickered back and forth between them. Outside in the garden the peacock paused to admire his reflection in the window and saw the spark.’

‘Entomologist’s Garden’. – CLAIRE ELSWORTH DESIGN

Tulipomania Collection

‘The Entomologist became a frequent visitor to the house that year with gifts of exquisite blooms: Dante, Parrot, Carnival and Bizarres until his next expedition lured him away with the promise of insect adventures in a far away land. So began a long correspondence of great affection between the Duchess and her Entomologist.’

‘Tulipomania Collection’ – CLAIRE ELSWORTH DESIGN

Botanical Collection

‘She would walk, skirts brushing against perfumed blooms lining the edges of the ornately symmetrical paths of the manicured formal garden, leading to her own private garden. Here she would weave her way dreamily in and out of her secret places, secluded spots and hidden arbors tending her flowers and later, heady with the scent of sweet peas, rest in the shade of an ancient tree full of whispering memories and lost thoughts whilst she read her private correspondence.’

Botanical Collection – CLAIRE ELSWORTH DESIGN

Wonderous Beasts Collection

‘Inside the house there were a great many wondrous things, layers of vast eclectic collections curated by generations past and present. It would take longer than her life time to see them all and even now there was still something new to discover and delight in: a shaft of warm dusty light falling upon giant chrysanthemums and exotic dragons rippling sinuously across the faded silk chinoiserie pattern of a beautiful old chaise longue’.

‘Wondrous Beasts Collection’ CLAIRE ELSWORTH DESIGN

Not Just A Cushion…

When you think of a cushion, nine times out of ten they’re there to reinforce a rooms colour scheme or to add a pop of colour or pattern. They’re also great at adding additional contrasting textures. Cushions are without a doubt, a useful tool to have when styling your homes.

In the case of Claire’s exquisite designs, they’re more than a tool to update your sofa or chair. Let’s just say there are cushions and then there are Claire Elsworth cushions. Each design offers you a form of art that’s not only visually beautiful but also one that you will want to reach out and touch. Although, you might want to ensure the children are banned from doing so.

DESIGN TIP: If you’re not feeling brave enough to go bold and adorn your walls with colour and pattern, cushions are you next best friend when it comes to updating a room. They could be the first steps to you embracing a maximalist style home.

The Entomologist cushion I was kindly gifted is perfect for adding to the biophilic design of our garden room. Printed on silk and with a luscious velvety back, it adds additional decadence and luxury to this space.

Claire’s opulent cushions are pieces of portable art that you can transfer around your home as and when you wish.

Maria – The Interior Editor

Sustainability: Eco-Luxe – Luxury With A Conscience

There’s much to love about smaller individual brands such as Claire’s. It’s the care and consideration that they give to bring their creations alive. This also means taking into the effects manufacturing has on our environment. Each of Claire’s cushions is constructed by a socially responsible English manufacturer to keep her carbon footprint as minimal as possible. All fabrics are sourced ethically and printed with eco-friendly inks. The manufacturing process also uses an eco-friendly printing process called sublimation, which uses less water and produces zero waste.

The same ecofriendly approach is given to her wallpaper designs too. All of which are printed on FSC certified paper using eco-friendly water-based inks.

Get Creative With Claire Elsworth Design Wallpaper

Whilst Claire’s designs will predominately resonate with Maximalist lovers, her designs can easily be interpreted for those less brave. It’s really a case of how you choose to use them. Wallpaper is a longer-term decor fix than paint so you might understandably be a little more apprehensive. Of course, there are ways to introduce these bold designs without adorning every wall.

You could get creative and create a panel effect on your walls so your chosen design becomes a form of art. Or why not go halfway with the wallpaper and paint the lower part of a wall. If that’s still too scary a move for you and you prefer a more subtle effect, you could always up-cycle a piece of furniture. Lily Sawyer used Claire Elsworth Design wallpaper to create a fantastic feature by papering her wardrobe to great effect.

Or opt for the easy option and choose one of her beautifully curated cushion designs. As I mentioned above, it’s a piece of portable art and you’ll have fun styling it around your home.

EndNote…

When you decided to invest in a designer such as Claire, you gain so much more than just the decorative for your homes. You are inviting them into your home bringing the unique and personal. And, for me, I love that you get to tell their story to those that visit. Not something you can do with your off the high street bought decor.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about today’s fabulous Meet The Designer, Claire Elsworth Designs. You can find her full range of unique and opulent designs by clicking here.

Thanks as always for taking the time to stop by! Until next time…

Maria xx

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