Jess, husband Warren and their daughter Stevie, live in a historic hall they have been restoring for the past few years. They’ve worked hard to create a beautiful space to call home with many areas still to be renovated. With the holidays upon us, Jess is getting ready for summer visitors and finishing off their guest room. We catch up with Jess for a chat about her latest project.

See what Jess created for her daughter’s room

Q: How would you describe living through a renovation?
A: I think it’s universally agreed that renovating or building is a challenging experience, add a toddler into the mix and it could best be described as chaos! That said, the stress was far outweighed by the joy I felt from the process of designing, sourcing and overseeing such a huge transformation. I found it incredibly gratifying to see our dreams and creative ideas come to life after 5 years of planning.

Q: What do you enjoy most about designing a room?
A: I loved thinking about who would be spending time in the room and designing a space that would feel warm, luxurious and spacious.

Q: Where did your inspiration for the guest room come from?
A: I want our guests to feel completely comfortable and relaxed when they stay with us at the hall, so I took inspiration from the experiences in my own life where I have felt most at ease. One of these has been travelling around NZ and feeling at home and in awe of the natural beauty our beautiful country has to offer.

Q: How did you decide the colour palette?
A: To set a calm and grounding mood I chose to focus on an abundance of texture rather than colour, and I'm so pleased with how it came together. I used a gorgeous white quilt with detailed embroidery that feels luxurious and fresh. Then I added a soft tan stripe and waffle throw to tie in with materials in the room; natural wood, heritage red brick and pale grey walls.

Q: What were the most important considerations when choosing bed linen for your guest bed?
A: Comfort was the most important consideration for us. I chose 100% organic cotton sheets, layered with a quilt and throw so guests can easily adjust their bedding for the perfect nights sleep.

Q: What other items are important to consider in a guest bedroom?
A: A little bit of extra thought can go a long way...we added two beautiful, soft cotton robes to the room as a treat for guests to use.

Q: What home trends are you hoping to see in 2021?
A: I’m hoping we see a more deliberate approach to purchasing homeware, with a focus on quality pieces that will last rather than quick fixes that often end up in landfill by the end of the season and are bad for your bank balance and the environment.

Q: What is your next project?
A: Our next project is giving our master bathroom a freshen up...old daggy bath mats are not cute!