Interior designer who worked with the Beckhams now thriving with own business

Lee McNichol has had a very successful career since graduating from Northumbria University in 2010

15:22, 06 Apr 2026Updated 15:22, 06 Apr 2026

An interior designer from here in the North East, who has worked on projects with the likes of Boy George and the Beckhams, is now thriving with his own business. Since graduating from Northumbria University in 2010, Lee McNichol, from Whitley Bay, has enjoyed a very successful career.

After being down in London for 15 years, Lee, who owns and runs Studio Sixty7 with his partner Jose Rivero, is thinking about moving back to the region. This is possible because of the flexibility of the way he can now work, as he was able to make a name for himself in the industry with Kelly Hoppen.

On this, he said: “I was always interested in patterns and design, and studying at Northumbria, we put on an event which showed off our work in London. I won an award for being an up and coming designer, and Kelly took notice and offered me an internship, which just kept getting extended after that.

“When I got a full-time position, I worked my way for 13 years from junior designer to creative director, acting as Kelly’s right hand for a lot of her projects. Going from a support role and gaining more responsibility as I got more experienced, until I was running 18-20 projects in one go, set me up perfectly for what I’m doing.”

It was during the years working for Kelly that Lee worked on incredible international projects, as well as helping celebrities like the Beckhams with their interior design needs. However, it was singer and Culture Club frontman Boy George who he found to be a particularly amazing client.

He continued: “When we were doing the project for Boy George, I was running the whole thing, so had a lot of contact, and he was such a good, genuine person. It was a wonderful experience, especially with someone like George, who is a creative himself, so I felt like we were on the same wavelength.

“I’d send him things to get his take on them and sometimes he messages even now years on to check in on how I’m doing, which is really lovely. I’ve been to see him a few times too, he is just such a cool guy, and it’s so great that this career has meant I got to meet him.”

When it comes to taking the leap into his own business with Jose back in 2022, Lee felt like he needed a change after working in the same place for so long, and then he founded Studio Sixty7, with things going from strength to strength ever since then.

Lee added: “I felt like I was at a place where I couldn’t really progress any further, and working with Kelly was an amazing way to learn everything I need to know. A client approached us and it went from there really, and I was used to the travel so that didn’t take much of an adjustment.

“The best change is that I can do everything on my own time, and we have already been part of amazing projects like working on the Sun Siyam resorts in the Maldives, and our award-winning work on a resort in Sri Lanka. I would love to open a small studio up here in the North East, and help students who are in the same position I was, to give back a bit.

“The region has changed so much from when I was last here, but it has been great to see how the North East has been developed a lot. My life is just random really, that’s how I describe it, and if that leads me to being back home here in the region then that would be amazing.”

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