Callender Howorth Celebrates Thirty Years in Design

This month, Callender Howorth celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Thirty years. Three decades of designing homes, nurturing relationships, pursuing creativity, and building a business founded on passion, curiosity, and craftsmanship. It is a milestone that feels both extraordinary and deeply humbling.

Looking back, it is difficult to comprehend how quickly the years have passed.

Mark and Michael onsite in Essex for a luxury barn conversion project.

What has moved us most in recent weeks has been the outpouring of messages from clients, collaborators, friends, and former team members who have shared their memories of projects, homes, and moments we have created together.

Those messages serve as a reminder that while beautiful interiors are what we are known for, people have always been at the heart of everything we do.

Mark and Shelen at Dedar for fabric selections.

Bhishan, our Financial Manager. The calm behind the spreadsheets, the guardian of the budgets, and the reason the rest of us can keep being creative.

Mark and Rowena select fabrics in Los Angeles for a project in Ojai, California.  Nathalie and Jade immersed in the energy of pattern design.

Design team meeting at St Georges Wharf penthouse in London (left). Mark and Juanita at Milan Design Week.

As part of this anniversary, we have been exploring our archives, uncovering photographs, sketches, and project portfolios that span three decades.

How the journey began…

Dusting off these forgotten treasures has revealed not only how design has evolved, but also how our own creative story has unfolded. There are images from another era, snapshots of youthful ambition and early experimentation, alongside projects whose enduring elegance still resonates today.

The story began in the mid-90s.

Having returned to London after two formative years working in Los Angeles, founder Mark Howorth found himself facing a challenging landscape. Britain was emerging from a recession, and opportunities within the design industry were scarce.

Rather than waiting for the perfect role to appear, he decided to create his own path.

Armed with little more than determination, a vision, and an ageing Macintosh computer, Callender Howorth was born in a spare bedroom.

There was no grand business plan. No roadmap for international growth. Simply a belief that thoughtful design could enrich lives and that exceptional service would always be valued.

One project became two. Two became ten. Relationships flourished. Recommendations followed. And slowly, organically, a small London design studio evolved into an internationally recognised interior design practice.

30 years later…

Today, thirty years later, Callender Howorth is privileged to create homes across London, Paris, the French Riviera, New York, Los Angeles, and beyond. It remains a source of immense pride—and occasional disbelief—that the company has grown from such modest beginnings into a truly international studio.

Yet geography is only part of the story.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of this journey has been to witness the relationships that have grown alongside the business. Many of our clients return to us time and again, inviting us to design not just one home, but chapters of their lives across continents. A family we first worked with in Los Angeles commissioned us to create a Paris apartment. Clients in London entrust us with a residence in the Hamptons.

What begins as a project often evolves into something far more meaningful.

Parisian Dream Apartment. A full refurbishment of a Belle Époque apartment in Paris, with the Eiffel Tower right in front. The perfect place where our clients can enjoy French wine and the joie de vivre. Photo by Vigo Janson.

The Parisian Dream project featured by Architectural Digest.

Because design, at its finest, is not simply about spaces.

It is about trust. It is about listening. It is about understanding how people wish to live and creating environments that become deeply personal expressions of who they are. The homes we design may span the globe, but the foundation of every project remains remarkably simple: relationships.

Contemporary Country House project. A back-to-brick renovation of a sprawling 6000 sq. ft neo-Georgian House in the depths of the Buckinghamshire countryside. Photo by Megan Taylor.

Regents Park House project in London. An ultra-contemporary house spans over 3 mews houses on a picturesque cobbled Mews close to Regents Park and is probably one of the most unusual projects we have ever done.

Callender Howorth project Chalet Solaise in Villars, Switzerland. A pleasure to design a chalet in a gorgeous winter wonderland. 
Photo by Andrew Borthwick

Our latest project in Ramatuelle, Saint-Tropez, currently in progress, is a testament to the timeless craftsmanship, international vision, and bespoke approach that continue to define Callender Howorth today. Concept design.

Profound Gratitude

As we celebrate this anniversary, we do so with profound gratitude. To the clients who believed in us. To the talented artisans, suppliers, architects, and collaborators who have brought our ideas to life. To the remarkable team members, past and present, whose passion and dedication have shaped our studio. And to all the friends, our families, and supporters who have accompanied us on this journey.

Thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye.

And while this milestone offers a wonderful opportunity to look back, our attention is firmly on the future. New cities. New homes. New partnerships. New stories waiting to be told. Global living designed by Callender Howorth.

The world of design continues to evolve, but the values that inspired Callender Howorth thirty years ago remain unchanged today: creativity, craftsmanship, integrity, and a genuine love of creating extraordinary homes.

This anniversary is not simply a celebration of the past.

It is the beginning of our next chapter.