Tala Fustok: Bringing the Unexpected and a Dose of Drama
people • designers
Tala Fustok Studio is an all-female team with a passion to create interiors that are mindful of their surrounding architecture and invoke an emotionality for those who inhabit the spaces.
WEBSITE: talafustok.studio INSTAGRAM: @talafustokstudio
Words: designeers
September 2023
designeers
The most important thing you’ve designed to date:
tala fustok
On the residential arm, each apartment, pied-à-terre, home we've worked on holds its own significant value. We honour the personality and individuality of our clients so each project - from Avenue Foch to Bleecker Street to Palace Gate London - holds importance in its own way. This is also the case with commercial business, although I must mention Fitzrovia's surrealist haven The Mandrake hotel which was a highly significant project to work on. It was of course challenging, however honouring the property’s spirit and overarching goal for each individual space meant that it naturally all came together cohesively, and the spaces’ vast contrasts fed into the riot we wanted to create. Three years in the making, The Mandrake needed to be timelessly offbeat; a cool evolving retreat.
designeers
What is your favourite way to add wow to an interior?
tala fustok
Bringing the unexpected and a dose of drama to a project is a key element of my philosophy at Tala Fustok Studio. I love incorporating elements of surprise - such as hidden minibars and secret passages - and a sense of theatre. I always love a dusting of gold - nothing better to add a sprinkling of 70s glamour.
designeers
Describe your interior style:
tala fustok
Something I heavily drum into Tala Fustok Studio is that we don't adhere to one particular style. We define interiors influenced by the particular client that we're working with, bringing something specific to suit their personality rather than plugging a coined aesthetic.
designeers
How do you communicate with a client in order to understand what they want?
tala fustok
I always seek to get to know my client prior to diving into a project, to understand their personal passion points and personality. No one person is the same so why should their space be? I want each project to entirely reflect my client's individuality and compliment their lifestyle, so I sit down with them before we get started to hear all about who they are.
“Even when trends are present which clients are drawn to, we try and stay away from them and encourage clients to stay true to themselves.”
tala fustok
designeers
Are you embracing any particular trends at the moment?
tala fustok
Even when trends are present which clients are drawn to, we try and stay away from them and encourage clients to stay true to themselves so that our resulting design is more personal and therefore timeless. I do follow interior design trends though, which have continued to evolve over the last several years. Designers and consumers have interestingly been looking back in time for design influence, ensuing in retro living spaces. Furthermore, Scandinavian design aesthetics have continued to be largely popular, with consumers' heightened focus on wellness, desiring clean living spaces. And the fusion of aesthetics has also had a moment, developing one particular style by merging with another.
designeers
How would you describe your style or aesthetic?
JEREMY BULL
Material, real, imperfect but precise. Shadow and light, colour and darkness, masculine and feminine. Lost in time, yet right here and now.
designeers
3 names in your suppliers black book:
tala fustok
Donato Coppola, M.A.H Gallery and Vessel Gallery.
designeers
What do you do when you’re not working:
tala fustok
I enjoy dancing, travelling and spending time with my family.
designeers
Designer hero:
tala fustok
The French interior designer, Jean-Michel Frank - known for his juxtaposition of minimalism with sumptuous pieces - has hugely inspired me over the years, as have the likes of Maria Pergay and the great Joseph Hoffmann.
designeers
Favourite hotel in the world:
tala fustok
The Mandrake in Fitzrovia will always hold a special place in my heart. I cherished the time I spent designing the property, partly because my brother Rami Fustok owns the hotel and we worked very collaboratively. Elsewhere, Gramercy Park Hotel in New York deeply inspires me.
designeers
What is on your coffee table right now?
JEREMY BULL
Pendulum Power (A book on pendulum use), a stick of sage, a Lami Pen and a piece of art by Greg Wood.
designeers
What makes a great interior designer?
JEREMY BULL
What makes a great human?! Passion, care, compassion, energy, tenacity, love, interest, curiosity, courage, openness… I could go on. Creativity is a gorgeous and important gift, but anyone can have it if they want. The world needs more of it, and not just in interior design. We need it everywhere.
