With her latest collection launching this week, a new business in the pipeline, a novel to finish and two young daughters to look after, Tabitha Webb rarely has time to put her feet up.
The designer is a bundle of energy with an impressive work ethic. It has helped her build a successful brand that counts the Princess of Wales and her sister Pippa Middleton – as well as celebrities including Holly Willoughby, Davina McCall, Claudia Winkleman and Fearne Cotton – among its fans.
CHANGE OF SCENE
Recently, however, Tabitha has discovered the joys of switching off after she and her geologist husband Gavin Ferrar bought a holiday home in his native South Africa. And while the task of decorating and furnishing the beachside property has kept her busy, she is finally reaping the rewards.
"I’m definitely more relaxed here," Tabitha says, inviting HELLO! into her bolthole for this exclusive photoshoot and interview. "I can come and check out of life for a few weeks and forget about the things I might usually worry about, like how many followers I’ve got on Instagram or which celebrity wore my clothes and who wore somebody else’s.
"And it’s so nice to know the kids have been outside surfing or kayaking instead of on a screen."
Tabitha, 48, and Gavin, 54, bought the five-bedroom house in Plettenberg Bay on the Western Cape 18 months ago, snapping it up after looking around it once. A three-minute walk from the beach, it is the perfect retreat to escape the British winter. The couple spent Christmas and New Year there, together with daughters Betsey, 12, and Primrose, five, and a succession of family members.
"We’ve been coming down here every Christmas for the past ten years or so and we always said if we saw somewhere we loved, we’d buy it,” Tabitha says. “When we saw this place, we just fell in love with it."
As the house was newly built, it didn’t require any renovation, so Tabitha instead turned her creative eye to finding the furniture and fittings that would create an eclectic living space in tune with her signature bold prints, use of colour and chevron designs.
BUCKING THE TREND
"The style is very Cape Dutch, so it’s lovely and homely and I wanted to create a nice beach-cottage feel while still using lovely fabrics. A lot of South African houses are very big, modern and white, but the whole beige-and-grey thing doesn’t work for me so I’ve mixed lots of different prints and colours, which really does freak some people out.
"I just wanted it to feel bright and happy and airy; somewhere you can be comfortable sitting in front of the fire or on the veranda with a glass of wine. I very much wanted a chilled beach/surfer vibe, which I think we’ve nailed."
LONG-DISTANCE DESIGN
To create their dream home, which they plan to rent out on luxury rental agency Perfect Hideaways when they’re not there, Tabitha enlisted the help of local company Pezula Interiors over months of long-distance phone calls.
"It was a massive project and quite complicated doing it from another country with a woman you’ve never met in a house you’ve looked around once, but it worked.
"It’s quite an eye-opener when you’ve got a totally empty house to fill with every single thing you need, down to a corkscrew. But it’s also nice to be in a house where everything is where it’s meant to be."
Bright and spacious, the house is filled with natural materials, from the wooden beams on the vaulted ceilings to the rattan lampshades and white-painted wooden sticks that form the kitchen cabinet doors.
The cosy living room is dominated by a stone-clad fireplace, while the soft furnishings are a mix of calm, neutral tones and bright, mismatched cushions and throws. Painted surfboards on the wall add to the beach-house vibe, while the beds, featuring upholstered headboards, are made up with Tabitha’s own-brand linen.
She adds: "I shipped over Christopher Farr and Andrew Martin fabrics from the UK, but have also picked up lots of African pieces – furniture from vintage shops, art from the local markets and beaded mirrors, candlesticks and cake stands from craftsmen who sell things at the side of the road. I bought the kitchen chairs from a cheap online shop and painted them green to add a splash of colour. It’s been a real gathering of things we love as we’ve gone along and I can finally say that, apart from a few empty bookshelves, it’s pretty much done."
In the warmer months, Tabitha and her family spend most of their time outside on the large, covered veranda, which has a big wooden dining table for entertaining. There’s also a swimming pool bordered by decking and tropical shrubbery.
"I love the idea of the kids making memories here. My husband has lots of local mates here and now the girls have friends, too. We’re very lucky to have a life that’s different to our lives in the UK. Gav and Betsey love surfing and I like to have a walk to the beach every day."
BUSY TIMES AHEAD
The beach was the photoshoot location for the campaign for Tabitha’s new Coastal Cowgirl collection of knitwear and cashmere bombers featuring slogans such as "Beach, wine, skinny dip, bonfire" and "Cowgirls live forever".
She’s also joined forces with Jenni Falconer’s actor and businessman husband James Midgeley to launch Band of Sundays, an underwear subscription business, in the spring. "I don’t think I ever replace my pants, and my knicker drawer is so bad, which I think is often the case when you’re older and married," she says.
"These will be everyday cotton knickers, either in plain colours or with some of my prints, and you can sign up to get a pair as often as every month."
As well as this, after her debut novel No Regrets in 2020, she is busy finishing her second – a romance about a "hot farmer" and the woman who moves from the city to be with him.
"I’m really enjoying writing it, but I’ve been told there’s not enough sex in it so I’m working on that,” she says, adding with a laugh: "I’m probably better at writing sex than I am at anything else."
Tabitha’s celebrity friends have been a huge support as her business has evolved and grown – Pippa even collaborated with her in 2015 to design a dress and scarf to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.
"I met Pippa through friends and she’s wonderful, and I think [she and Kate] look great in the clothes," she says. "I’ve got such a nice supportive network of people, like Vogue Williams, Davina McCall, Holly, Fearne and Claudia, who support my brand.
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"I feel like I’ve kind of grown up with them; they’re all legends and they’re so sweet. Everyone supports each other, which is so nice. I feel very lucky."
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Tabitha’s new knitwear collection is available at tabithawebb.co.uk. To register at Band of Sundays, visit bandofsundays.co.uk.