IT'S WARM INSIDE

In designer Stephanie Barba Mendoza's home, everything was chosen to make her feel cocooned, looked after and full of joy

- PIP RICHI

Everything is so elaborate, each detail is so well and carefully chosen, the more you look at the decor the more you realise there is layer upon layer,' says the Mexican-born, London-based interior designer Stephanie Barba Mendoza. She could easily be talking about her own home in northwest London, a recently finished refurbishment decorated like the outside of a treasure chest with colours and curated pieces bejewelling it. She is, in fact, describing the apartment of the author Martina Mondadori, a visit to which was the highlight of her time at this year's Salone del Mobile in Milan. But the biggest joy of that trip was returning home. 'It's a place that, when I walk into it, brings me such joy,' she says. "There's a lot of warmth to it. Partly because of the people, sure, my husband and my two sons, but also because of the space, the lighting, the textures and the colours.'