Introducing... stylist, Jasmine Orchard & Collectie

I discovered Jasmine Orchard's style resourcefulness and good taste a few years ago – and loved it – when I interviewed her for a piece in the Independent. 

Jasmine is a stylist and I interviewed her because of her skill for repurposing unwanted or not very useful items into pretty and practical ideas for the home (you can read her tips on that in this previous post). We stayed in touch, and I was excited to hear recently she had a new venture brewing...

Above: Jasmine Orchard, left, and, right, items from her new online shop, Collectie, which means 'collections' in Dutch

Tomorrow, Jasmine launches Collectie, an online design shop with a bit of a twist that's perfect if you've ever looked at a photograph of a beautiful room and thought – 'I'd like all of that, thanks very much'. The idea is that rather than buying individual items, you buy a whole collection of complementary pieces, curated by Jasmine, which can be used in various ways to create a coherent look. It seemed like a good excuse to have a nose at some of Jasmine's favourite things. Over to her...

Above: A bedroom fireplace in Jasmine's Brighton flat

Where do you live?
'I am lucky enough to live by the sea in Brighton. I've resided in the same gorgeous little two-bed flat for ten years – a life record for me! It’s a top floor Victorian flat with period fireplaces in the bedroom and lounge, picture rails and sash windows.'

What's your favourite part of your home?
'I have two favourite spots. I have a corner sofa in the lounge which sits with the long part in line with my big sash window, it's a proper sun trap in the afternoons; you can sit with legs stretched out and people-watch out the window while the sun beams in. Amazing sun set views over the South Downs from there too.'

'My second favourite spot has to be lying in my bed with a view of my fireplace [pictured above], candles on the mantel and a fab Kitty McCall print framed above it. Cushions stacked behind me, cup of tea in hand and playing Cesaria Evora. Bliss!'

Above: Jasmine's dressing table, illuminated by one of her own lighting creations

Describe your home's style
'It's a combination of modern and retro furnishings, many of which have been upcycled by me. My TV sits on a beautiful rescued Danish cabinet – upcycled with a lick of white paint on the outside and similar era wooden legs. I have a bespoke tripod lamp – made using an old wooden surveyor's tripod – which sits next to the sofa, and there are various antique glass bottles and vases adorning the mantelpieces. A mostly white and grey palette is mixed up with bright cushions, darker Danish woods, flowers and candles. That and many wonderful foreign flea market finds!'

Above: A colourfully decorated mantlepiece in Jasmine's flat

Above: More from Collectie's Summer Drift collection

Who is your interiors hero?
'I look to different people to inspire me at different times. At the moment I've been taking some inspiration from Abigail Ahern, with regards to setting up a new store and her business advice, that and her wonderful styling. Oliver Heath has always been an eco interiors hero and I had the pleasure of meeting him and helping to style his house for a campaign once. And on a more architectural level my biggest hero is George Clarke – he’s so talented and creative and always seems happy!'

What is currently on your interiors wishlist?
'How long have you got? OK, here are my top 5:

1. Ball with handle copper light by Frandsenlighting.dk
2. Dutch ceramics by Lenneke Wispelwey
3. Charcoal linen bedding by The Linen Works
4. Porcelain vases by Elisabeth Barry as part of the new collection from Sheila Bownas (pictured above)
5. Large oatmeal Artisan linen cushion, which is part of my Hint of Mint collection for Collectie' (see top image)

Where did you come up with the idea for Collectie?
'I've been working as an interior stylist for years, which has involved working on tight budgets, sourcing interesting or one off pieces, being extremely creative, reinventing items for new uses. One thing I discovered was that people wanted not just the items I found but the way I had styled them and collated items together. Friends would often visit saying ‘Can I steal that idea?’ and clients would comment on how they would have never thought to choose a certain item or to place it in such a way.'

Above: Wooden and steel powder coated stool; hand printed linen and cotton cushions; white ceramic pendant light with (out of shot) grey flex and wooden hanging hook to hang; vintage science bottle vases; grey bulb vase and artificial pink dahlia and lambs ear, all part of Collectie's 'Hint of Mint' collection, which starts at £236 for the full collection

'Increasingly, people want beautiful homes with ambience and style, and items that do not all come from Ikea (sorry Ikea). With this comes a need for knowledge of what will look good and where, how to display accessories and most importantly a stack of time to search for all these lovely things, finding new talented designers and one off antique pieces. I have not found – though I’m sure they exist – anyone else in the UK offering pre styled collections, including every element – from candles to lightbulbs – you need to take out of the box and re-create at home.'

Above: Copper tray (also available in silver); recycled wooden candle holders and candles; French antique glass bottle vase and artificial white scabious flower, all part of Collectie's Natural Retreat collection, £95 for the full set.

So how would you describe Collectie?
'Collectie only sells curated and personally styled collections of interior goods. There are just three differently sized and styled collections, each one being a bespoke limited edition of 12 or 10. You can unwrap your bespoke box and re-create the look straight in your home, or have a play and mix up the collection to style as you desire.'

Above: Wooden and steel hairpin leg stools, choice of three eco linen or cotton cushions, pure new wool throw, wooden yellow candle holders and candles, antique apothecary bottle vase, artificial white hydrangea, all in the Summer Drift collection, which starts at £419

Where did you get the unusual name?
The word collectie means collections in Dutch. After leaving university I moved to Holland for a while and became so inspired by all the wonderful design shops there. It really sparked my desire to pursue interior design as a career.

What kind of stuff are you going to sell?
'I guess my taste is fairly eclectic, which is reflected in the choices of items that make up each collection. I gathered a mix of old and new, polished and raw, local artisans and foreign designers to curate collections that are unique, well made and work well together.'

Above: Images by The Design Villa, aka Australian stylists @villastyling, one Jasmine's favourite Instagram accounts

Who do you love on Instagram right now?
@aquietstyle – for her beautifully styled shots of flowers
@villastyling – wonderful, tropical styling from Australia, with plenty of plants
@DIYstop – for their brilliant creative ideas
@gypsies_and_debutantes – for their colourful embroidered accessories inspiration!

Find Jasmine/Collectie on Instagram @collectiehome

Visit the store at: www.collectie.co.uk 

Make like an interiors magazine: tips from the pros (but don't take it too seriously)

We've covered both the pros and the cons of styling your house to look as picture perfect as a magazine shoot here before. 

While us interiors obsessives may fantasise about having our homes gracing the pages of some glossy magazine, there's always the risk of over-styling – but there are still some basic aesthetics that can make your place sparkle, without taking it all too seriously and becoming a pastiche.

So with that on the table, I'm revisiting a piece I wrote for the Independent a while back on this very topic – but with a bundle of bonus tips we never had room for in the paper: interiors stylists and a photographer give their opinions on how to photo-shoot up your home. But it doesn't have to be for the camera.

One of the many stark rooms featured on the marvellously comforting blog, Terrible Real Estate Photos.

“A photographer’s nightmare,” explains Rachael Smith, who takes very lovely pictures for magazines such as World of Interiors, “is a home with no possessions on show. Editors want ‘detail’ shots – plus nick-nacks make a home a home, create a sense of intimacy.” For the opposite of this, see above.

A "visual vignette" from Selina Lake's lovely book, Pretty Paste Style. 

“Most photo-shoots capture pictorial vignettes – the sofa, the table, the casually draped throw,” says Beth Worth, who provides affordable home makeovers at lovehousedesign.com. “So it’s not just about furniture; create a little narrative.”

Small, affordable details – flowers, colourful cups, a cushion, a little print and a rug – create "safe" bold in this otherwise neutral kitchen. Also featured in Selina Lake's latest book.

And bold doesn’t equal expensive or scary, believes Beth. “If you’re nervous,” she says, “build on a neutral base, then take risks with accessories: zingy cushions or throws, a fabulous ceramic jar – cheaper than the wrong sofa.”

Rachael’s top tip? “Have a massive spring clean,” she says. “Get rid of all the stuff you don’t need. People keep things they really shouldn’t for sentimental reasons. The amount of cleaning I do in people’s homes before being able to shoot is incredible… especially in bathrooms.”

On the decluttering tip, Rachael underlines the importance of good storage. “But not expensively built-in stuff,” she says. “In a photograph that generally looks really boring. Instead, how about a 50s cabinet from a junk shop to keep your books in? Or a haberdasher’s cupboard for clothes, instead of sliding-door wardrobes. It’s far quirkier and more visually interesting.”

But Rachael’s biggest bête noir is TVs: “They’re so huge these days – and not pretty things. Hide it in a cupboard – and definitely never put it over a fireplace.

With a TV-hiding cupboard, drill a good-sized round hole in a bottom corner to feed the wires and cables through. "A good tip for all pieces of furniture that might be holding electrical equipment, whether hi-fis, lamps or TVs," says Rachael. "There is an increasing number of cable tidies on the market these days. With a little research you can find something that suits your home." Perhaps like this one, above, which we featured a while back.

Emily Blunden, a stylist for magazines including Homes and Gardens and Guardian Weekend, as well as a blogger under the moniker Atticus and Finch concurs: "On one shoot, I saw a TV hidden inside an antique glass cabinet – but with good-looking fabric pinned inside hiding the TV, and brightening the cupboard. Very nice." Or make like designer, Abigail Ahern, who has a fantastically simple TV camouflage idea: if your black TV is wall-mounted, paint that wall black too (pictured above, and here are more of Abigail's style tips).

Wooden crate shelves, above, from Reclaimed Interiors in the US. You can find heaps of wooden crates for sale on eBay.

Contributing ed Abi's jewellery storage, which she wrote about here.

Emily continues: “Investigate different ways of displaying too; different shelving will produce different styles and will require different bits and bobs; printer block units make for lovely shelves, as do old apple crates.”

“Don’t worry about trying to aim towards anyone style or not having the 'right' things or things that go together," says Emily. "There is no right or wrong and the best style is your own personality. And remember – nothing has to be forever.” Hear, hear.

That said, she continues, “There’s a big difference between an obsessive collector and someone who just has nice things. So don’t overdo it. And, by the way, they don’t need to be expensive things... a photogenic house needs personality, it doesn’t need extreme wealth.” The vast photographic tome, A Place Called Home, by Australian stylist Jason Grant is a good place for inspiration on this front. Above, toy plastic animals add affordable character to a framed artwork.

My own top tip, from writing about homes, is not to strive for perfection, as perfectly finished homes can look sterile – magazines are always after a ‘story’: and it’s hard to write one about nothing. Which is why this story from The Kitchn website (a snippet of which is above), about "real" kitchens, is one of my all-time favourites.

Ugly house photos

In moments of procrastination lately I've found myself scrolling through the images on the Ugly Houses blog. I'm a little ambivalent about the judgemental snob factor – but the guy behind it posts for a worthy – rather than patronising and gratuitously scornful – reason...

He is an estate agent based in Arizona, and knows what sells – the houses featured on his blog don't, and he hopes that by illustrating them in this way, people will gather tips on how better to market their homes to sell. Doesn't stop him from inserting some very funny captions and section heads (including sections on 'taxidermy', 'knives' and '1990s decor', for example). Perversely, I am quite drawn to a few of them, especially in the 1970s section... but the wrong definitely outweigh the so-wrong-it's-rights. Here are some of my favourite recent posts (do not click on the links if you have a work deadline looming, you will be doomed).

I love these, above, from the post "five ugly couches"

And this trio, above, "sponsored by" – on the perils of inadvertently going in for some product placement in your estate agent photos...

He has a whole post of images featuring pets on furniture.

...and dodgy home bars.

From his post on "three inspiring basements", above.

But I could definitely work with those tongue and groove walls....

Off the wall

I've just discovered a new shop (thank you Abi, she of the recent printer-tray-to-jewellery-storage post). I like it, so I thought I'd share it in case you don't already know it...

It's called The Vintage Wall, and the concept – click to buy items from a shop-style display – comes hot on the heels of the fabulously inspiring original, Supermarket Sarah (whose innovative web shop/art display/styling extravaganza approach to selling secondhand gems online has had her guesting as a pop-up in Selfridges, last year). It's a great idea that is sure to keep spreading. Have you seen any other excellent wall style shops online? I'd love to hear about them if so. Hit the comment box or email me at kate@yourhomeislovely.com

Chairman Mao wall

Male Champion wall

Rustic tiles wall

It's such a simple, but brilliant idea for bringing objects to life in online stores, where it can be hard to imagine how a freaky but wonderful object – such as these slightly creepy hands, below (which, of course, I love), £15 a-piece. The shop's descriptions are full of ideas, too – it suggests these corpse-like gems could also be used as light-pulls or handles. Done anything clever with unusual old things in your home?

Creepy hands wall