A home as individual as you

People say the cobbler’s children have no shoes - that people who work in a particular field might neglect it for themselves. That is so not the case for me. It’s really important for me to feel good in my home.

Am I constantly looking to change stuff? It’s more that I see it as my playground. I can try out ideas, experiment with my love of pattern and colour.

I am constantly researching projects for others, and every now and then I’ll get a flash of inspiration about, say, my teenager’s bedroom. Or the green-eyed monster pops up and I think I really want to do that too! It works both ways: my work changes the way I feel about my home and what I feel about my home influences my work.

My home is filled with things that tell a story about someone I know or a place I have been, or a colour that makes me feel good. It’s all about joy!

How I think about my home - and my clients’ homes, too – is, yes, you can fill a room full of new stuff, but it will feel soulless. Of course style is important, but my home is filled with things that tell a story about someone I know or a place I have been or a colour that makes me feel good. It’s all about joy!

A home shouldn’t be a bland exercise in ticking the latest design boxes. Your home should be full of YOU.

I recently designed a home for a lovely couple. We bought some gorgeous new pieces but my favourite part of the entire build came after the right shelving and big bits of furniture were all in place where we’d planned. The best bit was getting all of their things out and styling the room, in a way that told their story and was completely theirs. They loved, it, and for me that is the most joyful thing.

It should be all about the client; I’m the conduit, helping the client bring their ideas into fruition and bringing in layers of interest.

The designer’s job is to help the client project their personality and their ideas. If a client has an idea, and doesn’t know how to achieve it, then that’s where a good designer comes in. It should be all about the client; I’m the conduit, helping the client bring their ideas into fruition and bringing in layers of interest.

It’s a little bit like being a psychologist. I walk into a home, and I can spot the difficulties straight away. Not just with the space but how people are in that space, as individuals and as a group, how comfortable they are, how mad their dogs are, how crazy their kids are, whether they have too much room and can’t fill it, or are spilling out and need more room. If it’s working for them or not.

You have to be able to trust your designer. It’s important to get this simple message across, it’s all about you, about how you live, about how you feel. What you want. I bring the extra layers of stuff you could have never imagined.