Twenty
years ago, former Londoner Gill Wilson left behind a prime job
with the BBC to follow a dream career in interiors. Since then
she has lived and worked in Jakarta, India, Malaysia, Japan, Australia
and Bali where she now makes her home with her British husband,
David and their two daughters, Natasha, 16, and Samantha, 13.
She talks about what interior design really means, her passion
for Japanese artifacts, and why she opened her showroom, GW Interiors….
“It’s perfect, “declares Gill as she unveils
the covers of a new sofa she has recently designed for a society
doyenne. “She is going to love it, love it, love it”
she enthuses as she darts around the sofa checking for any imperfections
and handling the plush fabric with the adept hands of a craftswoman
who has been plying her trade for years. As she takes a call on
her mobile phone on the premises of her newly opened showroom
in Sanur on the island of Bali, I notice fabric swatches, mood
boards and color palettes neatly stacked around the place and
flick through the thick volumes of tomes carrying varieties of
gorgeous fabrics in all sorts of textures, colors and patterns.
I walk around and finger some of the curtain fabrics and window
dressings that are hung in various styles and forms around a display
bedroom and cannot help but feel a little lost - there seems to
be so much to choose from I wonder how anyone who comes her could
ever make a decision.
“Ah but that’s what I’m here for” says
the unpretentious designer with a bright smile and sparkling eyes
that engage you from the moment you meet. If you ask around, those
in the know will tell you that Gill’s designs can be seen
everywhere. Not just in the many residential and villa projects
around Bali, but also internationally. She most recently finished
a commission for all the soft furnishing works at Frégate
Island Private, a collection of sixteen luxury villas in the Seychelles
most recently voted for Best Design & Ambience in the 2005
Conde Nast Traveler Gold List awards.
“That is the best part of my job. I can live where I love
to live and still do work for clients no matter where they are
based. I really do get the best of all worlds”.
LUXE Bali Guide 2007 "GW Interiors" listed as ....
"Gill
Wilson is THE MISTRESS OF BESPOKE SOFT FURNISHINGS AND FABRICS,
AND WILL COME TO YOU"
