I hate to think of how many people have seen me cry and wail on telly!
I had never done anything like that before. I’d obsessed over my own home of course. And then, a bit bored one winter evening, I applied for the Great Interior Design Challenge and the next thing I knew I was through.
Every step of the way I kept saying to myself, I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to be on telly. But I knew I needed a challenge. And once I decided to say yes to it I just threw myself into it. Once I commit to something I’m 100% in!
My aim was just to take it as far as I could possibly take it and be happy with that. So I was stunned when I won.
Once I decided to say yes to it I just threw myself into it. Once I commit to something I’m 100% in!
So what was it like? I had years of experience as a landscape designer under my belt, but I had no idea what to expect. I was used to the pressure and working with clients, the design process, but not to being filmed while doing it.
But I’m very practical, happy to skip-dive, load my car up and trundle off on an adventure, so I was really tooled up for the challenge. Perhaps that’s why I won?
Being on the programme wasn’t the same as real-life designing, but it was a fantastic initiation by fire and a great introduction to the interior design world. And I met some great people.
It was after the Great Interior Design Challenge was over that I really felt the difference. It led me to design a boutique hotel in Mallorca, and other jobs that allowed me to cut my teeth as in interior designer. When the series went out on Netflix, I had people approach me from abroad, leading me into the world of remote design. It gave me the opportunity to build trade relationships and collaborations, working entirely on interiors for a while, building up my little black book of resources.