91Èȱ¬

1. Who is your style hero?

Well apart from Celia Sawyer, who I did in fact follow as a designer before the show itself. I also have a lot of love for Kelly Hoppen’s interiors. I really like how she uses textures within her interiors in a modern ‘not too over the top’ way. I do like to take inspiration from other interior designers yet I feel it very important to put your own stamp on your designs so that you can be seen amongst the crowd.

2. If you had an unlimited budget to spend on your home what improvements would you make?

Ideally if I had an unlimited budget I would buy a house of my own! But right now due to renting it is hard to put my own stamp on it, as it’s not the type of layout I would have chosen if it were mine. That be said, I would love to triple the house in size! Add another six bedrooms, a huge kitchen diner and have the whole of downstairs completely open with bi-fold doors opening out onto the garden. Perfect!

3. Would you have the room you created in your own home?

Definitely! At first I was unsure on the room and debated whether to have the bathroom all grey with an orange stripe, however I decided to go crazy, push my own boundaries and I felt it came off a success! The bathroom was such a small space, which in all honestly did concern me at first but when it all started to come together it didn’t feel like the same room and felt so much bigger!

4. What did you learn from taking part in ‘Your 91Èȱ¬ In Their Hands’?

The experience was incredible and being able to design a room for a family I’d never met before, took on a whole new learning curve. It confirmed to me that this is the industry I want to be a part of and that I can be successful if I keep working hard at it! Whilst it was hard working with someone like Kirsty as her style is not one that I would personally like, there is a market out there for her designs and certain people would prefer her style to mine.

5. What is your golden rule when it comes to interior design?

My golden rule for designing a room is to analyse the space carefully and assess the space you have. The layout and placement of furniture plays a huge part in whether the room will be a successful design or not. It is so easy to get carried away with furniture and falling in love with different pieces and wanting them in your home but this can throw your whole design off course, so be careful!

6. What is your DIY tool that you just can’t live without?

The DIY tool that I couldn’t live with out, apart from my dad, would have to be a spirit level. Within my own personal design taste, I like for things to be linear and in straight lines. I often find myself straightening pictures in public areas and other people’s houses!

7. What is your biggest DIY achievement?

My biggest DIY achievement I would say so far are my up-cycled scaffolding planks that I have turned into shelving and a dining table. I think they look beautiful and give such an urban but modern feel to my home.

8. What’s your biggest DIY disaster?

I once wallpapered a wall finished and stepped back to see that it was completely upside down!

9. If you could design a room in any building in the world, what room would you design and why?

I’m going to say the Taj Mahal. It’s not somewhere I could ever see myself designing, however it would be a huge challenge, I’m all about throwing myself in at the deep end! It’s how you learn and overcome fears! It’s a beautiful building but could it cope with a modern take on the interior? Well maybe one day we shall find out!