I’ve been thinking about interiors for as long as I can remember.
I grew up in the UK, surrounded by beautiful old buildings, interesting architecture and plenty of history. At home, we watched renovation shows like DIY SOS, Changing Rooms and 60 Minute Makeover, and some of my favourite childhood memories include helping my mum redecorate my bedroom. I still remember the excitement of choosing new bedding from those mail-order catalogues we had in the 90s and early 2000s.
I suppose I never really grew out of it.
At 20 years old, I moved over to Australia, where my favourite show became “The Block” and I got to experience living in modern Australian homes, with much more space and open concepts than our small British homes. I’ve also learnt a lot about how the orientation of the house can affect how comfortable the house is year round in our hot climate.
Eventually, I went on study Interior Design and property styling and was lucky enough to work on a number of virtual design projects. I also learnt a lot the hard way prior to having my qualification when we built our first home, oh, how much I would have changed if I could go back, but you don’t know what you don’t know!
Then there’s the slightly unusual perspective I’ve gained from working in housekeeping and cleaning, and it actually worked out to be one of the best things I did. I’ve spent time inside all sorts of homes, old homes with character, everyday family homes and some very large luxury properties. When you’re actually working inside a home, you notice things you would have never previously thought about.
You notice how people really use their home, where clutter collects and how sometimes those stunning designs, trends or materials you thought were great look amazing but are totally impractical for everyday life.
These days, I’m not working in the interior design space, and I really miss it.
So, Thinking Interiors is my outlet.
A place to document all the things I’ve learnt, beyond the qualification: the things I find myself thinking about when it comes to homes, design, decorating, functionality, renovations and the little details that can make a house feel brilliant or completely wrong.
I’ve also just bought another family home which has a few things we’d like to change, so I’ll be sharing that journey too.
This isn’t a blog about perfect homes or having all the right answers. It’s simply a place to share the things I notice, the things I’m learning, the things I get wrong, and the things I can’t help but have an opinion about.
Because after all these years, I’m still thinking about interiors.
Jade x