When the best interior designers have left their mark on a room it feels like the space was always meant to look that way, and Robert Kime is a master of this process.

With clientele that often includes royalty, Robert’s eye for detail, colour and character sets him apart from the crowd.

Unlike many of the great interior designers, Robert Kime entered this world through a quite unusual route. Starting out as an antique dealer, his passion for beautiful furniture soon saw him develop a love for textiles – a progression that led naturally to interior design.

Despite working with the rich and powerful, Robert is a gentle and unassuming person - there are none of the flamboyance so evident in many great designers - and his interiors exude confidence and understated elegance.

Over his 30 year career, Kime’s design philosophy has been unaffected by fashion trends, and remains consistently his own – an attribute that’s both comforting and unusual, but says a lot about his personality.

The real genius of a Robert Kime interior is that it looks like no designer has laid a hand on it. Instead, his gentle and sensitive approach to antiques and textiles ensures that his spaces appear to have come together organically over time – albeit with beautiful symmetry and grace. Perhaps it is this exquisite touch that encourages royal clients, like Prince Charles, to trust him with their projects.

Mixing pieces from different time periods can be tricky, but Kime manages to pull it off with ease, without ever making a room look forced or jarring to the eye.

You may not have the budget that Robert’s clients have available, but that doesn’t mean you can’t employ some of his ideas. If you’re willing to hunt around local antique fairs, you’ll be amazed at the bargains available.

When putting together a Kime inspired room, think about function over form – the room must be easy to live in first and foremost. Every decision you make should add to the rich history of the space and marry together the different periods you’ve chosen to invite into your design. Follow these simple rules and your interior design projects could soon have the timeless elegance of the rich and powerful clients Robert Kime lends his expertise to – but without the budget!