Celebrating 21 years as the founder and leader of her eponymous London firm, Tara Bernerd (who now splits her time in Milan) is quick to point out that the honor is not just about her, but shared with her multidisciplinary team. “It touched everyone in the studio,” which has now grown to nearly 50 members, she says, who work in various locations.
With a disparate background and somewhat winding path to design, Bernerd has cemented herself and her firm as a preeminent force in the industry—working with the likes of powerhouse brands such as Thompson, Four Seasons, Belmond, Rosewood, and more.
Here, she touches on a bit of her history, her firm’s approach, and a glimpse into the future.
Did you always know you wanted to be a designer?
Tara Bernerd: I can’t say that I set out to end up on this career path. It was very much part of a journey. When I look back, it’s almost like a large tapestry or that marvelous film when you just look back at the end and they see all the collages and it all comes together and you are like, ‘right, it all makes sense.’
From a very young age, I was thrown into work. They started almost like internships, or something based on old school apprenticeships. Some of them, at the time, might seem completely irrelevant, but I worked at a young age for Condé Nast, and from there public relations and marketing. I never quite [found] the right thing. All these things taught me the relevance of the structure—not only the content, but the marketing side of it. That then led me into a period of life where I worked [on the business side] in property and development. It was this culmination of experiences and learning.
The breezy lobby of the revamped Maroma, part of the Belmond portfolio, on Mexico’s Riviera Maya
How did you discover design was your calling?
TB: I had invested to buy an apartment. Well, it was an old loft. I found architects to work with because I wasn’t architecturally trained. I drew everything that I wanted to do. They worked with me to translate that into a loft apartment. I built a second loft apartment on the top floor that then sold very well, which funded my apartment.
The competition at the time was an award called the Andrew Martin Interior Designer of the Year Award. Everyone in it were well-known designers with several projects. I didn’t win it that year, but the man behind the whole thing was allowed to choose one designer to do an article on in The Sunday Times. He chose me in that loft. That was a tipping point or a catalyst to lifestyle design. And then someone knocked on my door and he asked pretty much for the apartment—to buy everything except my clothes and my art. I then started on this journey.
I joined forces with Philippe Starck and John Hitchcock as one of the key players as we launched and together crusaded design with the company YOO. From there, I splintered to create my own work within YOO and called it YOO2. Around that time I thought, you know what? I’m going to do this on my own.
Who are some of your other mentors?
TB: I’ve been inspired by many people. The late [British-Italian architect] Richard Rogers was hugely supportive, even though I used to feel imposter syndrome at some stage because I wasn’t fully architecturally trained. Norman Foster has been a mentor in life. Zaha Hadid, may she rest in peace, was amazing and became a good friend. These people give you a little bit when your wings aren’t flapping as they should.
The Beaudry Room at the Conrad Los Angeles mixes a volcanic lava bartop with porcelain tiles
How do you translate these lessons into building your own team?
TB: Slowly, steadily. Everyone has asked me how one runs a business. There are so many different schools of thought. I’ve seen and worked with people who take the power place, who are a bit tough. That’s not me. [My team is] my family. It is my responsibility and my desire to take young people and see where they shine and then to bring that to the best they can be. It’s not only about me and my growth. My growth is dependent on people getting on, the sense of community in the office, listening and learning, and nurturing that talent and growing the business.
You’ve developed longterm partnerships with brands like Four Seasons and Thompson. How do you foster those relationships?
TB: The best work comes from communicating and people who are driven by what we do very often become friends. So if our work produces a relationship with the ownership, that’s genuine. Plus our work is good, which invariably leads to repeat business, which is key. It’s something we are good at. Four Seasons is remarkable and we love working with them. We’ve also now started to work with Belmond. We would hope to do more, and look to the future with them. Rosewood is another super brand [we are working with]. We are also now knee-deep in projects with Six Senses. And there’s a lot of people that move around from the original management of Four Seasons into Six Senses. We still are asked by Thompson, and it’s always wonderful to hear from them.
But we don’t want to just define ourselves because of historic marvelous relationships with people who we admire, such as Thompson. We make new friends too, so to speak. We’re really carving out new relationships and that’s really important as well.
The double-height lobby at the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Fort Lauderdale telegraphs the Caribbean with white oak and silver travertine
What’s in store for the future?
TB: More restaurants, more very high-end spas, and the residential components now of hotels. I would like to stay in that sector at our very best because it is so fitting and it would be almost incorrect not to take all the experience and this talent pool that we built up to continue doing it. I’d like to step it up. I [am publishing] my second book, which is going to come out in 2024 or ’25. And we’re looking at starting small furniture capsule collections. From there, perhaps doing what we do and having a little bit more ownership—whether it’s in the hotels or the residences themselves.
At the end of the day, what we do—what I do, what my team does—is a huge responsibility. It is honor and a privilege. And I treat it as such.
This article originally appeared in HD’s May/June 2023 issue.
