Surrey Homes | SH23 | September 2016 | Education supplement inside

Above left to right: Homely details from the two upstairs guest rooms include vintage books, a cushion given to Jenna by her mother
and a vintage-style radio by Bush. The bedside lamp is another online find from Wayfair and the hamper was from IKEA
currently a favourite animal - while cleverly matched furniture
and curtains hint at Jenna’s interior design skill. “We scanned
a colour which is on the curtains and had paint mixed at
Homebase, which we used on the chest of drawers.” Vintage
children’s books, sourced from Oxfam online, complete
the picture of a simple, cheery bedroom and play area.
Jenna is clearly adept at sourcing items online, though
she also turns to her parents for advice on suppliers and
tradesmen. She also likes to use local companies if possible
– their architect lives opposite and their builder four doors
down. “I sourced every light, fixture and fitting, everything.
I had a very clear vision of how I wanted it to be – the
challenge was finding the items that suited that vision.”
A realistic and practical attitude seems to have stood
Jenna in good stead when project managing the work. “I
didn’t have 100% success sourcing items, of course. You
have to bend and sway with what is available and what
is reasonably priced. But we’re really happy with how it
turned out. It evolved, as it went on, as all projects do.”
The end result is a truly surprising and refreshing
home – a little piece of Sydney in a suburban corner of
Surrey. The question is, has Jenna inherited her parents’
itchy feet, and love of doing-up and selling-on properties?
“I always considered this house as a home for us to live
in. When I was designing the layout and the fittings
and the fixtures, I was absolutely doing it for us, and
creating a family home.” And she has done this with
ease – and with more than a touch of antipodean style.
Address Book:
chapel Lane events styling and interior
design, 07885 598 688 chapel-lane.com
cox & cox coxandcox.co.uk
darlings of chelsea darlingsofchelsea.co.uk
david ehrenstråhle city guides info@myguideto.se
direct tile Warehouse directtilewarehouse.com
feather & Black featherandblack.com
Grace & Glory Home graceandgloryhome.co.uk
Industville Vintage Lighting & furniture industville.co.uk
King & McGaw artwork and prints kingandmcgaw.com
no 44 contemporary and modern furniture no44.furniture
Secret Linen Store secretlinenstore.com
Stonewood stonewood.uk.com
urban outfitters online urbanoutfitters.com/uk
Wayfair wayfair.co.uk
Willow & Stone willowandstone.co.uk
101 wealdentimes.co.uk