Department store retailer John Lewis has announced the appointment of Charlotta Elgh as its first Director of Design for Home.

Charlotta is experienced in brand concept development, working with successful global lifestyle brands and having been responsible for developing over 1000 textile products for the global market. Her experience includes 14 years at Swedish furniture retailer IKEA and also founding and running an award-winning advertising agency.

Charlotta and her John Lewis design team will move away from multiple trends to introduce a new, pared back interior rulebook with two trends. The home trends have been halved and simplified into ‘Modern’ and ‘Classic’ expressions, each will offer customers furniture and accessories for their home and garden that will be affordable, achievable and unique in style.

The spring collection begins this step change, strengthening the assortment with the introduction of products with a signature design that are equally as strong on their own as they are in a room set. From upholstery created in British factories to heritage patterns reimagined from the archives, each product has the quality customers expect and undeniably John Lewis in identity. Charlotta and her team will continue to build on this new vision, integrating it into every product category from autumn.

Charlotta Elgh, Partner & Design Director for Home, said: “I am thrilled to join John Lewis and be part of such an iconic British brand. My vision for home is simple, I want to make it easy for customers to shop with us and identify their own style; whilst also ensuring we design for a number of different price points. Starting with spring we are moving forwards with two distinct trends that highlight and champion our heritage.

“My vision for every home product we sell, is that each and every design that comes from my team is iconically John Lewis – the attention to design details, the quality and the timeless style – means it is undeniably part of our range. You’ll see this beginning to come through in spring, with products such as the Blocky armchair and more will come later this year across the whole department.

“I want to simplify the interiors for our customers – making it stylish, accessible, functional and easy to shop. I think about it like a recipe card, for example when it comes to soft furnishings you start with a plain colour, layer on stripes and add in a graphic. I want to give our customers confidence to make these choices and discover their own unique style.”