“I think good design is really about balance and how you achieve that, so I think a lot about layers and warmth, light and scale, in both colors and textures.”

Blake Lively, tells me that “everyone who knows, knows. Vicky Charles is the talent, heart, and soul who contributed to much of what we see in stores, magazines, mood boards, design shows, hotels, restaurants, and homes today.”

"I do believe that your home should age really well with you – materials that work hard, that get better with age. So it’s never about perfection.”

“….what I liked best is the ways in which [Vicky] is creative. How she responded to the history by bringing in so much vintage furniture and lighting…”

“The sign of a successful second home is when you suddenly want to be there all the time!“

“Taking the time with the invisible part of design is also so important……”

“We just wanted to make sure that language comes through in all the spaces, that it’s softer, it’s warmer.”

In this episode, Vicky and I talk about her incredible career – how she got her start waiting tables at the Soho House to working her way through the ranks

“I really understood the lifestyle, the landscape, and the seasons,” she explains. “Upstate New York really shows off colors, especially in the fall—it’s really amazing.”

“I’m in a luxury/champagne-problem business,” she says. “What’s the reason for your change? It’s expensive and takes time. It’s about dreams of things you want to fix, and what’s not working in your current environment.”

Charles & Co - Architectural Digest top 100 designer 2023

“I believe that it’s so important to be surrounded by things you love, and to look at things that make you happy.“

“The client wasn’t shy about having some fun,” says Charles. “She was keen to choose things with longevity and was incredibly decisive, which is so refreshing.”

“A project is successful when the client truly feels like their home is unique to them and that they designed and created it with you. And then asks you to do it again somewhere new.”

“Vicky’s style is refined and deeply comfortable. Characterised by a bold use of colour, an eclectic mixture of contemporary and antique pieces and layers of textiles”

“The biggest compliment is when a client says the design is a reflection of who they really are”

Charles & Co - Architectural Digest Top 100 designer 2023

Charles & Co - Architectural Digest top 100 designer 2022

“We were obsessed with Soho Farmhouse and other projects Vicky spearheaded. We loved the way she mixed fabrics, patterns, textures—really her whole aesthetic,” Mila Kunis says.

Charles & Co – Architectural Digest top 100 designer 2021

Charles & Co – Architectural Digest top 100 designer 2020

The delight for her is in the detail. She wants to know where the breeze comes in as you sit at your desk, the feel of each fabric, and how big you want your bath to be.

“What informs my aesthetic is the location, the building and the architecture. And who’s using it,” Charles explains. “My look is fluid.”