John Lewis has appointed Theo Williams, former creative director at Habitat, to take a leading role in its home design team alongside existing design manager Mockie Harrison. The appointment underscores the department store’s commitment to drive its design credentials and its leading position in the UK home market.

Williams, who led the creative direction at Habitat for four years before joining John Lewis this week, will add his creative vision to John Lewis’s overall design strategy.

The role of design manager home will be split between Theo and Mockie Harrison, who has headed the design studio since 2004. Together they will develop John Lewis’s seasonal and home design trends. Mockie will continue to lead on the development of seasonal trends for the business, alongside the creation of designs for entertaining and dining, until her retirement in 2013. During this period, Theo will work on home trends and the development of furniture, lighting and 3D design for John Lewis.

Peter Ruis, director of buying and brand at John Lewis, said: “John Lewis has always been known for its fantastic home offer, but we want to give our customers more innovative and inspiring home design alongside the classic styles they love.

“Over the last seven years, Mockie Harrison has overseen a new era in creativity for John Lewis Home. Theo is a heavyweight in the design industry, and his appointment shows our continued commitment to design, and ensuring that we bring the very best home offer to our customers. In a tough home market, their joint creative approach, combined with astute commercial awareness, will be key in bringing this new vision to the entire business.”

John Lewis has recently revamped its in-store concept for home in its Stratford City shop, to showcase its new approach to home design. It includes inspiring, design-led interiors from brands such as Pedlars, statement lighting from brands such as Original BTC and Modernica, and designer collaborations which include Clements Ribeiro, James Joyce and Ptolemy Mann – all displayed against a backdrop of bold new room-sets.

Building on John Lewis’s home design service, which offers customers a design consultation in-store or at home, the Home Design Studio at Stratford will be an inspirational, creative space where customers can pick-up swatches and samples, browse interiors magazines and books, or speak to one of an interior design-qualified home designers.

The shop fit will be rolled out as part of John Lewis’s branch refurbishment programme and will appear in Cheadle, Southampton, Peter Jones and Reading.

Williams graduated in industrial design in Manchester and moved to Milan in 1991 where he worked for several other designers before starting his own studio. He has been art director at Lexon, Paris, creative director for products for the Japanese department store Mono Comme Cà, and design director for the fashion brand Mexx. His bathroom collection ‘Risma’ for Merati was selected for the ADI Design Index 2003/4, Compasso d’Oro 2004 and ‘best bathroom’ in the 2005 Wallpaper Design Awards, and he has also designed products for Alessi, Artemide and Danese.