Designer outlet: BRIC Interiors caters for high-flying clientele from around the world

A job as first-class cabin crew inspired Bally Taylor to start her own interior design consultancy but, unusually, she continues to combine both careers. What’s more, Bally sees the combination as key to her success.

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She explains: “I’ve been flying for a long time, which gave me an insight into providing luxury services and allowed me to stay in so many wonderful hotels, as well as seeing the design centres around the world. You get to see all the new products and materials in places like Singapore or Los Angeles.”

What started as a hobby – Bally’s father is in textiles and her interest in production techniques was sparked visiting factories in China and India as a child – became more serious when she and her husband bought their home in Edinburgh.

Bally says: “Finding one-off pieces for a project can be a hard task, but I renovated our home with items from around the world. Visitors would ask who the interior designer was and through that, about a decade ago, I started to help clients design their own spaces.”

Bally Taylor of BRIC Interiors

What started as smaller projects between her trips abroad grew, and Bally says she has cut back on her travels as her interiors business took off. “I’m now only away for a few days every so often, but it works. A lot of our clients have second homes in Dubai, Hong Kong or Singapore, so I can see clients when I am travelling.”

Her BRIC team, which now employs three others, works with commercial and residential clients on interior design and bespoke product design projects – producing unique furniture, cabinetry, rugs plus designing bathrooms and kitchens.

They also work with the universities of Edinburgh and Napier, offering internships to help students learn about the challenges of running a business, rather than just the design side.

Most clients come through word of mouth and are seen initially in BRIC’s Charlotte Square studio.

A bedroom from the Murrayfield job, complete with Vera Wang bedding from the US

But the firm also offers events so potential clients can meet the team. Bally expands: “One of the most popular is our Christmas wreath workshops. These are small scale, but we find that it is a great opportunity for potential clients to get to know us. On larger projects, we may be collaborating with them for months so it’s important that we can form a relationship and they can see how we work.

“We also offer a house-hunting service – we get a brief from the clients and will line up properties for them to fly in to see.

“If the trust is there from a previous project, they will employ us to find a home and then we can refurbish and redecorate.”

BRIC’s selling point, Bally believes, is that every client is unique – each wants their home to be beautiful in their own way, but they don’t neccesarily want other people to know where their fixtures and fittings are from. She says: “We search high and low for items, literally combing the world, or we can create it bespoke.

“When I’m travelling I’ll usually have a particular project in mind, so if I see a piece that fits I will buy it and ship it home. It can be lighting from the States, artworks, material from Africa or even hand-woven carpets from India, but these things all will add a unique touch.”