I help renters transform their spaces without permission slips

Central Saint Martins, 2012

I studied Interior Design at Central Saint Martins in London, but honestly? The course was all about high-end residential projects and commercial spaces. Important stuff, sure. But I kept coming back to a different question: what about the people renting tiny London flats? What about students sharing houses in Manchester? What about the thousands of us who want beautiful spaces but can't paint walls or install built-ins?

That became my obsession. I started experimenting in my own rented studio in Bethnal Green — testing gallery walls with damage-free hooks, playing with rug layering, figuring out which paint techniques work on rental walls.

Boutique Studio Years, 2012-2017

After graduation I took a junior role at a boutique interiors studio in Shoreditch. The work was polished, professional, and completely disconnected from real life. We were designing for people with unlimited budgets and landlords who didn't exist. After two years, I realised I was learning a lot — but not what I actually wanted to know.

So I quit. Spent five years as a freelance stylist working directly with rental property companies and individual clients across London, Manchester, and Edinburgh. That's when things got real. I stopped reading design theory and started solving actual problems — how to cover marks without paint, how to define spaces with rugs, how to add personality without breaking your deposit.

Design Writing, 2018-Present

By 2018 I'd done hundreds of projects. People started asking me to write down what I'd learned. The Guardian Home section picked up a piece about gallery walls. Then Ideal Home magazine commissioned a series on rental-friendly paint techniques. Suddenly I wasn't just styling individual flats — I was reaching thousands of people who needed exactly this information.

I worked as a freelance design journalist for four years, building a portfolio of published work and consulting for major UK furniture retailers on rental-friendly design concepts. Last year, I joined zdis.org Ltd as Senior Interior Styling Editor, leading editorial strategy for accessible interior design content.

Now I do both. I still take on styling projects — because you can't write authentically about things you're not doing anymore. But mostly I'm creating comprehensive guides that empower renters to express their personality through thoughtful, reversible design choices. Every single technique I recommend? I've tested it myself. Usually in my own flat.