This year our VIP Lounge was designed by a talented Austrian interior designer Theresa Obermoser of TO Interior Design, an award-winning interior design agency based in London. We talked to her about her influences and asked for some go to tips for Design lovers.

Let’s start from the beginning. What was your path to becoming an interior designer?
It sounds so cheesy, but already as a child I loved re-arranging the furniture in my room weekly. I could never image I’d actually make a living doing that! So I’ve worked as a ski instructor, helped out in our hotel, studied business and even worked as a flight attendant on a private jet… This was until  I decided to follow my heart and take the risk of moving to London and diving into the interior design world.

You grew up in Kitzbühel (small Alpine town near Innsbruck). How did nature and mountains influence your taste?
I think as a nature girl, I am most creative when in the mountains. Also, I mostly work with sustainable brands and materials and always try to combine rustic elements with sophisticated elegant materials.

What are your go-to’s when you are in Austria? Top designer hotels/spas and restaurants?
Forsthofgut in Leogang for Spa. Skopik and Lohn restaurant changed their interior and added super cool wallpapers which I like very much. And, of course, our family’s hotel Tiefenbrunner in beautiful Kitzbühel.

What are the Austrian designers one should look out for?
Why only Austria? 🙂 I admire Kelly Wearstler, Patricia Urquiola and as a big contrast I am a big fan of Peter Morino as well.

Now everything becomes more and more global, are there still trends in design which are regional? what does Austria bring to the scene internationally?
I think regional trends are exactly what makes Austria so charming. This little country has so many different cultures. Going to a restaurant in Vienna will give you a completely different experience than spending time in a mountain restaurant in the alps. What I think Austrians are really good at is enhancing the charms of history of a room or a building and mix it up with modern elements.

What are your core design principles?
Symmetry, functionality and comfort.

What are the most basic core elements one needs to make a beautiful space?
A comfy sofa, your favorite plant and good lighting on three levels (floor lights, wall lights and ceiling lights) .

If I gave you a living room and a budget of 2000 euros, what would you do to that space?
Buying the IKEA Frihiten sofa in dark grey and going to my favourite flea market to catch some bargains like a special photography, a couch table, a beautiful table book and invest in a fancy lamp design piece.

What advice would you give someone who is starting out with the decoration of his or her own home?
Starting with a pinterest moodpboard, setting a budget and a timeframe. Then start exploring the interior universe of the world wide web. 🙂

How should one shop for art on the walls?
I love to mix prints and real art. Mirrors and special objects from flea markets also bring uniqueness in your home. To me, it is very important that the frames work together.

What is your advice on matching everything?
It really heels to create a collage with all the items you already own and items you are planning to buy, this helps to really make sure all textures and colours will work together. If you like it, go buy them! 😉

Theresa Obermoser incorporates a unique style that can be best described as effortlessly elegant grounded in efficacy and practicality.

Her passion for interior design can be ascribed by her time spent growing up at her family’s hotel in Kitzbühel, Austria. There she enjoyed playing an active role in virtually every vertical of the hotel business which provided her with invaluable insights and a deep understanding into the nuances of design, and importantly, helped develop and later hone her artistic and eclectic style that still defines her today.

After completing her degrees in both business and interior design, she started working in London at the renowned architecture and interior design studio, Archer Humphreys. Her design exploits did not go unnoticed, and was approached by Coppa Club where she lead the design of the award-winning and “insta-famous” igloos at Tower Bridge and various other projects.

Theresa has been widely recognized for her work in the industry and her work has been published in various print and online magazines like forbes.com, Business Insider Magazine and Conde Nast Traveller. In 2017 she won the prestigious, Restaurant and Bar Design Award and won in the category “Best Pop-Up worldwide”.