How To Push The Boundaries Of Your Home

From as young as I can remember, and certainly in my teenage years, I have intuitively prodded and poked at the limitations of what is customary. At secondary school I shared my time between the art facilities and sports fields and, despite not being at all capable at it, I really enjoyed maths - this unusual combination was frequently acknowledged and questioned. In the following years, people often noted how rare it was to find someone who was passionately creative and commercial, but I found that society simply categorises people because it is easier to understand. It is so important to know that you were creative the moment you woke up this morning, you are creative in your own way and you must be confident in creating a home that you love. 

Our homes have played such a significant role in our daily lives over the past 18 months, multitasking as offices, classrooms, and family sanctuaries. Many of us are looking at our four walls with a greater appreciation for what they have sheltered us from, as well as enabled us to do. I am no different - as well as all the above, my home is my children’s safe space, business and creative studio - every square inch is bursting with color and design ready for the next order, the next photoshoot, the next Instagram post.

My creative career journey was an intense affair of customer service, design and commercial awareness but the diversity came from keeping my eyes and ears wide open and from my instinctive appreciation of originality. This love of rebellious design became a powerful inclination for color, wild patterns and the complete joy of finding special places in my home and garden for personal treasures. Then I'll mix it up, layer upon layer, keeping the designs vibrant, fresh and adaptable for any space. any room, anywhere.

After searching for fabric lampshades for my own home and flinching at (yet understanding) the high prices, I endeavoured to discover the production process for myself. This led to making custom lampshades for friends and family then ‘real’ clients (ones I didn’t know!). Soon the product designer in me took over to develop a stock range of reasonably priced, sensational lampshades. I look to nature for inspiration - you’ll find a nod to flowers, plants, and animals in all That Rebel House fabrics, colors and luscious patterns. 

Our homes are so vital to our well being and our emotional and mental health. We must allow our homes to reflect us, our lives and our families. We will no doubt continue to work, shop, start businesses, study and entertain from our homes.  Our homes must now be flexible and versatile; adaptable, happy spaces that ignite our passions as well as relax and hold us together. Never before has the home had to be so many things. So design your spaces around what you love as a good starting point. Pick pieces that are adaptable and can be moved when the mood requires it. Choose pieces that lift your spirits, that make you smile or bring back a memory. When you see something go with your instinct, decorate for yourself and trust yourself - you are always your own best designer for your home.