Winnie Tam | Design by Nature and Nurture

interior design

An exploration of Winnie Tam's signature style.

Words by

Megan Hill

Published on

October 10, 2023

Winnie tam, winnie tam interior designer, winnie tam design, fourteen am interior design, fourteem am, city sanctuaries, winnie tam city sanctuaries, what is a city sanctuary, mindful design, design process, interior design process

During the sakura season in Japan, it is not uncommon to find a group of strangers congregating around a singular tree, their eyes fixed upwards on the pink blossoming branches. They may stand like this, statuesque save for the occasional snap of a camera, for 20 minutes at a time. When Winnie Tam first witnessed this scene, she was in awe. Winnie had never before witnessed such a collective appreciation for the natural world, a public acknowledgement that it is the small moments in life that bring the most joy.

Winnie is an architectural designer. Or rather, Winnie's creativity currently manifests in the design of physical spaces (she struggles to confine herself to any one title). "I studied a long time to earn the title of architect, but I don't feel that architecture encompasses all that I do." Winnie is also the founder and director of Fourteen a.m., a design studio specialised in creating sanctuaries for city dwellers—restorative spaces where one can find shelter from our relentlessly fast-paced and over-consumptive society.

Winnie Tam - founder and director of Fourteen a.m. Image credits: Christina Thaisen.

As a character, Winnie is gentle but assured—a manner that is hard to describe but immediately evident in her designs: a note of amber timber, a perfectly blemished wall—subtle but intentional. Winnie's designs are understated, but the thinking behind them is deep and complex. I invited Winnie to share a pot of peppermint tea and escort me through her intricate way of thinking in the hopes of identifying the essence of her signature style.

Origins of Fourteen a.m.

Winnie's greatest tool is nature. Nature gives Winnie space. Many famous creatives have ruminated on boredom's role in creativity, the principle being that boredom allows you to empty your mind of distraction, in order to make room for new ideas. Winnie explains that nature is her escape from distraction, "Normally we're too stressed and distracted but in nature, we are able to zone out and hear our own minds." In nature, Winnie also finds ready-made inspiration. "When I take the time to look at a tiny little leaf or lichen or rock formation, I am in awe of the beauty, shape, texture, and function. I always want my designs to remind us of some form of nature."

Ironically, Winnie has always lived in some of the world's largest metropolises. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Winnie moved to London to study and has also spent time living in Tokyo. She half-jokes, "If I were to move to the country, I'm not sure I'd know how to live there." The places Winnie has called home have influenced her perspective on both the world and on her craft. "My design style is a juxtaposition of city living. Growing up in a city breeds a 'head down' mentality. You feel stressed all the time and you walk by so many beautiful moments because you don't know how to appreciate things." It was moving to Japan that allowed Winnie a fresh perspective. "Japanese culture definitely influenced the way that I am now. Too often we look at things, but we fail to really see them. In Japan, every single season is appreciated. Every single day, there is something to celebrate—even the smallest things." Tokyo's residents are swallowed by city life but still manage to slow down and cherish the world around them. Japan also fostered Winnie's appreciation for intentional, traditional craftsmanship. She explains, "In Japan, every detail has meaning and there is a very particular reason why things are done in a certain way. I credit that to care, when you care for something it becomes meaningful. Somehow, when you pay more attention, you gain a lot more enjoyment."

Winnie continued this more mindful way of walking through life upon her return to London. If anything, for all her time spent in the city she has learnt to appreciate nature more, "For me, it is the wonder of finding amazing things that are so often overlooked. When I take the time to appreciate nature, I find life a lot more beautiful. A piece of beautiful foliage growing out of a drain can create a moment of pause and appreciation. It would be nice to constantly be in that state of wonder, but sometimes it means more when you really need it. Everyone experiences those moments: when life is stressful, and you're facing a problem, and you feel like it's the end of the world—and then you look at nature. It reminds you that everything is okay, it's just a matter of perspective."

Despite her internal connection to the natural world, Winnie's early experience as an architect was defined by high rises and corporate contracts, working on projects such as Paddington Square University campuses on Euston Road. Playing a role in such large-scale projects was a mark of success for an early-career architect but for Winnie, there was a missing piece of the puzzle. "Whilst I enjoyed my work, it didn't satisfy me. I had excellent opportunities but I didn't feel like I was making an impact or that I couldn't bring my own message." Whilst grappling with her own personal sense of fulfilment, Winnie realised that her work in construction coupled with city living was the catalyst of all the stress in her life. The two paths of realisation culminated in the founding of her own practice, Fourteen a.m. Why Fourteen a.m.? Because it is a time that does not exist. "It's an impossible moment, like living in a city and finding isolation or undergoing a construction project and not being stressed. These things feel impossible, but I want to make them possible." Fourteen a.m. is as much a journey of self-discovery as it is a business venture. In the beginning, even Winnie didn't know what direction it would take. "I didn't actually know what it, or I, was all about in the beginning but over time I have learned so much about myself. Designing is a way to influence others whilst also understanding myself."

The Wave Residence, designed by Fourteen a.m. Image credits: Edvina Bruzas.

A space to call home

In 2020, Winnie began a full renovation of her own home. The project was originally intended as a proof of concept of sorts for Fourteen a.m. but due to Covid-related delays in construction, Fourteen a.m. came to be before its completion. "Before you launch a business, you convince yourself you have to have a certain amount in place but it's not the case. As with construction, we tend to go about building a business in a very rigid way but that is where the stress comes from." Instead, Winnie opted for a more organic approach, assessing the situation rationally but avoiding imposing set boundaries.

Regardless of the timeline, designing her own home taught Winnie invaluable lessons for her new venture. Playing the role of both the designer and the client, Winnie came to better understand the client perspective. "In that job, I was the client, the designer, and the project manager. Access to all those mentalities incentivised me to make the process less stressful. I understood the ins and outs of how the design was progressing, I had complete control over its development and yet I still felt stressed. You can only imagine how stressed an uninformed client must be. Now, I keep my client as involved as possible throughout the process."

Winnie's definition of involvement spans beyond allowing clients to share preferences for furniture and colour palettes. In fact, the renovation of the home itself is just the beginning. Winnie explains that home and lifestyle are intrinsically linked, "I want Fourteen a.m. clients to embark on a personal journey. There is no sense in building a beautiful, serene home to live in without a mindset to match." Winnie is currently working with a mindfulness expert to implement a programme for personal development alongside the development of the physical space. "An architectural project will take a minimum of one year. I'm given that one-year window to gift my clients educational material and expose them to a more mindful way of living. We're developing a really woven process. Ultimately, the zen space my clients end up with should really be a reflection of the state of mind they have cultivated throughout the process." Winnie herself is not a professional in mindfulness, hence her partnership with experts in the field, but she has experienced its impact first-hand. She recalls, "I have been a very stressed person. I find the city and work hard to cope with but mindfulness really helped me. In my experience, mindfulness takes time but it is worth the investment. I've become a different person and I enjoy my life so much more, I want other people to have a chance to experience the benefits as well."

Winnie's own home exemplifies the concept of mindset manifesting in space and vice versa. Her house is a transformed Edwardian maisonette, equal parts dainty and daring, intimate and unabashed. Everything that fills the space serves a purpose. Winnie clarifies, "Each home has a certain mindset and I believe that everything in that space should share the same belief." The decor is symbolic of moments that matter to Winnie and her partner, the indents in the walls house her art and foraged treasures, and the story of the building's past is remembered with carefully marked silhouettes. For Winnie, sustainability was also a priority. "Everything is all-natural, and that was important to me. Raw timber provides structure, clay is used to plaster the walls, and handmade terracotta tiles line the bathroom—no plastic. It is manmade, but it is all reminiscent of nature. There are lots of imperfections because in nature nothing is symmetrical or identical and that imperfection is what makes it perfect."

Winnie's understanding of beauty in imperfections is infectious. After our talk, I find myself smiling at cracks in the pavement, a tree grown crabwise, and shoes withered by age. "If you don't put pressure on things being pristine, you can still appreciate their beauty after a little wear and tear. Nothing is too precious. If you're designing a home intended to grow and change with you, then imperfection has to be a part of it."

A space to call home. The Wave Residence, designed by Winnie Tam of Fourteen a.m. Image credits: Edvina Bruzas.

The method

In dissecting and designing her own lifestyle, Winnie learned the value of connection with her clients. To begin a project, Winnie must first understand her client's lifestyle—from morning to night, what do they do? Winnie refers to this step of the process as the Winnowing—a meticulous method of separating chaff from grain but in this case, a one-hour-long, face-to-face meeting used to sift through a client's lifestyle to find useful materials. Winnie realised that each step of her design process could be likened to a method of working the land and felt that referring to her process in this way felt less cold and unbending. "I never say: 'This is what we decided at the beginning and that's how we have to move forward.' It's much more forward-thinking and flexible. I allow the design a life of its own rather than forcing a manmade outcome. It's about a home being grown in an organic process." After the Winnowing, a design enters the Nursery—a delicate process of tending to the initial idea and allowing it to grow. Once the idea is fully formed it undergoes Pruning—a refined approach to tweaking and tailoring. "Pruning allows me to see design in a different way, a design is something organic that you shape with love and care." After that, the build commences and once complete, Winnie provides the necessary AfterCare.

Delicate details. The Beaux Arts House, designed by Fourteen a.m. Image credits: Boy Called Ben.

Winnie acknowledges that her method is not suitable for everyone. "If you're not into this way of thinking, you might think that I'm crazy." Those who do seek out Winnie's services have a natural appreciation for beauty and a willingness to embrace the process. In other words, "They're ready for the journey." Winnie can play the chameleon, stepping into her client's shoes in order to see the space through their lens and design accordingly but if a client's mindset is too foreign from her own, Winnie would rather refer them to a designer who can provide a more suitable service. "As designers, we design lifestyles. And so it is important that our visions for that align. You live in a home and without the action of living there, without your journey of being there, the home is redundant."

Truly mindful design, must be conscious of the experience delivered not solely the finished product. Winnie conducts herself as a designer with this in mind. Designers approach a project brimming with ideas and preferences and naturally, Winnie is not immune to this. "Of course, I am inclined to have preferences but I want my relationship with my client to be a very mindful one, where I understand who they are and put that ahead of my own tastes. Especially when it comes to residential design, the design is as much the client's as it is mine." Ultimately Winnie strives for a design that truly embodies her client, and that means being unselfish. "You can't be possessive about a design being 'yours'. Your client is the one who lives there, and they should want to live there."

Defining a sanctuary

Winnie reaches the conclusion that her signature style cannot be defined by something physical. It is her ethos that leaves a mark: the commitment to bringing appreciation and gratitude to our lives and harnessing the healing power of nature. Winnie's current vehicle for promoting her ethos is interior design, but their is always the possibility to translate that same message via a new creative medium in the future. Winnie explains, "I believe in constant evolution, and I still see so much potential for refinement within my process. I hope that my process can constantly evolve and improve and I learn more from each project and client."

Though Fourteen a.m., at present, focuses on residential interiors, Winnie makes it clear that a city sanctuary is not limited to a space for living. There are different moments of stillness and connection scattered around a city. Winnie explains, "A coffee shop, an office, or a hotel. It's the feeling of a space rather than its typology." In fact, a sanctuary does not have to be a physical space at all. One could find sanctuary in a dress, a book, or a piece of art.

For Winnie, the challenge is never a lack of ideas but overcoming boundaries imposed by her technical understanding. "If I can, I want to design everything. I think many designers share the feeling that creativity does not have a finishing line. Creative people have a common desire to create beautiful things because, when we look at existing beautiful things, we gain a certain gratitude from them. We create because we want to gift the gratitude back.”

A city sanctuary has no design manual; it is about the way the design makes you feel. "It's an ethos, a lifestyle. I want Fourteen a.m. to be something that can be integrated into our everyday life and our mindset."