Author Jenny Rose-Innes developed a passion for beautiful homes and gardens as a child. Growing up in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jenny’s family spent holidays at her grandparents’ beautiful old Victorian farmhouse in the Eastern Cape and their beach house shack where she was surrounded by gingham, faded florals, disparate collections of furniture and artwork, shells, plants and flowers.

Encouraged by her mother, she was also introduced to English literature and quickly developed a deep love for the English countryside. As a newlywed, Jenny subscribed to British magazines, which would take months to arrive by boat, and served as her introduction to English houses and the work of designers such as Colefax and Fowler.

“My connection with everything British was cemented when, as a family, we lived there for a few years; during that time, I fully immersed myself in amateur interior decorating, and experienced as much as I possibly could,” she explains in the introduction of her latest book, The Nature of Decorating: Interiors Inspired by the Natural World.

Jenny emigrated with her family to Australia 20 years ago. With a shared passion for interior design and gardening, she and her husband, Michael, have renovated many properties both in South Africa and in Australia. Jenny began blogging as a way of documenting her life in a new country, as well as keeping friends back home abreast of their new lives. She has turned that passion into a career and has written three Interior Design books, also including Australian Designers at Home and the best-seller British Designers at Home, which we previously reviewed at The Glam Pad.

Today, we get to know more about Jenny as she takes us inside her beautiful home in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, as featured in The Nature of Decorating: Interiors Inspired by the Natural World. And stay tuned, as next week we will be featuring homes and gardens that influenced Jenny, also featured in this book, including Butter Wakefield, Cath Kidston and Sean Anthony Pritchard.

Welcome, Jenny!

Q:  Please share your vision behind The Nature of Decorating, and how did you decide to include your own home and garden?

A:  In this book I tried to find a way to find a way of doing this in a subtle way. As Nature is so important to me – my editor and I came up with Nature being centre point around which discussions of my house and garden could circulate.

Q:  What is your approach to gardening and bringing nature into your home?

A:  My approach to gardening is that – for the first time – I have been very conscious of the fact that I share this 5 acre parcel of land with Nature and the wildlife that inhabits this space. I have planted with purpose – not only to beautify but also to attract birds and pollinators. The arrival of small birds to this property has been a direct result of this planting – being Natives and plants like fuscias, honeysuckle, salvias etc specifically to attract Honeyeaters. We also have adopted a no spray prolicy – guaranteeing safety to the pollinators and birds. I like to bring seasonal beautify into my home – so that the seasons are represented inside – echoing the outside. Blossoms, berries, branches – green and autumnal – and of course flowers and more flowers.

Q:  When did you become interested in interior design, and how did you develop the skills to design your beautiful home?

A:  I became interested in Interior design from a very young age. – from my teens I would say. I wasn’t hugely impressed with choices my parents were making during a renovation of our home and began suggesting other choices which happily they adopted. Over the years – because we have moved many times and renovated many times – I have had plenty of practice at honing this craft. I have never had any formal training in either garden design or interior design.

Q:  Where do you find your beautiful tableware and what is your philosophy when entertaining?

A:  I have found lots of my tableware while travelling – the Aptware in France and other designs in Paris and London. I do love a ‘pretty’ table – and also love to reflect the seasons in a tables cape. Fresh flowers, or tiny potted plants always find their way to the table.

Q:  Do you have any favorite collections?

A:  My Herend collection is much loved; – Majolica I have collected over the years; and Staffordshire figurines – particularly the sweet bunnies.

Q:  What advice would you give to those without formal training who want to create their own beautiful homes?

A:  Try to work out what you love before buying impulsively. Once you have a love for a certain style or period – collect and select within that framework slowly and it will all then begin to look cohesive.

Q:  How did you select the designers featured in The Nature of Decorating?

A:  Mostly from Instagram – people I have followed who have a similar love and interest in Nature.

Q:  Any favorite tips you learned from them while writing this book?

A:  I loved Robin’s garden structures; the way Louise Ness allows Hellebores and Violas to dry out naturally on a pretty tray – how Caroline plonks loads of greenery into her laundry sink to be arranged the following day; How Cath Kidston brings her Pelargoniums in and out of her house; how Sue Bond arranges vegetables, and other culinary delights in her baskets in the kitchen

Q:  Anything else you would like to share?

A:  That this book was a true labour of love – the thought and planning and planting beforehand – the shoots – everything involved with them – It was daunting at times – having only myself to rely on – listing and planning all the shots – styling them all. That this book was 4 years in the making!

Thank you, Jenny, for joining us today! We are enchanted by your beautiful home and look forward to reviewing the rest of your new book next week!

The Nature of Decorating: Interiors Inspired by the Natural World is available for purchase via Amazon, along with Jenny’s first two books Australian Designers at Home and British Designers at Home. And for ongoing inspiration, please follow @jennyroseinnes on Instagram.

Photography by Abbie Mellé