Morning Rituals, Chic Dressing, And The Perfect Sleeping Environment: 24 Hours With Kate Instone
The founder of interiors firm Blush International takes us through a day devoted to family,style and a clutter-free existence
5:00AM I am a great sleeper and I love to sleep. I am passionate about creating the optimal sleeping environment for both myself and my clients. Your bedroom shouldn’t have anything that distracts you from the task of sleeping. I learnt so much about the optimal bedroom when I designed Madonna’s sleeping chamber in her London home. She was passionate about creating the perfect sleeping environment. For me, that includes White Company linen sheets, which I have been using forever. I am naturally an early riser, I very rarely have lie-ins, my six-year-old son does not believe in them!
I am a great believer in rituals and my morning starts with my first ritual which is an hour-long yoga session. The first thing I do when I wake up is take a sip of water, roll out my yoga mat and Zoom my yoga teacher in India. I do half an hour of yoga and half an hour of Pranyama (yogic breathing). I then set my intentions for the day and I’m ready to go. I wake up my children – Poppy (13), Teddy (11) and George (6) – at 6:00AM, get them ready for school and join them for breakfast. I love my family time in the morning. That is when I get to catch up on all my children’s news.
After they have left for school, I do some dry body-brushing and then have a warm shower using Jo Malone Pomegranate body wash. I also use Shu Uemura Colour Lustre shampoo and conditioner. I finish my shower with a few minutes of cold-water drenching. Then I apply Nivea Q10 +Vitamin C firming body lotion. I find this really works and doesn’t stay greasy on my skin and then damage my clothes.
I head out for work at 8:00AM. It takes about 30 minutes for my driver to get me from my home in Al Barari to my office and that is when my day starts. As soon as I get in the car, I catch up on all my correspondence. In terms of what I wear, I try and dress elegantly with a bit of an edge. I tend to wear either trousers or a skirt, with a shirt and a fabulous blazer, accessorised with a Chanel necklace or two. I collect Chanel jackets and jewellery and Hermès bags. I prefer Birkins to Kellys as they work well as work/travel handbags.
I start my day at the office by catching up with my team and then I sit and plan my goals for the day with my directors Kalani and Suzette. There are 14 people in the office, we all sit together in an open-plan space so there is a lot of daily interaction. I’d say I am a focused and driven boss but I do love laughing with my team – you can’t expect people to be creative if they aren’t enjoying what they do.
There is nothing I don’t like about my job. I don’t look at what I do as a job, I look at it as my fun. I try to leave work by 6:00PM and when I get home I immediately change into my Olivia Von Halle track pants and sweatshirt. I then run downstairs to spend as much time as I can with the children before they need to go to bed. I prefer to spend weekday evenings with my family and I will only attend a social event if it’s for a friend or work-critical. If I do need to make an appearance, I turn to gowns by David Koma or Alex Perry, cocktail attire from Saint Laurent and evening suits by Alexander McQueen. And I know I can always rely on my Alaïa dresses. They can seamlessly take me from the office to an evening event. I just swap out my shoes and bag and I’m ready to go.
When I don’t have any after-hours commitments, I try and turn in by 9:30PM. Before bed I double-cleanse my face using La Mer facewash then Dr Barbara Sturm night cream. Once a week I sleep with Dr Barbara Sturm hydrating face mask. I always make sure to creep into the childrens’ rooms and kiss them good night. Next I’ll read a few pages of my book and then straight to bed. Right now I am reading The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, other than that I like to keep my bedroom uncluttered, I only have my book and a NEOM Organics sleep candle that I light whilst I’m reading, and the last thing I do before falling asleep is blow it out.
Compiled by Jessica Michault