Country interior design by MJ

Are you considering a new refresh to your home or business venue in 2027?  Country Interior Design are now looking ahead to 2027. Making plans and currently sourcing the very best suppliers for you & your project.  Taking on any design project, takes time.  Quality takes time and that's what we endeavor to do for each & every client we work with.   I thought I'd let you know whats involved to help manage your expectations.  Firstly we learn more about you, your other family members or business partners and how you want to either live in that space or get the most of the venue & property business. This happens by a number of online calls (includes a questionnaire).  Then depending on the scope of the project, a site visit may follow.  This could be required to take place at different times of the day to gain a feel for your lighting plan.   Then once we have done this, we can then start working on the design & mood boards....

I've been a volunteer for the Careers and Enterprise Company as an Enterprise Advisor with Secondary Schools for a number of years and from an interior designers perspective, on the whole the interiors of Schools remain bland & uninspiring. I have visited alot and for some reason; that escapes me, (probably budget related)the majority of walls are painted off white or beige.   If we truly want to create educational environments that nurture learning and visionary future Careers, we need to look at these environments and decorate & design accordingly.  With the growth of Academies, individual schools have been able to create economies of scale when it comes to purchase power and shared resources. This gives you the opportunity to design educational classrooms and shared spaces that encourage learning.  With so much emphasis on Workplace design for increasing productivity and coworking in offices, it's obvious to me that this should be trickled down to Educatio...

I love visiting interior design shows, events and industry related Fairs. 💚💛 On Tuesday this week I visited the Autumn Fair at the NEC, partly because I found the Spring Fair a phenomenal place to visit, which was held at the beginning of the year and because it had many (not all) of the same exhibitors.  I found that a really great way to meet suppliers face to face, understand what drives interior design trends and to discover new products and homeware outlets.  Here are the various different stands I visited and have gone on to follow via there Socials on Instagram: *Tinit- Beautiful handdesigned tins for lives essentials- @tinit_store *REX London- Home gifts-@rexlondonuk *Ottersbrook-Home decor-@ottersbrook *Woven Magic- Manufactures of flag themed items *Lesser & Pavey Ltd- Homeware. I really loved there bowls from The Leonardo Collection 🥰 *Portland Living- British interiors brand  *SIL Interiors-Interiors Accessories  *CandlelightUK- Market leader in Ca...

I started this blog back in February, and every week without fail I've shared a blog a week.  It was in the hope that other interior designers, students or home interior lovers found it of use and I thought it would be a great time coming up to the half year point to stop and reflect.  Reflect on what's working, what do you want to read more about or indeed, what I have yet to explore.  As a business owner or freelancer building a following can & does take time & effort and as Country Interior Design by MJ is coming up to our 6 month review it's poignant to pause and check in with ourselves & you the most important aspect as to why we are doing this.  We have been sharing content of inspiration on Facebook and Instagram from the start with a clear weekly schedule: Mondays  Devine or Decadence  Tuesday  History of interior design  Wednesday  Feb 26: Room of Ferial August 26: Shine a light Thursday  Colour Psychology  Frid...

I started my career in Hospitality and in Restaurants. Chefs, where the most prestigious member of the team.  Ultimately, a Restaurants covers or success of a restaurant is mainly due to the quality of the menu they lovingly prepare and serve.   So what has this got to do with interior design?  Little do you realise that Chefs are infact the best advocate for your interior design business.  The best Chefs tend to move in hospitality and venue circles.   That's why I'm writing this blog, to expand my network of Chefs.  The success of a restaurant goes hand in hand with the quality of food served and the ambience created in its environment.   Excellent chefs are worth their weight in gold to a restauranteer. Partnering with top quality chefs is a match made in Heaven.   If you're aware of top quality Chefs then I'd like to learn more. Have you recently had a phenomenal meal or been to an exclusive restaurant with a celebrity chef...

Cutlery and the individual uses of cutlery are a craft in its own right.   While most homes have traditional knife, forks and spoons in their cutlery draws, there are many more you can purchase, with a specific use.   Let's explore this further.  Knives   *Bread Knives- to help spread your butter without tearing your bread or roll. *Steak Knives- Sharper in design to enable you to cut meat, without having to carve or scratch your plates. *Starter Knives- Slightly smaller in size to dinner Knives.  *Dinner Knives-Used for eating most meals  *Fish Knives- This knife helps you to lift skin and delicately remove soft fish flesh.  *Cheese Knives: Often with two fork like points at the top of the blade, it enables you to pick up cheese eloquently.  *Fruit knives- Sharp blade, enabling you to segment your fruit into bitesize morsels.  Forks   Starter forks-slightly smaller than the dinner fork and can be used as a dessert fork. Dinner...

My husband is a cleverly skilled Cabinet Maker and as an interior designer, it's extremely helpful to have learnt from him, the efforts needed to design a kitchen that gets the most out of your kitchen space. Making furniture bespoke in my opinion is the best way to fit out any room.  Be it, for a walk in Wardrobe, pantry or utility room, ensuring every metre counts.  There expertise comes in extremely useful, when it comes to planning any interior as an interior designer & is complimentary.  I've titled this blog: Why Furniture Makers & Suppliers need a interior design best friend, because it's true.  There are so many fantastic suppliers out there & while that's great for customers, furniture makers and suppliers have to try and get noticed in a crowded market.   Another ways to reach customers, is through interior designers.  We know who has what style of furniture design, we can recommend complimentary craftpersons and suppliers an...

I'd love to be more arty, I just not sure id be any good at it!, does this resonate with you?  The beauty of Mosiac art, is you have complete artistic license to give it a try.  You could start with a small design and work from there. As the pieces, be it ceramics, glass or small tiles are different shapes and sizes, you can create a beautiful design at first attempt.  On my recent monthly visits to the Birmingham Library.  I picked up a great book with a Step by step guide: Mosiacs & How to embellish glass & ceramics by Hermes House publishers.  It's a perfect book that will hold your hand through out your Mosaic art piece.  Having previously worked in the Wellbeing space, I understand the importance of investing in your own Wellness and crafts are fabulous for that. You just need to find the right craft for you and Mosaics is a Brilliant place to start for sure.   The first mosaic I completed was on a garden Bistro set. We had just compl...

Right, let's do this!!! You want a quick sale YES✔ You want to achieve the asking price ✔ You want to move to the house of your dreams ✔ Why do the majority of homeowners believe that they can sell their homes as is? You could be fortunate and lucky or both. Or have an exceptional eye for design and I seriously hope for your sake that is the case. I will keep everything crossed for you.  It's so exciting to move home.   Your Home   Remember this is your vision of what a home looks like, not the potential buyers view. I'm sure it's beautiful.  SELLING YOUR HOME REQUIRES A BUSINESS MINDSET. 🤔 Ultimately, that means using Emotional intelligence and not letting your own emotions rule your head when it comes to selling your Property.  Your home is potentially the biggest purchase you will make in your life.  When it comes to selling it, we should treat it in the seriousness that it requires. And reinvent yourself as a head strong business person.  Tha...

You have spent your working life, saving for your retirement or you come into a Sum of money, following an inheritance and what do you do with it?? Financial Planners or Wealth Planners are definitely worth exploring.  They look at your future aspirations; Business, leisure or personal from a bigger picture perspective and give you advice on Investing, savings, pensions & of course home aspirations.  Now some people will want to downsize & free up Capital to pursue other hobbies or holiday destinations and others may want to take on a dream project, a self build, house renovation or just move to the house of their dreams.   How ever you look at it. Your home is truly your Castle and when speaking to a Financial Planner it's massively valuable to have these types of conversations.  I reached out to speak with a Financial Planner for their advice and he told me,"D ream house buying is all about flexibility and thinking big picture, not just 2 year fixed. F...

You often find that Architect Firms have there own interior designers.  Or certainly work extremely closely with them.   If you're considering a new build, self build or new development then of course you will appoint an Architect, they will be responsible for drawing up the overall physical structure plans, consider safety compliance and the exterior aesthetic look of the building.  What you may not be aware of, is that interior aesthetics requires a completely different skill set.  Yes, the Architect, will have considered how your going to inhabit your home, including lighting, flow etc, but bring this together with spacial design and furnishing and decorating is pulled together by us. That's why I believe we are a match made in Heaven.  I'd definitely, want to be engaged as early as possible in any build project to ensure the partnership is pulling in the same direction and achieving those milestones.  Excellent communication,= happy clients. Do you...

I think, the AI bubble has been passing me by. That's not to say I dont use it in my business processes.  Just that I want to be creative ( that's why I got into Interior Design), and design my own authentic content. I'm not a purist believe me, I just think there is a time & place and that AI as a tool should be an enabler not a rationale for lazy leadership.   I've always been an early adopter when it comes to new Innovation, which often results in different improved reiteractions of a product or service coming to market.  And I like to have the patience to see things through, if it does turn out to be failure (is it truly a failure if you have learnt something?), then so be it, you can always try an alternative or if it's a success then Happy Days.   One of my most popular interior design services is our Online Room Reviews and for this we use AI to help to generate Visuals but only once we have collected all the information.  Hey, it can save c...

The world has opened up & people are travelling all around the world to a diverse range of Countries, experiencing the sights, sounds and cultures of every corner of this beautiful planet we call home.  Staycations have become increasingly popular for many and it's no wonder, as the UK, has so much to offer.  Travels whether it's home or abroad, we gain so much inspiration predominately unknowingly from our experiences & travels.  Every Town, City, Country or Continent can be a feast for all our senses.  And we often have an Emotional attachment with places we have visited.  I for one, often return year after year to the same locations.  In particular Cornwall and The Lakes, they are both in stark contrast and yet they are my happy place.  That & of course Worcestershire.  My home of Birth and where I have been born & raised.   When it comes to our travels, we often pick up trinkets for our homes or gain inspiration from ...

Are you a lover of Grand Designs on TV, with Kevin Mccloud? Grand designs has returned to our screens, celebrating 25 yrs of this iconic Property Show. How many times do they get to the big reveal at the end and the homeowners are completely despondent and disillusioned?  That's the only downside to this show, at a time when the self builders have achieved their dream home, they should feel enthusiastic and energised.  I visited Build it Live in Malvern earlier in the year, which is a fantastic show for aspiring Self Builders to gain knowledge and learn about suppliers and innovative techniques to self build.  Yet, I didn't see many interior designers there. Now while I personally see this as an opportunity.  It got me thinking about the whole process of Self Building.  Decision making fatigue is a thing, especially on an astronomical project like building your home, but surely we can together make it a more enjoyable experience.   I always beat the dr...

You have found the home of your dreams, you have approached the Estate Agents and put forward your offer and the next step is to speak with a Mortgage broker.  That is unless you have already done so.  I'd suggest that potentially you already have, in order to ascertain what borrowing is available to you.  This is where it's worth remembering that Mortgage brokers can help you in various different ways.  Yes, primarily they are their to help you buy a house, but there is more to buying a house, then the bricks and mortar.  This is your opportunity to speak with an interior designer and transform your new home right from the getgo, it's a streamlined way of getting your Finance in order prior to buying your new home.  Plus, it saves you time and effort to, because once you get handed the keys, do you really want to be thinking about how your going to be doing Renovation work when you have new monthly Mortgage payments?  This is way its worth speaking wi...

My hubby is a Cabinet Maker and just yesterday he returned home completely frustrated.  He had thought he had completed a new kitchen for Langfords Bespoke Cabinet Company, ready for it to be delivered & fitted but unfortunately this was not the case. He had to remake a number of cupboards and change the design of a row of cabinets.  Long story short, a builder had taken on the design of a kitchen, when similarly to an Architect, he has his own area of expertise in construction.  Now I've worked with a number of amazingly skilled builders in my time but on this occasion he just took on to much. In my husband's case, it has caused delays & misunderstandings.  While the client is left behind.  Interior designers can compliment a builder, can increase efficiency, and help to delight clients and ultimately that's whatever wants.   So what happened with the Kitchen that my hubby is working on? Well, I'm sure it will be resolved to a satisfactory out...

I absolutely love Tech & innovative ways to work SMARTer, in my business.  Yet AI or the use of AI, has been receiving lots of negative press lately! I just don't get it?? I do take the point that it could open up a world of copy write etc, yet that's what Governments are legislating about I guess. It brings so many positives, is my view.  Tech is a huge enabler especially if used appropriately.  Let me explain why I'm embracing it for Country Interior Design by MJ and how it helps you as the client.  When you start a Home DIY project or preferably appoint an interior designer, you'll create mood boards, with lots of dialogue back and forth to try and establish exactly what your hoping to achieve aesthetically and exploring spacial design.   So the next stage is a trip to your local DIY store.  Hoping that you have chosen the right colour hues and have taken the right measurements for a piece of investment furniture.  In my view, this is when ...

You have just moved house or your a hospitality boutique hotel owner and want to create a space that oozes Class, opulence and charm.  Working with an interior designer can bring so many benefits to you: *Helps you to concentrate on other pressing priorities  *Help you to create a space that works around your lifestyle and personality  * Help you to tap into new suppliers and stockists  * Optimise spacial layouts  * Produce a high end Luxury look on a budget of your choosing  * Boost your return on investment, ie Selling your home  * Improve cultures in the Workplace  *Design Homes that increase independence in later years  *Supports Increases in Occupancy rates in hospitality business.  Interior designers help in many ways & not just by creating beautiful aesthetics.  One of the common questions, I get asked is; What are your packages and how do you price the cost of your designs?  So I thought I'd share more about Country...

Office blocks are found in every town and City.  And over the years I have worked & visited many.  Have I felt inspired, motivated and enlightened??  Mmm, I'd have to say, while I have liked some of the furniture and desk space, I believe that they could be so much more then they are.   I truly believe since the Pandemic, when everyone was working from home, many companies have been making a concerted effort to get staff back into the Office ( I did say many not all) and this has resulted in some truly remarkable innovative office designs. I'd say the best I've come across has to be Yorkshire Housing, they haven't just changed the office design, they re-evaluated their whole way of working & put their staff at the forefront of the Organisation.  Plus they have a great Podcast #RaisingtheRoof, which is well worth tuning into if you have an interest in Housing and Business.  It's excellently hosted by YH CEO Nick Atkin.  Workplace design wil...

I enjoy networking as part of my business, it gives you so many benefits, hence why I started Business in Bewdley networking events, but yesterday I ventured further a field. I not only visited a completely new networking event, I travelled to a complete new area.   Quite often, when I'm talking to the different professionals in my network, they often decline my invitation to visit BIB networking, because, in there words, "it a good travelling distance from where I live". Surely, that's just logistics?.   I usually say, that's the point.  New people, new business & different approaches to the format of Networking to experience.  Yes, I have a core number of people that I speak with on a regular basis and they have become friends, which is wonderful.  I don't expect them to do all my business marketing for me by word of mouth referrals. So, what has this to do with the title of this blog? "I'm over Qualified to be an Interior designer". Back t...