“I love being a dealer because it is in my blood,” says Jeff. “I have been working in the business since I was 17 and whilst I do have other interests, it’s vintage design that gives me the biggest buzz. ” – Jeff Salmon

Incase you haven’t seen Four Rooms here is a little run down.  The program focuses on four of Britains very top dealers in art, antiques and collectibles; Jeff Salmon, Emma Hawkins, Andrew Lamberty & Gordon Watson. The four dealers sit in separate rooms, each prepared to spend their own fortunes for the right item. Entertaining, intellectual and fascinating; the items that come in are just as bizarre as their sellers. Members of the public bringing in anything from a Mujahideen War rug to a Bird Feather Chandelier - all hoping to walk away with a life-changing amount of money. To do so they have to work out when to sell or when to see the next dealer, because once they leave the room they’re in, the offer is off the table for good!  It’s a gripping show and I personally find myself shouting at the TV trying to predict what the dealers will offer on items they haven’t dealt with and have no previous knowledge of. Four Rooms has not only demolished any preconceived ideas about the snooty and boring world of antiques/artefacts shows, but it has created it’s own exciting niche.  I myself, cannot wait for series 2! To view previous episodes of Four Rooms, head over to4oD.

Jeff Salmon stood out from the get-go with his bold dealing style – his dead pan, icy stare cutting through the sellers as he reads their body language. “Straight talking, I never take any shite from the seller!”  With over 40 years of experience Jeff has built a reputation for being a maverick art and design dealer. Amongst his many accomplishments, Jeff owns Europe’s largest commercial gallery Decoratum which specializes in vintage, retro and contemporary furniture and design. His client base is huge and features A list celebrities such as Kate Moss, Lily Allen and U2 guitarist Adam Clayton.

Below are the questions I asked Jeff Salmon.

Q- The first series of Four Rooms has recently concluded, and you’ve proved to be a firm favourite with viewers.  What have you been up to since the program was filmed and aired on television?

I have been ‘up to my eyes’ following the conclusion of the Four Rooms series, although, it has to be said, that the filming actually finished in January.  Nothing has greatly changed in my life since the programme was filmed and aired, not least because I am always travelling the world looking for new pieces for the galleries.  It has to be said that certainly I am being recognised and on at least two occasions the ‘autograph hunter’ thought I was either Dave Gilmour from Pink Floyd and on another occasion I was confused with Mr Bean.  I’d love to tell you that this was a joke, but it’s absolutely true.  It appears that nobody wants me for ‘Jeff Salmon of Four Rooms’.

Q- Many have described your dealing style as ‘acid-tongued’ and ‘intense,’ with a wicked sense of humour.  Would you agree?

I have never thought of myself as ‘acid-tongued’ nor ‘intense’.  Certainly I do not suffer fools gladly and hate ‘film-flam’.  I’d certainly go along with a description of having a good sense of humour and, it has to be said, that whilst a good education is extremely important, I think it runs a very close second to having a good sense of humour.  It also helps to be exceptionally good looking which, quite obviously, is where I score very highly on Four Rooms.

Q- From a young age trading newts in the schoolyard, to wheeling and dealing in your teens, you’ve shown a natural talent for dealing. Would you say this is a learnt talent or an instinctive skill?

Certainly I would say that my wheeling and dealing from a very young age is a natural talent and is very much a basic instinct of mine. Again, it really is important to be as good looking as I am and to be aware of those good looks.

Q- Decoratum has been quoted as your first love – what attracted you to specializing in 20th Century Design?

I’ve been interested in 20^th Century design since I left Sotheby’s in the 1970s.  I started dealing in Art Nuevo and Art Deco glass and moving over to 1950s-1990s design was a natural progression.  I am also so delighted that 18^th & 19^th Century brown furniture has become so yesterday and that a great designer doesn’t have to wait until their dead to be appreciated anymore.

Q- You have predicted that the designers of the pink Pencil Bench; Boex, will be the next big thing.  What other new designers do you see making it big in 2011/12?

My prediction that the designers of the Pink Pencil Bench, Boex, will be the next big thing is based on my hope that they will come out with some other great designs.  You’ll never become a great designer if you’ve only got one design in your portfolio.  They are very quirky and I can’t wait to see their next offering.  Again, it has to be said that they would stand a far better chance of success if they had a combination of my looks and brains but, of course, one mustn’t be greedy. I have a list of five new designers that I believe are going to make it big in 2011/2012 but if I told your readers who they are then I would have no option other than to murder them all.  Quite obviously, this would be time consuming and it is better to simply tell you that after I buy their current output and sign them up to the Decoratum stable then I’ll ‘spill the beans’.

Q- What are your favourite interior trends?

I’m so happy that ‘minimalism’ is nowhere near as popular as it used to be and that maximalism is rightfully coming back into vogue.  It makes a home so cosy and lived-in rather than trying to pretend that we’re all living in a faffing art gallery.

Q- When Four Rooms first approached you to be in the team of dealers, what were your initial thoughts?

When I was first approached to be in the team of dealers in Four Rooms I initially said that whilst it was a great concept, the programme was probably not for me because they were probably looking for somebody with a chequered suit and a trilby with a plum in his mouth and an apple up his bum.  I told them that I was opinionated and very much the antithesis of a middle-England antiques dealer and they probably wouldn’t want me.  The production house, Talkback, confirmed that they were very much looking for a dealer with an edge and asked me down for a camera test, which seemed to go well.  Once again, how lucky I was that my good looks played such an intuitive part in their decision to rope me in.

Q- Four Rooms has broken the mould and proved to be hugely successful with people of all ages, especially the younger generations.  How important do you think it is to appeal to the younger audience; introducing them to not only the art of dealing, but to the history of interesting artifacts?

On a more serious note, I am so pleased that Four Rooms has broken the mould of antique programmes and it really has not surprised me, in the least, that it has proved to be hugely popular with viewers of all ages.  What has really been the ‘big excitement’ to me is the very fact that it has drawn in so many younger people and, who knows, if they are as good looking as I am, it might turn them into the dealers of the future.  Nothing is more important than the education of the young (apart from having a great sense of humour…..see above!) and, as the old proverb goes, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day…..teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.  Let me paraphrase that by suggesting that by teaching the young how to deal and negotiate art will, I promise you, set them up for life.

Q- How competitive does it get between the other dealers? Who would you say is your biggest competition?

The level of competition between the dealers on Four Rooms is intense and especially when there is something that we all want.  If I were a seller I would either go to the most good looking dealer, i.e. me or to any other dealer who may be wearing leather trousers.  Certainly, for the next series, it is my intention to wear leather underpants and hopefully to get more people to come to visit me first.

Q- What was your most recent purchase and how much did it sell for?

My most recent purchase was a wonderful chrome table by a French architect whose name escapes me as I am writing this.  I sold it for £12,950.

Q- What words of wisdom would you give for any aspiring dealers out there?

The best words of wisdom I can give you would be a paraphrase on that wonderful George Bernard Shaw quote, “Those that can, do; those that can’t, teach”.  Might I suggest that those that can become great dealers of art and antiques, and those that can’t stay at Sotheby’s and Christies valuing.

I was speaking with a dear friend of mine about her voluntary work at the exclusive Mary Portas Living & Giving shop in Primrose Hill.  She was raving not only about how great the concept is but also how stunning the interiors were.

“Living & Giving is the charity concept that Mary developed for Save the Children following her 2009 series Mary Queen of Charity Shops.  With the local community at its heart, Living & Giving is not just a shop, but a place to inspire, share, create, meet and discover.

Living and Giving is a philosophy, a fantastic way to contribute to the community, help some of the world’s most vulnerable children and bag a designer bargain at the same time!”

The look and feel of the shop is just like being in an eccentric persons living room.  The walls are painted with rich heritage colours, and decorated with various  paraphernalia such as stuffed animal heads, vintage qilt frames a selection of colorful books and some theatrical eye masks.  In amongst the clothes, there are old vintage leather chairs dotted around the place and recycled wooden storage units packed full of goodies.  I think my favourite part has to be the use of clever lighting scattered around the shop to create small and personal spaces that entice you in to browse.  I could see myself loosing hours riffling through all of the hidden treasures…

Click the link below to get your hands on a copy of the fantastic new book by Holly:

Decorate: 1000 Professional Design Ideas for Every Room in the House

I think the good thing is that there’s lots of good quality stands and people tend to just mill from one stand to the next because there’s people that genuinely want to find out about new products. I think most people come wanting to buy something or find out about bathrooms or kitchens, not just browse and shop. Grand designers on a mission to do something for their house! They also want to gain knowledge and leave with something personal to their requirements.

What inspired you to become an architect?

Both of my granddads were builders, so I was on building sites a lot when I was a kid, so when all my mates were playing with toy cars, I’d be out there seeing the real thing. Over school holidays I’d go out on site and help with lifting bricks. So building was always part of my family, architecture became a part of it as I used to just sketch and draw, I loved drawing and I just started drawing buildings and it became a really natural thing for me to do. Even though at the age of 8 or 9 I didn’t really know what architecture was, I got to 11 and realised what it was and have never looked back.

What building materials are vital to use in 2011?

What’s interesting about building technology and materials at the moment is that sustainability and environmentally friendly materials are important. It seems to be getting pushed on even more; companies are not only wanting to do something that’s stylish, looks beautiful, functional and practical but also has a really good sustainable message behind it. I did an eco refit at the ideal home show in March, where we tried to put as many ecological materials in there as we could. It looked great; a kind of slick form of environmental design. There were tiles that we had in the bathroom that were coated in titanium dioxide film, which reacts with artificial or natural light and turns CO2 back into Oxygen, like a tree, which is mad! I think people are trying to reduce their carbon foot print and be more eco whilst being stylish and slick.

Who is your favourite architect?

That’s a tough one! Most of my favourites are all dead unfortunately. Le Corbusier was one of my favourites when I was training to be an architect; he designed amazing one off houses as well as social projects. It’s really difficult because you have your favourite and then they do a really bad building and you think, oh I’ve gone off them now! You’re only as good as your last job unfortunately.

There’s a Scandinavian architect called Sverre Fehn. He was a very modern contemporary architect but he balanced it with Scandinavian tradition by using warm materials, beautiful timbers and leather handles. He was sensitive to details, it’s the sort of architecture that I love as it’s modern and contemporary, but it’s also warm and homely. My favourite designers who are architects as well are Charles and Ray Eames, they were so eclectic; they designed all sorts of furniture, their Eames office in California. I’d like it if we could be the Eames office of the 21^st century.

What’s been your most satisfying project to date?

I think the one that was the most interesting and quirky was a restoration of an ice house up near a loch in Scotland. It was a commercialised house, a bit of a telly tubby building that was built into the landscape, right beside a beautiful loch. In the 1800’s when they used to go out and fish on the lochs they would get the ice from the lochs and store the fish in there, which was a natural ecological fridge. We turned that into a two bedroom house and saved the building and gave it a new lease of life, but it also made it one of our most ecological houses with a nice modern glass extension on the end. I’d never really worked on anything that quirky before and it was a bit out of the ordinary and a really unique building.

Where do you find your inspiration on a daily basis?

I would say nature is quite amazing; I do a lot of walking and climbing to get away from the pressures of work. When you look at all the issues in nature of how things build and grow themselves. You get mathematicians who look at nature to see how things are calculated. It also inspires ecological design, you have to be super sensitive to the landscape and blur the edges between architecture and landscape. Landscape and nature is quite a powerful thing for me.

Any top tips for people wanting to do their homes on a budget?

De-cluttering your space is a great thing to do and obviously it’s free! Some of have so much stuff and we talk about wanting more space when really we could probably do with just getting rid of things on free cycle. Painting things white obviously makes a space appear a lot bigger and brighter. It might just be putting a simple skylight in that would make the big difference, like over a staircase to allow for as much natural light to get in as possible. Kitchens and bathrooms are the slightly more expensive way of sprucing up a home but it’s the thing that really adds a lot more value to your home. Even just re-tiling or giving a bathroom a lick of paint makes a difference. Your kitchen and dining spaces are like the heart of the home, people spend a lot of time there being sociable.

Sketch itself is an extremely quirky bar/restaurant/club which is oozing with individual features, vibrant colours and eccentric furniture.  I felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland as I tried to find the room where the breakfast was held.

Overall the meeting was about the current interior design climate and how people are finding it difficult to do up their homes due to funds.

People are no longer after a quick fix as they are not selling their homes, meaning that they want to add personal touches and actually “live” in their homes.

Therefore consumers are more likely to experiment with bold colours through accessories, fabrics and furniture, moving away from the estate agent’s rules of impersonal cream and beige spaces. As well as being bold, design has gone down the route of eco and natural with respect for the earth’s resources and they way things are made and who by.

A few quotes below of what Laurence and Anna had to say:

Laurence:
“People are finding it difficult to afford large purchase so the smaller touches are more effective.”

“There’s nothing us British like more than a bit of loo humour” (whilst holding a toilet roll)

“Next weekend is the big DIY weekend with the spring cleaning and the summer approaching”

“There is so much you can do by making small changes”

“In your bathroom you can experiment with bold colours, a lick of paint doesn’t cost much and makes a dramatic effect”

“MDF’s lovely, it’ll have a revival one day”

Anna:
“As we emerge from the recession, we have forgotten what it’s like to have a real home. When designing our homes functional and affordable is key.

Little things are easy to accessories

Design has been going natural eco with leaves and  flowers

We are stirring up what was laying dorment for so long – interior design”

Pippa Jameson Interior’s Shopping Contributor, Liz Danon, visited the Ideal Home Show and has this fantastic interview with Linda Barker .  Read on for a sneaky insight into Linda’s design influences, people’s spending habits and trend predictions for 2011…

When you decided to set up really Linda Barker, what was the style you began with and what did you draw your inspiration from?

It’s my signature look; it’s quite contemporary but its really friendly and comfortable. If I didn’t like it it wouldn’t be in the catalogue and it’s very much about how I decorate.
And my inspiration is really as a designer you just keep your eyes open wherever you go. I do all the trade shows so you’re always looking at what’s new, people profile new looks. You can go into a new hotel or a bar to find your inspiration.

Have you seen anything today that has caught your eye?
I have had a little look, I like the prince’s house, lots of style things in there which are really good. A lot of what I’m doing at the moment which is sort of salvage trends. They’re using a lot of clever materials. The beach house and the eco house that I’m involved in. It’s all quite inspiring.

I noticed that you did fine art at university, who is your favourite artist?
I like a lot of artists, Howard Hodgkin, his colour was amazing. A lot of art, not just painting, I like light installations. And then I like the masters, Piccaso, Monet and the modern stuff too like Tracey Emin, I do try and go to galleries when I get the time.

What trends of 2010 influenced you the most?
Probably the recycling trend, eco trend. Everybody’s got to be a lot more clever about the materials they use in their homes. it’s a very strong message.

Do you think that the current economic situation has contributed and influenced the way people spend?
Yes definitely, when people are buying things for their home, there are much more considered purchases, they’ve got to work quite hard in the home. People don’t just want a quick fix, they want longevity. We’ve found that people are spending a bit more on long lasting products.

What are your predictions for 2011 trends?
We’ll be much more aware of the providence of things that we put in our homes. I think we’ll be looking after the environment a lot more, but we’ll be having fun with interiors. It’s about creating an individual look, so not about a mass manufactured house. Maybe we’ll be making and crafting things ourselves.

What inspired you to become an interior designer?
I suppose having a strong art back ground and then combining that with being a house owner. Put the two together and loved it from then on.

What inspires you daily?
At the moment probably looking at design blogs.

Design disaster?
Probably on changing rooms, I did have a shelf of tea pots collapse on me. They all broke and they were somebody’s collection, about 30 of them.

What would you do to spruce up a room in an hour?
Move the furniture around, you can really give a room a whole new look by just shifting things. By bringing things into the bedroom from the living room, rugs, pictures everything can be interchanged.

What’s your favourite item in the home?
Probably a lovely wooden Buddha head that I found in a salvage yard

Most recent item you purchased?
I think I bought some glasses, because im doing some projects here for the theatre on recycling. And I bought some beautiful vintage champagne glasses from a charity shop, there were three which is probably why they were being chucked out. They’re very beautiful.

Most enjoyable part of the design process?
Thinking about the initial concept, that’s very exciting.

Thank you Linda for a great interview!

It’s official, 50′s style home shopping is back.  Remember the days of Avon, well now it’s Jamie at home parties!  The company launched in March 2009 and now has 2,700 consultants across the UK and this figure is increasing all the time-quite commendable in times of a  recession.  The amount of people who have attended parties to date has reached a whooping 260,000!  It seems people can’t get enough of the home shopping experience and and I can kind of see why.

First and foremost, the products are stylish and functional and start from as little as £5.  You are able to shop at your leisure in a relaxed surrounding (i.e your friends livingroom!), and finally, you can do all of this whilst enjoying a glass of wine with your friends-perfect!  Anyone for a Jamie party?!  And if you were to consider working for Jamie as a consultant, you then have the advantage of flexible working hours and as a working mum, I know this is an attractive option.

We spoke with Jamie Oliver’s team and asked them about the range and this is what they had to say…

• What made you want to design this range and who or what inspired the new additions?

The brand and therefore the products start life based on Jamie’s values and his passion for food, entertaining and spending time with friends and family. We are only one year old so the additions to the range are always evolving and developing, but are mostly inspired by Jamie, the designers we work with and our customers. We draw a lot from the people around us and who we sell to.

• What would you say is the most essential item for the summer kitchen?

For the kitchen indoors I would go for the Cast Iron Griddle Pan. It’s quick, easy and healthy cooking for meat or vegetables. Using very little oil you can griddle meat and vegetables in minutes.  For outdoor cooking, the right BBQ tools are a must to make the job easier. They are a serious set of BBQ tongs and a great set of skewers.  The double pronged ones are best.  They make it much easier to turn your food without it spinning.

• Being able to use it indoors and outdoors makes the new cast iron griddle perfect for British summer BBQs. Do you have any other solutions or top tips for the perfect BBQ?

Great marinades, dips, sauces and relishes. One of the great things about BBQ’s is that everyone can get involved – from laying the table to tuning the meat. It’s informal dining at its best.

• Have your travels around the world influenced your thoughts on essential kitchen items? If they have, can we see this in the new range?

Essential kitchen items are those that are essential to the way and what you cook, which differs in each food culture.  Anything that makes a job easier is always an inspiration but it’s not necessarily an essential.

• You have a new kitchen scent collection inspired by herbs, how would you say this affects the atmosphere in the kitchen?

Fragrances are for enhancement, creating a mood or hiding kitchen smells.  I would say the fragrance ticks all those boxes.

• What is your must have herb you could not live without?

Sage is my absolute favourite but I use parsley the most.

• Apart from the scent range, how do you bring the outside indoors with your cooking?

Fresh fruit and vegetables and lots of it. Picked fresh from your own garden if you are lucky to have one is the best.  From local markets is just as good. The flavours can be extraordinarily good. Growing herbs indoors is an obvious one, but as rewarding as the cooking itself.

• What advice would you give to people wanting to improve their cooking skills?

Apart from having the right equipment which is a must, practice and experimentation are essential.  A good grounding in basic skills like knife skills, really do make a difference.  Recipease run great knife skills courses.

• Do you have any storage solution tips when it comes to kitchens?

It’s very tricky as many of the products that take up the space are those that hold volume, so you are storing a lot of air.

There are lots of space saving products on the market from bowls and food storage boxes that slot inside each other to foldable chopping boards to cookware with detachable handles.  Most people however have kitchen equipment that has evolved with them over their cooking ‘careers’, that become loved and cherished favourites.

My suggestion would be to keep it simple and have clear outs every now and again.  Stick to your essentials and those items that you have grown to love, cherish and enjoy using.

• How much of your own kitchen can be seen in the new range?

Lots. I love cooking.  My own kitchen is made up of practical but beautiful products.  Practical shapes, an array of solid wooden chopping boards that will last and age with use.  A real mixture of contemporary and old country pieces.

• Any plans for more kitchen essentials?

Oh yes.

Below are are a selection of the new products:

For further information on Jamie’s products or to hold a party then call 0844 871 2010 or visit: Jamie At Home

Interview conducted by Liz Danon and questions answered by Zoe Jackson, Head of Buying for JME Lifestyle.

Zoe Jackson, Head of Buying for Jme Lifestyle

What has influenced your flamboyant design throughout the years?
Well, flamboyance! I love the term flamboyance, it’s a word that actually weirdly means something very specific in an architectural context; it means a flaming arch, derived directly from French gothic architecture. It’s such a great word, it’s got a wonderful rhythm to it. My inspiration is feel-good design, it’s feel-good design with a good healthy dose of bump and grind to it. I like things to be grown-up, sexy, fun and exuberant. I don’t like things to be understated. I hate roundhead designs, it’s cavalier designs that make me get up in the morning.

How have you created a range that is individual to Matalan?
Every collection has a very strong identity to it. The first collection was called Black Chateaux, then we had Hollywood Rose, we’ve now got Opera and I’m working on Tsar at the moment, and I think that’s pretty critical to the fact that they work so well. It’s that I approach them as haute couture products. They are about expressing a very particular fantasy, if you like. Everything in each collection is there as part of an interior lifestyle jigsaw that’s happening in the back of my mind, that conjures up a particular association. So at the moment with the Opera collection everything is about femininity, it’s about theatricality, it’s about making big emotional statements, all to the background of extraordinarily big bad beautiful music.

Who is your favourite designer?
Nicky Haslam.

What are your tips for 2010 interior design?
Assemble your room like you assemble your outfit, so take bits from all over your experience. Buy stuff at airports, get stuff on holiday, go to car boot sales, go to the sales. Buy expensive things and put them next to very accessible affordable things from my range at Matalan. But have an overwhelming idea of identity behind it. Who do you want to be through your interior? Do you want to be an opera diva, do you want to be a Tzarina, do you want to be a Hollywood movie star? Express a personality through interior decoration.

How do you feel you have made your mark/ influence on your range for Matalan.
Everything I’ve got in the ranges has my design DNA in it and this is one of the reasons that I love working so closely with the team at Matalan – I’m encouraged to leave my mark, there’s no hint of what I do being ‘em-beiged’ by the buying or design teams, it’s intensified almost.

What is your favourite room in the home to design and why?
I love bedrooms because I think that they are a inner sanctum.

How do you gather daily inspiration?
I think that the secret of design is to be constantly aware of what surrounds you and remember it. I’m very lucky; my greatest resource is having an extremely good memory. I can remember architectural details, I can remember colours, elements that then sit around in the bouillabaisse that happens between my ears and occasionally randomly things float to the surface in the most odd and unusual combinations, that then become the basis of a new creative idea.

How do you collate new ideas?
The secret is not to control it or deliberately collate it. It’s not to see something and say right I’m going to do that, or right I’m going to be inspired by that, or indeed right I’m going to copy that. Actually the best thing you can possibly do is to be constantly inputting down loading information and just leaving it to ferment in your torpid imagination until it becomes pure grains of booze.

What has been your favourite design project?
It’s always the one I’m working on.

What was your inspiration behind the collection?
I take my inspiration for each collection from different areas of my cultural life. It’s also a lot to do with the way people are feeling about themselves. We’re about to move into a phrase for spring/summer where people are wanting to be a lot more exuberant with the way that they decorate their homes and also the way they entertain. It’s not about spending money, and this is the big joy with Matalan, that it’s not about the money – it’s the design. By the time we get to autumn/winter I’m creating this personality, this identity based around the doomed, decayed, decadent but extraordinarily beautiful world of the last Tzars in Russia. Imperial Russia with its sparkling jewel colours and heavy ornate patterns I think is perfect for autumn/winter 2010.

How are they such good value?
The economies of scale and the very intelligent clever buying principles means that these things can be created at very little cost. We use a lot of modern technology, we use a lot of modern materials to give a grand historical style, the kind of availability and accessibility that people want at out price point.

What would you say is your all time favourite design piece?
The Great bed of Ware in the Victoria & Albert Museum.

What is the most expensive item you’ve bought?
That’ll be a 17th Century manor house.

Have you ever made any major design faux pas
Yes but I’m not owning up to any of them!

Interview by Elizabeth Danon

Claudia is the new face for American Express Richer Rewards card and during the informal breakfast we chatted to Claudia (who is exactly as you would expect her to be, very funny and warm) about the new card whilst getting an insight into her busy life.  As you can imagine, there were lots of questions about Claudia’s sense of style and ‘Strictly’ before we got to talk about the card…

Who is your favourite to win the show? “I love them all and would be happy for any of them to win”

Then it was on to her amazing sense of style and ‘who she was influenced by?’ “My style hero is Chrissie Hynde, we have a fantastic stylist on the show and I told her that I wanted to look like a mix between Chrissie and Kate Moss”.

Who styles you hair?  “A guy called Michael, he has been doing my hair for ages and tries to give me the messy ‘shag’ look – her actual answer was a bit more graphic and not something that I can really write on the blog but I am sure you get the picture…

Where do you shop for your clothes?  “I love the high street, especially French Connection and Topshop.  As I get so many enquiries about the clothes I wear on the show, I think it’s really important that the viewers are able to go and purchase the items.

Are you worried about ageing?  “Not at all, as the people that have really influenced me in my life are older and so that is something to embrace rather than shy away from”.

What’s the secret of your diet?  “I don’t really have one as I do eat what I want and I don’t have a fast metabolism!  I tend to eat lots of low calorie snacks such as Prawns, twiglets and lots of sushi”.

How do you find the balance of being a working mum and having a busy career?  “I love it but it is a juggling act.  I just make sure that I am there for the children; breakfast is always an important time with the family”.

What is your interior style?  “I loved all things that have a washed out look, things with a really pale feel.  Cath Kidston is a favourite.  I guess it would be called a Shabby Chic look”

How did you become the face of the Richer Rewards Card?  “It was a simple decision for me really.  I like to shop and if I can use a credit card that earns me points from favourite stores then that’s a great thing.  My £1′s convert into points and once these have built up I can then redeem them at participating stores.  The other thing (which we thought was great) is that Amex have a 90 day return policy and better still you don’t need to take the item back to the store.  You just return it to Amex and they will do if for you!

GIVEAWAY!

In  the next few days we will be running a competition for one of our lucky readers to win all of Claudia’s hand picked homeware products (image to the left) from participating Amex stores.  Keep checking the blog for your chance to win!

What was your inspiration behind your new Ports Of Call paint collection?

I always approach my design research in the same way.  Twice a year I create my ‘Style Look Books’ using tear sheets, colour samples combined with inspiration from fashion and travel.   My designers around the world eagerly anticipate the books as it is what we all draw inspiration from for the fashion collections.  I then produce 5 key themes a seasons which give me ideas on a range and I will work on spring 2010, winter 2010 and spring 2011.  I then apply the same process when it comes to my homeware collection.  Finally, I will play around with the 5 looks on my studio table and from that paint up around 50 colours for my paint collection on A4 sheets, I will then re-access until I have whittled the colours down to 36.

Above is Jeff’ Banks latest Ports Of Call paint collection

What predictions have you got for forthcoming colour trends?

Recently we have seen a fantastic return to colour and print and the great thing is now that clothes are more affordable people are more inclined to experiment with the bright colours.  It’s the difference of spending £20 on a garment as supposed to £2,000 on a designer item.

Are the bright colours here to stay?

The bright colours that we are seeing such as Lime and Fuchsia I predict will be around until at least 2011.  The beauty of these bright colours is that they can be used with classic ‘off white’.  I will certainly be using them in my fashion collection up until 2011.

The above image features Jeff Banks new paint collection Ports Of Call

I like your idea of painting the home one colour to achieve a sense of continuity and flow.  That said; I know a lot of designers homes are white – mine is! What colour is your home?

Our home is painted one colour throughout.  It’s a soft putty colour from my Lazy Paint range.  We live in a classic 17^th century home that was built in 1695 and so it was fun to decorate.  My wife and I have slightly different tastes when it comes to home decor but we have come to a happy compromise where some rooms are ‘Jeff’ rooms and some are ‘Sue’ rooms; it works very well.  Our living room for example (a Jeff room) is all white, from the sofa right through to all the soft furnishings but then next door we have another sitting room that is adorned with Klimt upholstery ( a Sue room) – it’s fantastic!  There is one room in the home that we have transformed from white into a fabulously rich red.  We use it as our  dining room.  It’s full on and even though we don’t use it that often it’s great for entertaining; especially at Christmas time.

What is your interior style?

I would say my Interior style at home is contemporary and modern.  The most important thing to me is that people are comfortable in our home without worrying about making foot prints when they come through the door.  Whereas my studio is much more clinical, almost like an operating theatre!  It needs to be like this as it acts as a good backdrop to my designs and doesn’t interfere with any colours or looks I might be developing.

What is your favourite interior item at home?

It would have to be my Anglepoise lamp.  In my opinion, a great design is something that can stand the test of time and this certainly has.  Designed in around 1933, the Anglepoise lamp has been sympathetically modernised over the years to fit in with the current market.

What would you never leave home without?

A pair of Jeff Banks pants!!

Credits

The Ports Of Call paint Collection has just launched in Focus DIY stores nationwide, www.focusdiy.co.uk Retail Price is £19.99 for Matt Finish, £21.99 for sheen, both available in 2.5 litre tins

For more information on Jeff Banks visit his website at www.jeffbanks.co.uk

This interview was conducted by Pippa Jameson