Podcast - Ins and Outs

Garden designer Pollyanna Wilkinson and interior designer Jojo Barr share their wealth of experience in this podcast, which is a great insight into the ‘ins and outs’ of design – the title works on many levels! 

The format is effective as there are similarities in the way design is approached, whether indoors or outside.  For example, both suggest living in a space and watching how much sun the different areas get before making big changes.  They also both emphasise the importance of being very strategic, planning properly, taking measurements, making scale plans and drawings and creating mood boards and sample boards.

But of course, the detail is very different and the design duo quiz each other on their respective specialisms.  Jojo shares masses of tips on all things interiors, from curtains, blinds and shutters to flooring, bathroom layouts, lighting…you name it.  She goes in-depth on choosing the right paint colour and how it affects mood; blue being great for concentration, so ideal for a study, whereas she advises warmer colours in the bedroom to make them feel cosy.  North-facing rooms need whites with a hint of yellow and greens are nice in bathrooms as they evoke nature and make you feel clean.

Polly discusses how to allocate zones in a garden, such as an area of morning coffee, through to a spot for evening sun according to how the sun moves around the garden, before choosing materials.  Plants come last and she suggests thinking of colour combinations by season.  She’s also a big fan of bulbs, reminding us we can have them from winter, through spring.  When using tulips she says, either use complementary colours such as purple and orange, or analogous pinks and purples.

The pair have a chatty irreverent presenting style and are very open about their own personal career highs and lows.  Both are career changers, they discuss everything from retraining and the challenges of running a business, such as the loneliness mum guilt.  At the same time the podcast is packed with information and is well worth a listen if you’re in the mood for some home or garden improvements.