At home with ...interior designer Jeanette Holmes

Q: Describe your home? My home is a detached dormer bungalow built around 40 years ago. It has a very comfy, country feel with many pieces of handcrafted, upholstered furniture designed by me and made by our “in house” team.

I love furniture made from unusual things, such as church pews and stripped scaffold planks, as they add character to my home and very practical.

I work with an abundance of fabrics and styles so at home, I like to be surrounded with calming, neutral colours teamed with rustic woods and tactile material.

Q: What is on your Interiors wish list and why? My “must have” is an original Shepherd’s Hut by The Yorkshire Hut Company, www.theyorkshirehutcompany.com. They are truly bespoke and handcrafted in York. Fitted with a wood burner,daybed and desk area it would be finished in muted tones by Farrow & Ball and upholstered in soft tartans by Harris Tweed and Abraham Moon. It will be my perfect sanctuary and a place to go to when I need thinking space.

Q: Which household item could you not live without? This would have to be my Adax electric boot dryer. It’s a total Godsend on cold wet mornings after my daily five mile walk with my two working dogs, Springer Spaniel, Tip, and Chocolate Labrador, Bracken.

Q: Which designers do you most admire? Kevin McCloud. His first book “Kevin McCloud’s Decorating Book”, published in 1990, inspired me to take my first City and Guilds Diploma in Paint Effect Techniques. The book still has pride of place on my desk. I later taught and ran workshops from my basement studio. He has continued to be an influence with his love of ‘off grid’ properties and architectural “Grand Designs”.

I also admire interior designer and talented paint effects expert Jocasta Innes. She has a fantastic ability to transform interiors and bring old furniture back to life.

Q: What is your favourite building? It has to be the Selfridges building, which forms part of the Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham. It was completed in 2003 costing over £60million and designed by Future Systems. It is a truly iconic building that is timeless and elegant. The structure is covered in 15,000 anodised aluminium discs mounted onto a blue background. I love how the little St Martin’s Church built in the 12th Century sits buy its side, showing just how old and new work effortlessly alongside each other.

Q: Which trends are exciting you? The industrial look is still very current and is a look I love. Then there are with buttoned, upholstered sofas in an abundance of colours and tactile velvets. I like the copper pendant lighting range by Tom Dixon and these teamed with marble and navy velvet upholstery is a look we will be going for in one of our future Miller showhomes.

Q: What and Where is your ideal Home? A converted stone built barn with a rustic oak balcony facing out onto the North Yorkshire Moors.

Q: Who would you most like to invite for dinner? Interior designer and entrepreneur Kelly Hoppen. Her work,vision and style is so unique. She has also show that good design has a massive effect in our well-being.

*Jeanette Holmes works from her studio in Hatfield Woodhouse, Doncaster. interiors-jeanetteholmes.co.uk