This week we wanted to talk about a very special friend and fellow designer, William Yeoward, who sadly passed away last week after a courageous battle against cancer. His contribution to the design world will not be forgotten.

In 2017, William launched his charity Screw Cancer. It was a privilege for us to host the launch party at Ham Yard Hotel and what a party it was! The bowling alley, The Croc dance floor and Dive Bar were jam packed. There was live music, magicians and a tattoo parlour…William knew how to have fun and raised over half a million pounds that evening.

William’s fabulous designs have been an inspiration to us for many years. His fabrics can be seen in many of our hotels.

The Whitby Suite at The Whitby Hotel in New York is an ode to William Yeoward and his passion for blue and white. The curtains in the North end of the drawing room are William Yeoward’s ‘Saphia’ fabric and the rug is also one of his designs.

In the south end of the room, William Yeoward’s ‘Panarae Marine’ fabric from his Astasia collection covers two of our Pollyanna armchairs. It is a textural jute cotton weave with a beautiful depth of colour, adding another rich shade of blue to the scheme.

In our two bedroom suite at Charlotte Street Hotel, his ‘Khalana Brick’ fabric makes a bold statement lining the walls of the entrance to the suite.

In Room 403 at The Whitby Hotel, almost every fabric is by William Yeoward. The statement headboard is covered in his ‘Astasia’ fabric in ochre, the armchair is covered in his smart stripe and even the bed valance is William Yeoward’s ‘Panarea’ fabric in ochre.

Finally, in room 901 at Crosby Street Hotel in New York, the whole scheme is based on William’s beautiful ‘Malati’ fabric.

This fabric is used on the curtains, with playful pomegranates dancing across the room on to the sofa scatter cushions. We loved the motif so much that we increased the scale of the pomegranate and stitched them onto our floral shaped headboard.

We could speak forever about William and his remarkable talent; we will be reminded of him and his brilliance everywhere we look at Firmdale Hotels.

His legacy will continue and will never be forgotten.