At the moment I’m 100% focused on the conversion of my Summer House into my studio and possible part time Airbnb space. The refurbished summer house will be self sufficient with it’s own bathroom, kitchen and bedroom space (if I choose to put a bed in there), if not, then office/ workshop space.

It’s all feeling rather rushed as at the last minute the builder said he can fit me in – and I have nothing planned.

So I have to act quick, and firstly I’m focusing on my bathroom. So in the bathroom will be a walk in shower, eco toilet – I’ll come to that in another post and a small basin.

I’ve decided my colour palette will be monochromatic – simple black and white. I was going to add brass taps to the mix, but I’m struggling to find anything on a short lead time that I like. Will I settle for chrome? Or maybe I can find something in matt black? Do you know of any drop dead gorgeous brass taps I can get here in the UK on a short lead time?

Anyway, to help you visualise, here’s my floor plan for the summerhouse, and in particular the bathroom.

Summer house Floor plan

You can see that the bathroom is tiny. I’m not going to try any magical tricks to make it feel big like paint the walls light so that light bounces all around. At the moment, there’s no natural light in there to bounce around (but I might add in a window so that it doesn’t feel too claustrophobic and to help remove any nasty odours if you know what I mean!). Colour-wise though, I’m going to go moody in there on the walls although I’ll be keeping the wall tiles around the shower light and bright.

The basin is 400mm wide (not that I’ve ordered it yet – but it will be). So the bathroom mirror has to be the same width (ish).

I’ve decided that I’m going for either a black or brass framed bathroom mirror and my budget on this is hugely important as I don’t have any spare funds. I’m literally selling possessions on eBay to fund this.

So here is my top 5 choice of bathroom mirrors. Please let me know which one you like best?

1. Black framed bathroom mirror with shelf – Wayfair.co.uk £144.25
2. Rusty Metal round bathroom mirror – Maison Du Monde £59
3. Graham and Green £395 – too expensive for me – but I like this style, where can I get something for a fraction of the price?
4. Westelm £149 mixture of mirror and metals
5. black and gold bathroom mirror – Made.com £99

Personally, I think my favourite is the Made.com one. What do you think?

In my next post I’ll show you my whole mood board for the bathroom. Please subscribe if you don’t want to miss out on the transformation.

Since moving to West Sussex, one of my biggest concerns is that it would take me a while for my Interior Design business to get up and running. In the meantime, what would I do? Sure I could launch myself into doing up our newly acquired home, and definitely I could get stuck into the huge garden as the weeds are not going to walk out of there on their own (although I am secretly hoping that is a possibility or that the garden cleaning fairies really do exist). But I’m a people person and I thrive on chatting to people, nosing around in their homes, which is one of the biggest positives to being an Interior Designer and helping them transform their homes.

So, I launched my online Interior Design service, which is starting to do well – surprisingly since I need to do a bit more marketing other than planting it on my website and hoping for the best.

Anyway my clients are really happy with the results, which is a bonus of course. One thing that has really come to light is that my clients are really surprised at the value cushions that are available through high street shops. I like to throw a few of these in here and there to show that you can mix it up when it comes to sourcing your accessories.

So, I’ve listed the 10 most popular from my online design service – some of them are my go to cushions for a variety of schemes. And because they are so reasonably priced – then you don’t even feel guilty to buying more than you need whilst also giving you the chance to experiment with trends or try something a little crazy.

I’m sure there are so many more on the market, but here goes.

Here are the links of where to get them from

• eBay £4.29
• Melanie Lissack Interiors (Queen of DIY Interior Design – click the link to see how Melanie makes this for under a tenner)
• Very.co.uk – this is £12 but it’s includes because you can buy 3 and pay for 2
• Next Home £6
• The Range £6
• George at Asda £2 – yes – can you believe it.
• H&M home £6.99
• Le redoute £8
• Esty.com £8
• Sainsburys £10

Don’t forget, with cushions it’s all about adding texture, pops of colour and perhaps even tying all the colours in the room together.

If you want some inspiration on how to style with cushions, then check out this little montage from some of my favourite instahomes where you can see some of these cushions in action.

From left to right

Patirobins, Artynads, Lisa Dawson, Kelldon, Lou Watkins, Alex Crabtree, Dee Campling, Blissfully Eclectic, Nicola Broughton

I hope you found this a little bit useful and that you can see through the bargains that can be had, then it’s not too expensive to experiment and build up your cushion collection / obsession. Of course, most of them end up on the floor when you need to sit down, but hey ho, at least your pet will have something comfy to perch their posterior on too.

When it comes to the colour of walls in your home, there are 2, nah, scratch that, at least 3 types of people in this world (according to my limited thinking at the moment, it’s 5am in the morning and my brain is not fully engaged as yet).

1) Those that love and embrace magnolia and paint it all over their walls (i.e. the uneducated property developers and landlords who think Magnolia is the perfect backdrop for their uninspiring refurbishment),

2) Those that loathe this insipid colour and fight tooth and nail to rid it from their lives and their homes, and

3) lastly those poor old souls that move into rented accommodation and cannot repaint or cover up the Magnolia walls they have been left with.

I’m actually a little ashamed to say I loathe Magnolia though, because the plant, shrub, whatever it is, is the most adorable of flowers with a fabulous scent, and only flowers for a very short time (in spring).

Anyway, I digress.

I recently moved into a house – and guess what. I’m living in a sea of magnolia (along with some other insipid and uninspiring colours) and the question is, What do I do about it?

I’m waiting waiting waiting (like forever) for the builders to come in and start ripping the house apart, but before that happens should I carry on living with Magnolia? Surely it doesn’t make sense to paint over it with the impending building work looming? I don’t have that much time and money for a start.

So – in order to TRY and live with it – here are my suggestions.

1. Create a gallery wall to cover up the offending colour. This one literally took my 1 hour to do. I laid all the pics on the floor first. Faffed a bit – then hammered mostly nails into the wall and hey presto. When I had my house warming party everyone said, ” I love what you’ve done with the house – you’ve really made it your own” which is better than them saying ” what’s with the magnolia walls Jane – I thought you would have painted over these straight away”.
   

   Don’t look at the wall colour. Nooooooooo

   I’ve just realised, for all tenants out there, banging in a nail or too amounts to rental suicide and you can’t even put blue tac on the walls these days. Fear not. Have you heard of 3M Command Strips. They are a tenant’s best friend as they leave no mark when you remove them. Have a look on Youtube of how simple they are to use. 

2.  Hang one great big piece of FO art (sadly I don’t have one – but if I did – it would look like this)
   

   image: gallerydirect.com

3. Wear shades in the home. Adds an element of coolness to your attire. Even in Winter when it’s dark outside, one must look effortlessly chic!

4. Why not bring in an oversized plant. Wow – that could hide a good chunk of wall and the greenery will definitely take eyes off the magnolia.

Pic from Pinterest, David Lawrence, Hamptons House

5. Lastly – get the builders in much quicker than you’d hoped. Pay them extra, do whatever, but cover up that offending Magnolia asap.

As a footnote, if you’re reading this and you have Magnolia walls. Then you must be living in rented accommodation. If you’re not – and you’ve chosen to paint your home Magnolia – then shame on you. Do something about it now. My home is not going to be for the beige hearted and yours shouldn’t be either.

Bye for now and see you at my next rant. Jx

This is entitled my latest obsession, which is not quite true – I have been slightly obsessed for quite some time now with Lola and SiDney, but other demands on my time mean that I can’t visit as often as I’d like ……

8 months ago a fabulous new shop opened in up and coming Tooting, named after 2 little bunnies, Lola and SiDney and owned by fashion expert turned vintage retro collector, Phil Austin. Every 6 weeks Phil changes his window display, but the one below is the coolest so far.

Phil’s dreams and passion has turned into a fully fledged business and everyone who stumbles across the shop, which is a little off the beaten track, thinks they have stumbled across a rare gem.

The shop specialises in selling vintage, retro, kitsch, quirky and funky goods from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

This shop can’t fail to bring a smile to your face as soon as you walk in.

Let’s take a look at what’s on offer, bearing in mind that his stock changes rapidly – it’s a great excuse to go back weekly and see what’s new.

Check out ALL the glasses here – there’s something for everyone and every occasion.

Phil occasionally gets in unique furniture pieces which have been lovingly painted and distressed. The chair here, painted by Phil in his signature colour – can you guess what it is?

There’s so much packed in the shop, sometimes it’s difficult to see some of the hidden gems. What about the cute little mid century table peeping out there?

There is SO much to see and talk about in this fabulous shelving system made from simple crates. Personally I’m drawn to Rupert.

I was recently on the look out for a small stool to use as a bedside table, if only I’d have come here first – wow, such a range. I did buy something in this shot though – can you guess?

It’s like an Aladdin’s cave isn’t it. There is so much to see (and buy). In fact it wasn’t until I got back home and looked at the photos that I’d seen other items I wanted to go back and buy. I’m sure they won’t be there though.

How about these fabulous cases – so many to chose from. Not so sure about the rabbit though, don’t you think he looks a bit sinister?

And the owner Phil – where’s his mugshot I hear you ask. Well this is all I got!

Here’s the shops signature colour again. Do you know what it is? I thought it was Abigail Ahern’s Bowery Blue, which I think is discontinued now. Anyway – it’s not. In fact it is Wickes own Ocean Drive? Who’d have thought it.

I’m afraid there’s only one way to see the interiors genius who put this shop together, and that’s to pop to his shop. I dare you NOT to buy anything from Lola and SiDney. It’s impossible to go away empty handed.

Oh and by the way – one of the coolest things about this shop which I nearly forgot to mention – the prices are SOOOOOO affordable. No rip off London prices here. So what are you waiting for?

Check out their Facebook page here to keep up do date on some of their stock and to find where they are. Go visit soon – and when you do, tell Phil that Jane sent you. Happy shopping…….

Oh – here’s my mojo!!

Recently, it happened to me.

I didn’t see it coming! I’m not sure why it happened but it did.

I lost my mojo – I’m talking about my Interior Designer mojo. That special power that made me jump up every morning, attack all my goals with zest, use my superpowers to tackle anything and everything that stood in my way and design great useful, beautiful, functioning interiors.

Looking back I now understand why I lost it, but it can’t continue and I must carry on with what I believe in.

Why do we lose our Mojo?

I can’t answer that question for anyone but me, but I lost mine for a number of different reasons.

1. I was focused on something else – namely Project Managing a number of property developments.

2. I was tired, working long hours and not getting enough sleep. In a nutshell I was stressed. It was bad stress, not good stress.

3. I lost my confidence – I’m one of these people that need constant praise – and either I wasn’t getting it, or I didn’t believe what I was hearing.

4. Fear – in my case Fear of Failure. I was self employed and having to provide for my family. What if I couldn’t do it. What if I didn’t earn enough! It was because of this fear that I sought a job working for someone else – and then I really lost my mojo……. and I’d given into my fears.

How do we get our Mojo back?

It took me a good 5 months to realise that I’d lost my mojo. I knew something was different. Not right. My partner knew I was not right. Even my dad was worried about me – and that’s saying something. I started reading some really cool books, one of them – The War of Art is highly recommended and helped me conquer my demons. Anyway – here’s a small list (and I’m sure you can make a much bigger one) of how to get your mojo back.

1. Surround ourselves with like minded people. I am so fortunate that I have many friends in the business (and out of it) looking to give me help and support. They help me and consequently I help them – we all need to help each other constantly.

2. Get sleep and recharge your batteries. Need I say more. Oh yes I will  – exercise. The more I sleep the more I exercise. Not sure why it links up for me – but it does. I could also drop in eating healthy in this space. But I do eat healthily – if you count 1 chocolate snack a day as healthy. Well chocolate is NO MORE in my life. Good bye and good riddance you useless sugary waste of space.

3. Organise organise organise – I am developing my schedule for the next 3 months already and I’m feeling confident and organised.

4. Set short, medium and long term goals. This is so important and keeps you on the right track. Sometimes you might drift away from your pathway – but revisit those goals and keep going in the right direction.

5. Visualise success. This is key for me and I use visualisation in so many different areas of my life. I always say to clients how important it is to visualise a space – so I must take my own medicine. I know know what success looks like for me. It’s going to be lots of hard work – but I’m now up for the challenge.

So this is blog No1 of getting my mojo back. I’m not sure if anyone will even read it – but it’s made me feel better just writing it.