"Tangerine!" by Amanda Prowse

No 11 - "PERFECT INTERIOR!"

No 11 - "PERFECT INTERIOR!"

I am very, very nosey. This is a fact. And never more so when it comes to other people’s décor. My favourite hobby is riding the night bus, especially in a city and peering through open curtains or blinds where people have the lights on, enabling me to study their choice of paint colour, curtains, sofa pattern, cushions, and art… you get the idea. Now, please don’t be thinking I do this to judge. Okay, so maybe I judge a little bit, but I find it genuinely fascinating how just by putting a certain object in a particular place, the whole look and feel of a room can be changed. People’s inventiveness and creativity never fails to surprise me. And the bravery of some colour schemes is only something I can aspire to.

It’s brilliant what people can achieve in one room. I used to obsess over my bedroom when I was a teen and then later when I lived in shared flats and houses, doing my very best to make my small space homely and functional. Kind of like those dinky room sets in Ikea that inspire and tease, but long before we had Ikea and without half as much skill!

My second hobby is poring over Rightmove and other home/real estate sites where I get to glimpse the inside of people’s houses all over the world! This I particularly love when the weather is cold the sky grey. I love nothing more than to drool over poolside living in sunnier climes where muslin wafts in the breeze and a single candle flickers on a dust free surface… oh how I dream of a place like that. And I have a particular fascination for gazebos – the way people can dress them look like little slices of magical heaven right there in the back garden, twinkling lights and all – I love them!

My third favourite hobby is looking at images of interiors in magazines. Those picture-perfect shots crafted by clever creatives with an eye for a top-notch accessory… how I love them with their slightly fuzzy background and a pop of colour. A fabulous woollen throw casually draped, a stack of logs against natural brick – bring it on! A real treat is anything that features a tap/faucet. They are my favourite too, how do they get them so shiny?

My Instagram feed is chockablock of the homes of strangers; a delightfully busy wallpaper, a single bloom on a wooden table, kitchen utensils on a shiny countertop all call to me! Oh, and don’t get me started on bookshelves – I can stare at shelfies all day long.

I think my interior obsession is because I have lived in a state of permanent clutter and dust for the last few years. Having moved into the rambling farmhouse of my dreams, I now understand that it’s a bit like the Forth Bridge, as soon as one task is finished – another needs starting. Living here is like having another very time-consuming, part-time job, with the bricks and mortar of this creaky old building being my boss – and a demanding one it is too. The kind of boss who makes threats, “see this wonky roof? You get it fixed now or just wait and see what happens in the next storm…” and any cash I might have saved for pretty things like curtains or paint – gets swallowed up by scaffolding. Not that I’m moaning – this old house journey is both a joy and a privilege.

I’m aware that I am but a mere custodian of the space and know that long after my bones have turned to dust, it’ll be the task of someone else to wander the halls, worrying about creaking beams, uneven floors, the sound of dripping water and whether or not the septic tank is about to overflow… I wish them all the luck in the world. In fact, I’ve left them messages behind bookcases and inside wall cavities, little phrases of encouragement to keep them going.

Yes, this delightful house is no more than a big old, slightly overwhelming chore, but I love it. And I certainly take enormous encouragement and comfort from my slightly odd hobbies, listed above. The interior images I pore over, not only inspire me and help me to find my own style, but also my imagination is so vivid that just for a second or two, I can live in that spot where builders dust doesn’t fill my lungs, there isn’t sheet covered furniture lurking in corridors and I have shiny taps and a roof that doesn’t provide glimpses of sun. I can but dream…

For more information on Amanda to buy her books or pre-order her upcoming memoir “Women Like Us” please head to www.amandaprowse.com - thank you for stopping by! X