This summer, acclaimed London-based interior designer Zoe Willis will bring her distinctive, eclectic design sensibility to Ireland, relocating part of her practice to Dublin and marking an exciting new chapter for one of the UK’s most defining voices in contemporary interiors.
Founder and Creative Director of Zoe Willis Design, Willis has earned a reputation across the UK for interiors that feel cinematic, richly layered and emotionally resonant. Her work is defined by a confident use of colour, expressive materiality and a subtly subversive approach to modern living balancing bohemian glamour with an underlying sense of calm. These are spaces designed not simply to impress, but to be lived in.
Her interiors unfold like visual narratives: immersive environments shaped by colour theory, texture and storytelling. Drawing on influences from mid-century, art, travel and film, Willis approaches each project with the eye of an editor, constructing rhythm, mood and perspective within a space.
Before founding her studio, Willis spent more than two decades at the intersection of luxury, media and culture, holding senior roles at global names including Condé Nast, NET-A-PORTER and Hearst. Her editorial background continues to inform her work, with projects conceived through a lens of narrative clarity and visual pacing reminiscent of magazine spreads.
Through Zoe Willis Design, she works across high-end private residences, boutique hospitality and select commercial projects throughout the UK and Europe. Clients are drawn to her ability to guide them toward bolder, more personal design choices while maintaining a sense of longevity and emotional comfort.
Her work is particularly recognised for its immersive use of colour, often employing a “colour-drenching” technique to create cocooning, atmospheric spaces that feel both contemporary and timeless. Willis seamlessly blends eras and influences, resulting in interiors that feel curated rather than simply decorated.
Already something of an honorary Irishwoman, Willis has spent time in Dalkey, where she summers and draws inspiration from the Irish landscape and creative community. She is also an admirer of House of Hackney, co-founded by Dubliner Frieda Gormley, whose richly patterned fabrics and paints have featured in several of her projects.
Her move to Dublin reflects both a personal affinity with Ireland and a strategic expansion of her studio’s presence. From her new base, Willis plans to grow her Irish portfolio while continuing to work on projects in London and across mainland Europe.
In Dublin, she will focus on prime residential projects including period homes, apartments and second residences as well as boutique hospitality, a sector she sees as a significant opportunity within the Irish market. She brings with her an established London network of specialist contractors, artisans and suppliers, alongside deep sourcing expertise spanning art, antiques, contemporary design and bespoke joinery.
The Dublin studio will operate in tandem with her London practice and ongoing European projects, ensuring clients benefit from both local insight and international perspective.
Willis has also launched a new advisory service designed to support estate agents and private buyers. The intelligence-led reporting system provides a clear design strategy for prospective purchasers, helping them assess whether a property aligns with their aesthetic vision, practical needs and budget. Whether addressing concerns around renovation costs, structural limitations or reconciling differing design styles such as adapting a Georgian property to suit a mid-century modern sensibility the service offers clarity, confidence and a roadmap for transformation.
A designer who actively embraces innovation, Willis is also engaging with the evolving role of AI within the industry. AI is a powerful tool for design strategy, “she said, “it helps us move faster and think more clearly at the early stages. But the design itself is human. It’s instinct, experience and material understanding. It also is about how something feels, not just how it looks.”
With her arrival in Dublin this summer, Zoe Willis brings a fresh and fearless design voice to Ireland, one that celebrates individuality, storytelling and the transformative power of colour.
