JOANNE LEES

CONSTRUCTING

A CAREER

A celebrated Essex interior designer offers us insight into her background and how it evolved into her own business

By JOANNE LEES

Iwas very creative as a child, always colouring, painting, drawing. Art was my favourite lesson by far and I was accepted at art college when I left school. My family are also creative – my father was a French polisher by trade and then entered the building trade. Both my brothers are also in the building trade, so I have been involved in construction from a very young age. After having my second son, I wanted to work part time but fancied a career change. I decided to work for an interior furniture shop, which I loved. I told my employer that I could paint and was painting at home in my spare time, commission based. This led to me selling my artwork in the shop, which was great. I knew then that interiors and design was where I wanted to work. I then went back to college to study interior design and art.

After college I worked in an architects practice where I learnt AutoCad. My employer wanted to start a side business offering interior design to his clients. Before this took off, my employer decided to travel the world and closed his practice down. This gave me a perfect opportunity to start my own interior design business in 2008. I teamed up with another interior designer, Linda, whom I had studied at college with. I wanted to offer

my experience in construction as well as beautiful interiors. I feel that having knowledge of how homes are built, what goes on behind what you see, gives me a huge advantage in designing spaces.

I offer all interior design services from very basic staging of homes, on the spot advice, to full home renovations. This might include conceptual floor plans with basic 3D rendering, product options and advice on current trends, colour advice, floor layout options, mood boards showing colours and fabrications of soft furnishings, cost schedules, work schedules and implementation of the designs on site.

I start with a consultation visit at the client’s home to get a feel for the space, to introduce myself and to get to know the client to see if we are a good fit to work together. At this meeting we discuss their needs, offer some examples of my work, get to know the client’s likes and dislikes, discuss the possibilities of our services and what the client would like to achieve at the end of the process.

I would like to say that I design interiors to suit the client – after all, they have to like the result. However, if I had to summarise my style, it would be contemporary but with an eclectic mix of old and new. I like

JOANNE LEES to incorporate some unusual pieces of furniture or art into my designs. I used to work with more neutral colours several years ago, however my style and taste has changed with the opulent colours that are current at the moment, so I am loving embracing the darker, stronger colours.

What’s to come? Hopefully still working hard, keeping my clients happy, and creating beautiful spaces. I would also like to do some more full home renovations for clients or myself as being on building sites is my favourite place to be!

joanneleesinteriors.co.uk

Local loves

Joanne Lees on Essex and some festive tips too

Q How long have you lived in Essex and what do you love about it?

A I have lived in Essex for approximately 25 years. I live in a beautiful spot surrounded by countryside. I have a lovely local pub and a couple of tea shops where I can take a break from work. I think there are a lot of beautiful places to live in Essex, you are always close to a town, but can still see a lot of the beautiful countryside on your doorstep.

Q Do you have some top tips for decorating the home this Christmas?

1. Make the sitting room where you add most of your favourite Christmas decorations as this will be the place you spend most time over the festive period. 2. Try and match your decorations to your existing interior design, i.e if you have a neutral palette, then mix this with golds, silvers and another pop of colour, like pale pink or grey. Add extra sparkle in cushions on the sofa to change the look slightly. 3. Try to steer clear of tinsel and garish clashes of colour, instead try using more subtle ribbon, lots of fairy lights and maybe just one pop of colour if you want to make an impact.