Jane is an experienced Interior Designer with a longstanding passion for Art & Design.
After completing a Design Undergraduate Degree in 1997, life took a slightly different turn & after working in Retail for 2 years, Jane decided to go back to University & undertook a Masters in Marketing Management. Jane then worked as a Product & Category Manager for 12 years, within the Interiors Industry, honing skills in Project Management, Strategy & Budget Control.
In 2011, Jane’s first child was born, Ava Rose & soon after, the Ava Rose Interiors Brand was founded. After 2 further children, Jane realised now was the time to return to her passion for Interiors & start her own business as an Interior Designer.
Since then, this Interior Design business has gone from strength to strength with the successful completion of several large, high profile Residential projects, across Cheshire, Lancashire & Greater Manchester.
Jane has a ‘big picture’ view on designing Interior spaces yet has a keen eye for detail & finishing touches. Together with a great team of quality Trades people, Jane has the skills required to create inspirational spaces whilst employing the business skills to ensure every idea and design is realistic and achievable.
With a strong interest in Wellness and Mindfulness, Jane truly believes that both have a strong connection with Interior Design, creating spaces that truly make people happy, calm and inspired.
I’ve always been a creative type, drawing & painting, writing stories. Before Uni, I completed an Art foundation course which introduced me to all aspects of Art & Design. It was so immersive & I loved it. It felt a no brainer to continue my passion for design through University. Even though I went into a Marketing Profession for several years after my Masters, I was still designing in my own time & making soft furnishings / window dressings for myself, family & friends. I think having the children in quite quick succession allowed me some thinking time away from the working world & gave me the confidence to set up my own Interior Design business. The time in Industry has given me valuable experience & the maturity needed to go it alone.
Gosh, I get inspired by anything & everything. I think if I’m ever feeling like I need some inspiration when faced with a new Interior Design project, I tend to get out for a walk or a run. We’re lucky to live near some stunning countryside & I find just getting out amongst nature for an hour or so definitely helps recharge. I also spend a bit of time each day on Instagram, Pinterest & other ‘visual’ online sites. It’s so easy to loose an hour on Pinterest, researching trends in Interior Design & Architecture. I love it but can totally understand how it can become quite overwhelming. Being a very tactile person, I’m often found browsing amongst the fabrics and homewares in local showrooms, stores & exhibition centres. I think its mainly a case of keeping an open mind as much as possible & being receptive to influences in all forms.
I think it’s the variety. No design project is the same, whether its working with an Architect to plan a new space / extension or working with a client to help dress a room or help source accessories & finishing touches.
I love being given a room that is a blank canvas & turning it into somewhere the family can enjoy. The look on the client’s face when you’ve created something they wouldn’t have thought of & seeing that idea transform into a finished space. I like to ensure my working week is a good mix of meeting clients, visiting sites & getting on with the designs at home. It really is so varied & never boring.
If you’re passionate about becoming an Interior Designer, your portfolio is your lifeline. Get some good experience within the Industry, shadow experienced Designers & start small, within your inner circle. Once you work your magic on a friend’s bedroom for example, the trickle to gettting more business will begin. It’s definitely worth getting some good commercial experience within Business too; managing budgets, timescales, dealing with clients & trades. No experience is bad experience in my opinion.
I enjoy keeping fit so walking, running, classes at the gym but to fully relax, nothing is better than having a good belly laugh with friends and family. I think if nothing else, Covid has taught me to slow down a little & take enjoyment from small things; sunlight streaming through tree branches or squelchy mud when wearing wellies with the kids. Simple pleasures!
I usually like to give myself at least a week to digest a new client brief whilst working on other projects. I tend to print out photos of the space to be redesigned and pin them up in my office so I can familiarise. I find that if I give it a few days, initial ideas pop up naturally and the design snowballs from there. I listen to my gut a lot & after years of experience, know when I have the design nailed or whether it needs more work. Confidence, in my opinion, comes with time & practise. I don’t rush the process but let it flow naturally.
I think similar to 2022, the interior trends for 2023/24 will be about cocooning, curved furniture & squishy sofas, lots of natural, sustainable materials such as wicker & rattan, live edged wood, concrete & cork, combined with indoor plants of various shapes & sizes. Redish hues of terracotta, paprika and gold, mixed with warm neutrals.
We’ll still need our homes to be multi-functional spaces as many of us are still working from home for some or all of the working week. Hidden desks and attractive yet practical storage solutions. Garden rooms will continue to surge in popularity and many of us will embark on building work to extend our homes to accommodate their dual purpose. Exciting times for the building trade!!