RECLINING on a sofa with a cup of freshly-brewed coffee while watching a movie is all part of the home-from-home charm at Ilkley Cinema.

The independent picture house opened in the town last year and, with sink-into cushions, and a waitress service, it offers a cosy yet stylish alternative to soulless multiplexes.

The cinema’s award-winning design was by Ilkley-based interior designer Bess Sturman, who left a career in law to pursue her creative passion. Bess started out as a discrimination lawyer for Leeds firm Addleshaw Goddard, before moving into a senior role at Bupa. After having her second child, she decided to leave the corporate world and focus on interior design.

Since qualifying through the internationally-acclaimed Interior Design Institute of Covent Garden, she hasn’t looked back. Now a mum-of-three, Bess runs her own business, Sturman & Co. She has been commissioned by the BBC to ‘make a house a home’ for a prime-time makeover show and been listed as one of the UK’s best designers.

Her designs include the striking boutique-style interior for Ilkley Cinema, which won the Ilkley Civic Society Annual Award for the design and conservation of an historic building.

The 56-seat cinema opened in 2015 as the smallest 4k resolution cinema in Europe and is now one of Ilkley’s most popular attractions. It was inspired by a chance visit to a small boutique cinema on the other side of the world. Property consultant John Tate and his wife visited the venue while on holiday in New Zealand and, realising the potential for a similar venture back home, put a plan into action. He and co-founder John Hewitt took on former nightclub premises in Ilkley and, despite no experience of working in the film industry, opened Ilkley’s first permanent, commercial cinema for more than 40 years.

“My brief was that it needed to be more comfortable than a typical multiplex, offering an intimate, boutique environment,” says Bess. “One of the co-owners had been inspired by a cinema in New Zealand, so I looked at cool independent venues around the world and tried to bring a little urban style to the edge of the Dales. The finishes I chose balanced factory-inspired elements like raw brick against luxurious velvets on bespoke sofas, both of which reference our strong textiles heritage in different ways.

“Ilkley is restaurant heaven and has a very discerning crowd, so it was exciting to create somewhere that feels personal and special to the town. I particularly enjoyed seeing this through in the artwork, with ‘Hollywood’, ‘Bollywood’ ‘Ilkley’ time zone clocks and the occasional film quote. My design aim was for the building to start a conversation with each visitor as soon as they walk in the door, and make people feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible.

“Hearing how much people of all generations love that space is one of the most satisfying elements of my career so far.”

Bess's love of decorating began in her early teens. “I was an artistic child. I started painting and decorating as a holiday job while at university,” she says. “I enjoyed my work as a discrimination lawyer, and filled whatever spare time I had feeding my passion for architecture and interiors through travel and property development.

“By 2010 I’d had two of my three children and was commuting to Bupa in London during the week. It just wasn’t working for my family. It felt like the right time to fulfil a long-held dream and I began my diploma in interior design.

“I loved studying when the babies were asleep and I’ve always had an open attitude to learning new practical skills. I want to understand exactly how things are done and I’ve never been afraid of getting my hands dirty - I’ve plumbed a full bathroom myself over a weekend and knocked out an internal wall to create an open-plan dining room. It makes me smile when people ask if I make cushions!”

In 2011 Bess launched her interior design business from her Ilkley home. “I was able to apply the same detail-led approach I’d learned through my legal and management careers to a business that sometimes struggles with its image,” she explains. “I wanted to create a top-of-the-range service where value is in the actual design. I didn’t want to be compromised by which suppliers I was tied to, but wanted to share my knowledge of interiors to help clients shop anywhere to create their dream space.

“Being involved at such a hands-on level helps me to manage projects. I’ve learned to speak the language of the trade contractors and have a detailed understanding of exactly what they’re doing.”

When it comes to interiors, Bess takes an empowering approach. “It’s about helping a client express their personality in their home or business and passing on my secret formulas for how to create great spaces themselves,” she says.

Bess has designed more than 150 rooms as well as commercial projects. She has also created striking, contemporary offices for firms including accountants and lawyers.

The residential side keeps Bess happy in a different way. “I love getting to know clients and I love how excited they are when I leave them with a clear direction of what to do with their homes,” she says. “Being stylish isn’t about having a big budget, but a process of curating the right items. I help clients shop from the high street or use vintage items, just as often as we buy and design a bespoke investment piece. Our meetings almost always lead to same-day emails updating me with what they’ve already done towards making the room happen.

“I’m proud to make every room I work on different from the last. When paint fashions mean I have several clients requesting the same colour within months of each other, I see this as an exciting challenge.”

Apart from experience in interiors and an eye for aesthetics, Bess says the most important skill a designer can have is listening. “Without doing this, I can’t help a client express their personality in their home or business,” she says, adding: “Conflict resolution skills gathered through my time as a lawyer also helps at times!”

So what’s next? “My dream project would be a hotel or ski chalet - I’d love to create something really individual within each bedroom of a Yorkshire hotel or a create something different from the typical clichéd chalet,” says Bess.

* See Bess’s website at Sturmanco.com