Wealden Times | WT212 | October 2019 | Kitchen & Bathroom supplement inside

Above: The majority of the furniture and lighting in Jaz’s home are vintage finds, but the new pieces she has chosen are of
very good quality. A bright blue velvet-covered sofa on the opposite side of the dining room is by Designers Guild
thing in it – is an eclectic mix of vintage, chain store, good
quality new and unique, sourced over time with thought
and consideration. Something she feels strongly about.
“It’s important to think about sustainability and the
impact upon the environment. I think we are moving
towards fast interiors, and fast art type purchases. There
are obvious parallels that can be drawn with fast fashion
which has tainted aspects of the industry. I believe in
buying well and buying once. Not in a snobbish way,
but if you want a unique home, accept it will take time.
Consider purchases, don’t go for instant gratification.”
This is why, while the majority of the furniture and
lighting in this home are very special vintage finds – like
that chandelier in the living room, which is from The
Old Cinema ‘antique and vintage department store’ in
Chiswick – the items they source are of very good quality.
Jaz, whilst citing another example of good quality,
indicates a bright blue velvet-covered sofa on the
opposite side of the dining room as being from
Designers Guild who produce good furniture that lasts
the test of time. “As my mum used to say, ‘the cheapest
becomes the dearest’. I think about the supply chain of
everything I buy – I try to be a mindful shopper.”
Jaz takes the same quality-matters approach to paint – a
smart move, considering the impact the strong colours
throughout the house make. Taking me further on through
what Jaz describes as ‘a long, thin house’, it’s a bit like
gloriously strolling through a Farrow & Ball paint chart. With
all surfaces Off Black in the kitchen, Studio Green (a rich
deep green) in the bathroom and the utility room. A very
bold change in a house which was all magnolia and peach
when they bought it nine years ago. “It was very safe,” says
Jaz. “But there’s no right or wrong, it’s just a matter of taste.”
But while that kind of neutral scheme was very much
not to Jaz’s taste, they haven’t done any structural work
whatsoever on the house. Very unusual in these times of
knocking through, opening out, going up and adding
on. “We had architect plans drawn up to expand
wealdentimes.co.uk
56