WL Robert Ledingham Memorial Award 2024: Brianna Hughes

We have nothing against minimalism or Scandinavian modernism over here at Western Living HQ, as any given issue of the magazine will prove. But the work of Edmonton-based interior designer Brianna Hughes, who plays in a palette of moody colours, rich textures and old-world references, makes us question our allegiance to a crisp white room. Each of her projects is layered and sensual—sofas upholstered in mink velvet, walls finished in moss-coloured plaster, reeded cabinets in the kitchen, maroon mouldings in the entryway. It’s maximalism done with an elevated, elegant restraint, and a design sensibility that wowed our judges and earned Hughes the Robert Ledingham Memorial Award for an Emerging Designer this year. Looks like more is more is more.

Though Hughes has only been operating her design practice, Brianna Hughes Interiors, since 2021 (her previous role was with Ministry of Interiors, which she co-founded), she’s been an artist her whole life. The daughter of art collectors, she studied art history and photography in New York and Paris. “The cities were my classrooms,” says Hughes, who soaked up inspiration from both the history and the contemporary art scenes in both places. The homes she designs today always have elements that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Parisian penthouse or a turn-of-the-century Brooklyn brownstone—wainscoting, marble, dark herringbone floors—but there are plenty of contemporary details (an oversized drum light from Luminaire Authentik here, a quirky pop-art rug from Indigenous artist Rashelle Campbell there) that bring balance, too.

Her talent for composition perhaps comes from a 15-year career as a photographer: she was known for emotive family portraits that captured the beauty of a space within the frame. “I would take a family and situate them in their living room or bedroom and create an architectural portrait,” she says. “I loved playing with the furniture, and having them live in their space. It wasn’t just a focus on Mom and Dad and the kids smiling, it was more how they were in their environment.” She met her former business partner through her portrait work, and they teamed up for five years as Ministry of Interiors before Hughes launched her solo practice to further home in on her unique aesthetic. “Even when you go to school for something, you need to learn by doing, and it’s terrifying,” laughs Hughes. Though she’s not formally trained in interior design, her studies in lighting, space and colour translate into an aptitude for creating beauty. “I have an ability to make things that are unexpected come together. Maybe because I didn’t have that formal training, I was able to find my own direction,” she says.

She doesn’t consider her work to be particularly colourful, but the forest green office of the Rio Terrace project or the terracotta walls in the Ramsay House bedroom are undeniably dramatic standouts from the current Western Canadian design scene. “I’ve collected quite a bit of art over the years, so maybe just seeing a painting with baby blue and gold and pink next to a fluted green cabinet helps me see what works,” she hypothesizes. “Or maybe putting colour together just comes naturally to me.”

Whatever the reason for the skill, judge Juli Hodgson, principal of Hodgson Design Associates, took note during the judging process. “No one else is really doing what [Hughes] does this well,” she wrote. “She brings a beautiful colour palette and beautiful objects to warm moody spaces. Bravo.”

Hughes’s work is about more than finding the right blush-pink bathtub for an ensuite, though. “I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflection about how I want to live a life with purpose and meaning, and I want to feel like I’m helping other people, and I had this a-ha moment,” says Hughes. “I’m helping people find what inspires them and makes them feel comfortable. I’m helping them create something totally unexpected.”

Q&A with Brianna Hughes

What was your first design project?

A psychology practice in a 100-year-old home in Edmonton.

What do you think is the most perfectly designed object?

The Tulip table by Eero Saarinen—the clean pedestal base is so aesthetically pleasing and you can cleanly tuck chairs under it. It’s perfect for smaller places: the single pedestal keeps the lines clean.

Do you have a favourite room from a movie?

The film Ex Machina is a story about humanity’s relationship to nature and technology and the interiors they chose were incredible. A movie about a robot might conjure images of sterile metal and glass but we  see built-in texture and warmth. It makes me think about how we live in a world of advancing technology—it’s my mission to continue reflecting the natural colours, textures and patterns of our environment.

READ MORE: Meet Western Living’s Designers to Watch in 2024