Celebrating Local Artisans & Ethical Luxury With Dee Gibson

Dee Gibson is a British-Sri Lankan interior designer, avid traveller and first-time hotelier. She is as passionate about craftsmanship, antiques and sustainable design as she is about making a positive social impact through her work. Dee founded Kalukanda House, a private, luxury villa in Weligama on Sri Lanka’s south coast and rents the property to travellers for exclusive use, providing them with a relaxing, soul-nourishing break which combines slow, conscious and luxurious travel experiences. Shortlisted by Hip Hotels in their ‘top 5 slow destinations for 2020’, Kalukanda House is a design-led destination that focuses on experiences and has a strong focus on social responsibility.

Having lived in Sri Lanka during her childhood before returning with a family of her own, Dee is heavily influenced by the colours, textures, materials and fixtures used in Asian art and design. Ethical luxury underpins how Dee runs Kalukanda House, combining luxury services and actively contributing in a socio-economic way back into communities in Sri Lanka. The designers she showcases throughout the villa are friends who she admires for their thoughtful, responsible approach to designing and creating.

In a world where disposable, mass-manufactured goods are often churned out at the expense of workers’ health and safety and the wellbeing of our planet, having something which is crafted with care, holds a unique story behind it, and is fairly sourced, is a luxury in itself. Purchasing these items brings value to the creators as well as ourselves as the owners.

Our homes are a place to feel comfortable and secure. The way they look and feel is in many ways a reflection of our inner selves, and we want the items we fill them with to communicate our personal identities. We want them to tell a story and be a talking point, particularly when inviting guests into our interior spaces.

Artisan-made products can have beautiful imperfections, as the materials and traditional production methods used to create them tend to be natural and sustainable. They are often driven and dictated by nature, which is beautifully imperfect. For example, the way in which wood ages or leather darkens and softens with time.