The Loft

The Home Base blog

Pretty in Pink

Creating irresistible interiors comes naturally to this South Perth design devotee

23.12.2019


As a child, Jenni Farr would sit for hours making dollhouses out of shoeboxes, painstakingly filling them with hand-made furniture and adding finishing touches in the form of curtains, wallpaper and soft furnishings.

“I love how beautiful interiors can lift your spirits and make you happy,” she says. “It is so lovely to live in a space that is inspiring and relaxing.”

Jenni and her husband finished building their South Perth home in 2015 and while they were quick to fill the space with treasured items and carefully chosen furnishings, Jenni admits she has since made multiple changes.

“I have been working on the interiors ever since we moved in and have changed carpets, wallpapers, window treatments and furniture during that time,” she says.

The results speak for themselves and the thousands of people who follow Jenni and her home styling on her @designdevotee Instagram account are quick to show their appreciation of her work.

Astoundingly, she has no professional training and doesn’t work as an interiors stylist.

“I just do interiors for me,” she says. “Although I always help family decorate their spaces, I have done a few interior jobs for people who have contacted me via Instagram but I have never charged anyone because I am not qualified. But I do love to help people create beautiful spaces when I can.

“I have three adult children and seven grandchildren so I wanted to have enough room for us all to catch up together and a beautiful guest room where family could stay and also a bedroom/playroom for the grandkids.”

Jenni’s favourite room is the main bedroom. “It is large and faces north so it always has such beautiful natural light. It has a wonderful walk-through dressing room attached to it.

“My other favourite room is the grandkids’ room which I have created upstairs for when my grandkids come over. It is such a cute, playful room and I always smile when I walk past it.”

Jenni has a knack for creating irresistible bedrooms and says the key is to use beautiful bedlinen with gorgeous cushions and throws.

“I love using soft muted colours and white in a bedroom,” she says. She believes filling a room with sigh-worthy objects is not as difficult as many people think.

“I always try to have a point of interest in any room I am designing,” she says. “Whether it be a beautiful patterned wallpaper or a gorgeous stand-out piece of furniture or artwork, I choose one hero piece from each room and then decorate around that.”

Jenni loves velvet, marble, light oak timber and she adores wallpaper because it can change the whole feel of a room.

“I have seven separate rooms in my house where I have incorporated wallpaper, including my ensuite and toilet,” she says.

The heart of the home – the kitchen – hosts a long island bench and Jenni’s signature colour palette of whites and pops of playful pastels.

“The island bench doesn’t have a sink or hot plate so it is a beautiful clear serving area when people come over,” she says.

“All my appliances and dirty dishes, all the ugly things, are kept hidden in the adjoining butler’s pantry.”

The living area, which faces west, gets a daily dose of afternoon light.

“It also overlooks our pool and cabana area which is nice and relaxing to look out on to,” she says.

“I particularly love the soft pink, pale grey and white used in this area which makes it feel so relaxing. It is lovely to be surrounded by beautiful furniture pieces that you love.”