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When you stumble across Jess’ Instagram page, you’ll immediately feel at home. As well as showcasing her beautiful home, her honest and approachable captions give such a realistic insight into life behind the photos. Jess has explained to me this feeling flows through the whole Instagram interiors community. When she joined the blogging world in 2018, her page was welcomed with open arms and the people she has met since have been consistently lovely and supportive.

Jess originally started her page to share the progress on her third home renovation (dealing with a seasoned pro couple here!) Mitchell and Jess initially intended to complete the renovation and move on but life had other ideas and, when little Jude came along, the couple felt it was a lovely family home to settle into. Throughout the house, Jess’ personal style is visible with quirky artwork, nik naks and geometric prints all coming together to give an effortlessly homely feel. I talked in a previous post about the difference between a temporary home and your ‘forever home’. For Jess, knowing that they are staying put for a while, has allowed her to experiment with a wider colour palette rather than playing it a safer with neutral tones – favourites when you’re trying to sell. With an addiction to interiors, regular room changes will be on the cards to feed the DIY and décor cravings now they are staying settled in the family pad!

When following these lovely renovations, one of my constant thoughts is who drives the vision and surely there must be a clash of two opinions? Thank you Jess for clarifying that behind each perfect Insta snapshot, there may be the odd dispute! ‘’We have definitely had some disagreements with decor. We have done our homes up to move on…. so always gone for relatively quick and easy solutions. Whereas I would love to take my time and go for more expensive options sometimes!’’

Personally, I am a sucker for kitchens – it is the heart of the home where everyone naturally congregates as a family or socially! This kitchen is a winner for me with the contrast of the classic shaker units and the rich wooden island unit. The contrasting wooden work top continuing down the sides really finishes it off. I immediately loved the splash back – only a little design feature but has a super stylish impact, showcasing Jess’s eye for detail. Open plan living is more popular than ever and this room – comprising the working kitchen area, laid back seating at the island, a more formal dining table and a cosy sofa area all against the beautiful back drop of bi-folding doors – has nailed it!

Bi-folding doors always get my seal of approval! Here they open up the room into the garden adding light all year round and valuable extra living space for summer days! It is refreshing to know even though the couple clearly have a natural flare for interiors, they too took to Instagram and Pinterest to get inspiration for their kitchen as well as having a sit down with a kitchen designer. They also shared that having their own builder to fit the kitchen gave them extra flexibility to shop around.

Jess’s favourite room to get stuck into was Jude’s nursery, I bet this was such an exciting time for the couple! A great opportunity to play around with children’s bits and bobs that you wouldn’t display anywhere else in the house. I love the lower painted walls paired with the feature wall decals above, again something a little different! The nursery even though clearly for a little one and is playful, still seems to showcase an elegance and link in with the rest of the property’s stylish interior. I think this is an important, I guess as parents when your little one’s get older your design influences can get lost in a more chaotic child’s bedroom!

Jess is also the champion behind #smallbizshelfie – a simple but effective idea encouraging fellow instagrammers to tag their own styled up shelves, with particular emphasis on recognising and promoting small businesses. Jess and her co-hosts then share their favourites with monthly prizes up for grabs. As a fellow small business owner, I love to support creative ventures and I’d encourage you all to share your own ‘shelfies’!

It has been a pleasure to get to know Jess. I hope you guys have enjoyed a little behind the scenes insight. If you’re looking for more inspiration, Jess has had her kitchen and bathroom featured in Style at Home magazine and Jude’s room will be in Home Style magazine in May. Keep your eyes peeled for the feature and enjoy the read, I know I will!

Interested in bi-fold Doors for your home? Get in touch with our specialist team at Hayley Windows.