& More 2015
“Footprints” in Barbados was one of those. “We had just finished
a hotel in Mauritius called Lux Belmar which is very much the same
barefoot luxury”... so it was an easy, pleasurable transition to this
project. “Footprints” is not her first foray into design in Barbados, when
asked what other private homes she has completed on the island, she
wont elaborate as she vigorously protects her clients privacy... leave
it to say she was no stranger to Barbados when the “Footprints” owners
came calling.
The owners approached her from a novel perspective in that they
wanted to design and build a house to sell it, it was never their intention
to live in it - so it was more of a commercial project. They wanted
that understated luxury she is so famous for and her inspiration quite
literally was “barefoot in the sand”; appropriate as after all the name
of the house would be “Footprints”. Kelly opines “whoever buys this
property its going to be a 2nd, 3rd or 4th home, not a primary
residence and it’s just going to have that feeling of white sand and
blue seas , which was ideal because of the positioning of the house,
110
where your view from every room is that crystal clear blue sea. On
a tropical island like this, when you have been outdoors in the heat,
when you transition indoors, you want to have that wonderful
feeling of coolness and space, you want to collect shells, and have
big bowls of coral, it is that fresh feeling that we tried to create”.
“I know what I am like when I travel and I am going some-where
to literally lie in a bikini and entertain friends, you literally want the
simplest of environments”.... hence the neutral, uncluttered feeling
of the property. She goes on to re-iterate “This is a holiday home you
don’t need to be made up and have gilt and heavy upholstery, it just
needs to be refreshing and easy and that is what we did”, it is that
perfect balance of informal living combining style luxury and simplicity.
A Barbados holiday might be just what Kelly Hoppen needs,
however there’s no time for that right now. As you can imagine,
with a growing empire, this design dynamo has outgrown her
present studio spaces, so they are moving around the corner to
something “delicious” which is 5 times larger. That doesn’t mean
that she will be resting on her laurels “I am always looking, for new
challenges and I am always looking for new projects” so the
behemoth rolls on and possibly in yet another direction.. What
next? “I am presently in talks about doing film sets so that is the
only thing left on my bucket list”.... To add to her already accomplished
list..... Set Designer