'I like a home that's lived in'

It's a background that informs Lucy's taste today. Her interiors may be traditional and elegant, with a modern twist, but the 30-year-old is also keen to ensure that her designs reflect her clients' lifestyles, and are practical and robust enough to withstand the everyday realities of family life.

"Your home shouldn't be clinical and sterile. It has to look beautiful but it's a space you have to live in too. I always ask clients how they want to use window treatments and how a particular layout of a room will work for them.

"I like a home that's lived in," she says.

Lucy, who built up her business slowly, initially working from home for a small number of clients in the beautiful old spa town of Harrogate, launched Fabric & Co with her brother Daniel four years ago.

Spurred on by her mother Judy, Lucy, who studied textile management at Leeds University, was the only one of the family to inherit a passion for sewing and fabrics. Having worked for a silk fabric specialist and then an eminent art collector, whose stylish London home was decorated with Hockneys and Constables, she found herself drawn to the world of interior design.

"I love how you can completely reinvent a room through the use of colour and fabric. And I have always been passionate about making things, from ball gowns and party frocks to curtains and upholstery. It's so satisfying to create something from a flat piece of material. I am so grateful to my mum for inspiring me," she says.

Daniel, 31, who worked in property development after studying politics at Durham University, had always enjoyed the creative side of the business and wanted to do something for himself too.

Both felt their home town needed something fresh and new and they spotted a gap in the market for a mid-range interior design service: "Harrogate was crying out for something more accessible," says Daniel.

The pair decided to promote those small, and often quirky, independent British companies normally only found in London, such as Cabbages and Roses, Emily Bond, Vanessa Arbuthnot and Lizzie Allen.

"We are big on supporting these smaller brands," says Lucy, pointing to the hand printed London scenes on the Lizzie Allen wallpaper which is framed and hung on their showroom walls: "It is art, after all" she says.

Offering customers everything from cushions, curtain poles and single roller blinds to complete, bespoke home refurbishments, their business has grown steadily over the past four years, largely through word-of-mouth.

"We were invited to a barbecue by one family whose house we worked on recently and neighbours who loved what we'd done asked us to work on their house too. Harrogate's a small place, it's like that," says Lucy.

All but one of her five siblings are still in the town: "It's a wonderful place to live. There is such a stunning range of shops and beautiful, open countryside on the doorstep," says Lucy.

It was having her son Louis, four, that made her determined to make a success of the business, based in an old, tea warehouse she and Daniel have converted into a light and spacious store, here: "Being a single mum and wanting the best for my little boy has been a massive driving force," says Lucy.

"Finding this place was a bit of a moment. It was such a great site with great prospects. It really spurred us on," says Daniel. "We ploughed everything into it," adds Lucy.

They also have plans to transform the building next door into a two bedroom mews house, complete with a roof garden, for Lucy and Louis to live in, hopefully by the New Year: "It's such an exciting project. I can really put my mark on it."

Her personal taste is classic: "But with an element of glamour in the right place," she explains. The 'mood boards' she has created for her new home show light, Nordic colours with simple, natural fabrics: "But then I'll throw in a bit of glitz, like a chandelier," she adds.

"I'm a romantic at heart and love the history of period homes. My dream would be to live in a Georgian house in an idyllic country setting."

Having worked on everything from rural homes to urban style penthouse apartments and grand £3m six bedroom town houses requiring total makeovers, Lucy loves every aspect of her job, she says.

"There are some truly stunning properties in this part of Yorkshire. One of the great things about my work is seeing my customers' homes and working with them to bring ideas to life. Every day is so different."

Increasingly called upon by developers to work on larger projects, Lucy, who no longer has time to make any of the soft furnishings herself, calls upon talented local craftsmen, including carpenters and upholsterers to help execute their designs.

She and Daniel find most of the clients who walk through their showroom door are on the same wavelength: "People tend to choose us because they like what they see," says Daniel.

"Some people have definite ideas about what they want, which is great. But often customers don't know and we're dealing with a blank canvas. I love the challenge of that too," says Lucy.

"Generally, people know what they don't like, so we try to tune into that and guide them," says Lucy. "It's a case of asking lots of questions. "Sometimes there is a piece of art or furniture you can work round. Colours are key."

While itching to get started on her own mews house project, Lucy has been busy making her mark on her boyfriend's two-bedroom flat, where she is living temporarily until the move: "He is such a lucky man," she laughs.

The bedroom, with its abstract design, puddled curtains and 'floating' shelves made from reclaimed wood, give the bedroom an urban edge, she says.

She has made all the lamp shades, in contrasting charcoal and mustard fabrics, herself, and has used the striking hessian striped blind in son Louis's room as inspiration for the colour scheme.

She gets ideas from everything around her: "I find inspiration when I'm out on a walk, from the weather, the colours. It might come from a pattern carved into the moulding of an elaborate cornice in a grand stately home or the lines of a humble wrought iron garden gate. Good design is there to be appreciated if you keep your eyes open."

Reflecting on the sprawling six bedroom Victorian house she grew up in, a home, she says, will always be about the people who live there: "With six kids in the house, my mum always joked that every horizontal surface was covered . It was a beautiful home, but it was lived in.

"Mum and Dad were great hosts, it was welcoming and relaxed, and all my friends loved coming round. It wasn't like a show home and that is what made it so lovely."

Fabric & Co, Cold Bath Place, Harrogate HG2 OPQ

T: 01423 709947

W: www.fabricandco.com

E: info@fabricandco.com