10 Design Essentials

Alexandra Donohoe Church, founder of interior design and architecture studio Decus, shares her top 10 design essentials, which includes superb textiles, weighty handcrafted pieces in metal and timber, and what she believes is “one of the sexiest chairs on the planet”.

When asked what her top 10 design essentials say about her, Donohoe Church replied: “probably that I’m not particularly practical in my choices, and I have very expensive taste.” Be that as it may, her curation is a delectable concert of materials from silk, linen and wool to rosewood and glass, unified by a tapestry of warm, earthen tones.

Donohoe Church gravitates towards materials with texture and movement, and Studio Henry Wilson’s modular system of cast aluminium panels, which feature abstract motifs, sits nicely in this rationale. “You can rotate each of the panels to create a different relief,” she says. “It almost feels like the effect is a little bit endless or limitless.”

Similarly, Decus’ series of timber textures, created in collaboration with Tim Noone, are a dependable mainstay. Expressing a dappled surface – the scale of which varies depending on the size of the drill bit used to carve the timber face, and specified for joinery facades or wall panelling – these textures are infinitely versatile.

A common through line in Donohoe Church’s design essentials is an affinity for warm, natural and “dirty” colours. Nothing is too pristine, and the effect is of layered, visually interesting palettes. For instance, The Equilibrium Rug by Atelier Fevrier, which features a geometric pattern in a golden, toffee tone, is a favourite. “For me, the palette of this rug is my absolute spirit animal,” says Donohoe Church. “As a studio, we tend to err on the side of the dirtier, more earthy colour palettes, so I’m here for this.”

Linen and wool blankets from Society Limonta express a similar palette of deep forest greens and rusty hues, which can also be layered and casually tousled for maximum effect. A slightly more opulent inclusion is Green Interspace by Dimore Studio: a “totally outrageous upholstery that is not for everyone,” admits Donohoe Church. She describes the design as “a little carnival, a little Memphis, a little 1993 opulence,” adding that she loves it “because it’s really unexpected”.

Among the textiles and surface treatments, Donohoe Church shares one piece of furniture: the Presidencial Armchair by Jorge Zalszupin for ETEL from Mama Casa, which is her “all-time favourite armchair”. Designed in 1955 in Brazil, it exudes many of the ideals redolent of this context and era, like the prominent use of rosewood, the diaphanous frame that facilitates air flow, and the decidedly sculptural silhouette. “It’s one of the sexiest chairs on the planet,” concludes Donohoe Church.