Kate Watson-Smyth

Kate Watson-Smyth is an interiors journalist, co-host of The Great Indoors podcast, best-selling author, and the owner of the UK’s number one interior blog. With over 20 years of experience writing for national newspapers, Kate is a gifted journalist who can speak proficiently on properties, interiors, and design.

Kate began her career as a news reporter for the Daily Telegraph and The Guardian. She then spent 15 years working at The Independent where she began writing about properties. As a freelance writer, Katie writes articles for leading newspapers including the Daily Mail and more frequently for The Financial Times. In 2013 she was awarded Lifestyle/Interiors writer of the year at the Property Press Awards hosted by the Financial Times.

Writer of The Sunday Times Home top 10 Interiors blog, The Mad House, Katie was inspired by her own experience renovating two dingy rental flats in 2010, using a modern rustic style of interior design. The purpose of the blog is to inspire people to decorate their homes in an innovative and visually stunning manner.

Displaying flair and creativity, her blog has been featured in Living etc, The Wall Street Journal and Herat Home magazine and has won Vuelio no 1 UK Interiors Blog. It was also awarded the Amara Interior Blog Awards Best Design Inspiration Blog.

Alongside Sophie Robinson, Katie is the co-host of The Great Indoors podcast, speaking on several interior design related topics. The podcast has featured distinguished guests, including Pearl Lowe, Fearne Cotton, Jay Blades and Rachel Khoo.

Their Ethnic Minority episode, where they highlighted issues affecting ethnic minorities in interior design, was their most-viewed episode and has led to the creation of the Design for Diversity Pledge, launched with Rukmini Patel.

As an accomplished writer, Katie has written several best selling books providing inspiration and advice on how to decorate homes. The books include Mad About the House: How to Decorate Your Home with Style, Mad About the House: 101 Interior Design Answers and Shades of Grey. She is also releasing a new book in 2023 called The Way We Live Now.

Conscious about the environmental impacts of renovations, Katie launched the Do Less Harm campaign where she encourages sustainable living and identifies businesses who genuinely try to reduce their impact. Creating a list on her blog, she encourages her readers to purchase from those businesses.

As a highly respected writer, She has worked with leading brands including Neptune, Original BTC, John Cullen Lighting, Alternative Flooring, John Lewis, and H&M. Kate Watson-Smyth is an expert with a wealth of knowledge on interior design and can deliver articulate and inspiring speeches.