Interior designer Sophie Robinson on collaborating with DFS: ‘It completely fulfils my mission to help people embrace colour’

Like all brand collaborations, this one’s been a while in the pipeline. When I speak to Sophie Robinson on the phone, she’s buzzing with excitement. “I’m massively proud of it,” she says. “I’ve never seen anything like this on the high street.” Her collection is full-on vibrant in a way that’s not typical of the brand. “DFS only really do bright colour in collaboration with other designers. It gives people confidence and it completely fulfils my mission to help people embrace colour. It makes them so much happier when they do.”

The collection includes three sofas (€1,949 for a four-seater), three footstools (from €750), and an accent chair (€1,359). Each sofa leans into a slightly different historical form, with a view to the homes they may end up in. The Wakehurst sofa is roll-armed and traditional; the Standen has a mid-century modern vibe; and the Fairlight is simply contemporary.

As well as choosing the fabrics and colours, Robinson was involved designing the actual furniture. “All three shapes came from me. I’ve been designing rooms for 25 years and I had quite a lot of opinions on what makes a good sofa. Comfort always comes first.” As she explains, what you perceive as comfortable depends how you like to sit on your sofa. Some curl up in the corner. Others sit straight or stretch out. All the sofas come in plain velvet fabric. “That was for commercial reasons,” she says wistfully. “I do love a patterned sofa.”

Robinson had her wicked way with the Pashley accent chair, which can be purchased in pattern (dots, stripes, or honeycomb). If you buy it in plain velvet you can customise the piping for no extra cost. The thin line of navy, pink, or yellow makes a big difference to the look of the chair. Likewise, the footstools come with piping options. One, the Fairlight storage footstool, has plain fabric outside and patterned within. This, she points out, is quite a lot of choice to find within a high street range.

“Normally you’d need to work with an interior designer to get something bespoke. I wanted to design the range so people can get creative and it doesn’t look like you’ve bought it straight from the showroom.” The options are not limitless. This brings down the price point and reduces the risk of buyer bewilderment. “People want creativity and they want options, but they don’t want to be bombarded with decisions,” Robinson says. “The key is that all the colours and patterns work with each other. You can mix and match any of them and they’ll go together.”

Sophie Robinson is a little bit cushion-crazy. “There are 22 in this collection,” she admits. “I wanted to offer people a way to genuinely personalise their sofa. I just love the play of patterns and all the fabrics feel amazing.” The cushions (€55) come in two sizes — scatter and bolster — and are colour-coordinated in a way that allows the uninitiated to do truly nutty things, like combining florals with stripes with dots with chequers with frills. “I think there are a lot of husbands who hear ‘Sophie says this goes together’,” she says.

In September 2023, Sanderson Design Group launched the Harlequin x Sophie Robinson collection of fabrics (eight prints and seven weaves from around €55 per metre) and wallpapers (from €100 per roll). Irish stockists are listed on the Sanderson website. “I like to layer a lot of pattern in a scheme. The more pattern I can get into a place the better. It makes my heart skip a beat!” Robinson describes the collection as a maximalist decorator’s tool kit. “It’s picking up on the appetite for multi-layered interiors. It’s bright, optimistic, positive and unashamedly confident.”

Brand collaborations, as she understands them, work because the brand is putting a real person front and centre. “People need a bit of handholding and the brand presents me as the person who’s going to help you.” Often, she explains, people know more about decorating and furnishing their homes than they think they do. “They just want someone to push them over the line.”

Some will go the full Robinson on their homes but most prefer a diluted version. “A lot of my schemes are too full-fat for people. I never want to dictate my style or aesthetic to anyone. That’s not my approach. They do it their way. I’d never ask anyone to copy me. Your home is your castle. It should be your personal space.”

For those who want to take it a step further, Robinson has a series of online courses (€50 to €400) covering various aspects of interior design. “It’s not easy to put a room scheme together and there is a method to it,” she says. “My interior design school is about teaching people about the design process so they don’t make expensive mistakes.”

With experience in television and broadcasting, she knows how to break down a complex process into a series of easy steps.” The courses are all online and self-paced. “You can do it in your own time. People do the courses all over the world and I have a massive Irish following.” Some of these may be wondering what’s happened to The Great Indoors, a hugely popular podcast hosted by Robinson and Kate Watson-Smyth. “It’s having a nap,” she says. “Look out for more episodes in September.”

Apart from the colour palette, two things stand out about Sophie Robinson. One is her clarity of purpose. She’s capable of great sophistication in design (witness the Harlequin collection) but understands that most people need bite-sized options, small steps, and simple choices. Secondly, she knows her audience. Her style is not for everyone. She doesn’t pretend it is. “There are people who like grey and beige,” she says. “Those are not my people. My people get excited about paint charts and they’re in love with their homes.” Then again, if you want a beige sofa, you probably aren’t looking at her collection.

See dfs.ie, sophierobinson.co.uk, sandersondesigngroup.com, idealhome.ie