My Story

From Office to Outdoor Spaces

I’m writing this whilst surrounded by palm leaves swaying, ocean blues and tropical foliage. The birds are happily tweeting away and I’m sitting comfortably on my sun lounger chair.

To me, this is heaven.

My own little Caribbean island.

Although I’m about five thousand miles from the Caribbean, in my back garden in the south east UK.

Let me tell you how I arrived here…

I knew on some level for years, that I would set up a business, and the need to unleash my creative side gradually grew stronger. My career to date is in Finance, and whilst I'm still a self-confessed spreadsheet geek, I love to combine both my strengths of logic and creativity.

In fact I still vividly remember when I was 16 and doing one of those profiling exercises at school to help you figure out a career path to suit your personality and skillset.  The top recommendation for me was to be an architect, which makes perfect sense now. 

Unleashing my creativity

As well as having a skill for working with numbers, I have, from a young age, enjoyed creative activities and went through a phase of wanting to be a fashion designer, so I started making my own patterns and clothes. Eventually I chose the "safe" option; accountancy, but continued my creative hobbies; embroidery, card making, painting, music. 

Whenever I had an opportunity to design and craft something, I thrived. When we bought a house off plan, I had the wonderful experience of designing the interior using a software application. I poured over it for hours, creating CGI's (computer generated images) from ideas in my head. I was determined to make this vision of our home a reality, and I did! 

 

The tropical retreat transformation

Then later designing our new garden, or what we now refer to as "The Tropical Retreat" which is our little Caribbean island. 

Our garden, a typical new build, was the ideal starting point. We “made do” with it for years and didn’t spend much time outside. It was just very uninviting. 

Until we decided it was time for a change.

By this point, the fence was almost falling down on one side, the broken gate was propped up with a broken plant pot, the washing line had collapsed, and the spiky hedge had been pruned to within an inch of its life.

I could see in my mind's eye that, although a small space, if we took it back to a blank canvas then it was a fantastic space with huge potential.

So I set to work with my graph paper, tape measure and abundant imagination. I worked through logically and started putting together a vision board, as well as few versions of potential layouts. I spent time researching everything, weighing up pros and cons, and choosing all the perfect elements for our outdoor space.

 

Your Paradise at Home was born

It was along this journey that I had a moment of clarity, about my own business. I started making outdoor accessories as I couldn't find what I wanted in shops or online. I invested in a professional sewing machine and made my first outdoor sail shade in a beautiful palm leaf fabric. Our tropical retreat became our haven of tranquility, and I had once again turned a vision in my head, into reality. 

It was exactly how I'd imagined from a blank canvas to the finished outdoor space.

That's when I knew I wanted to help as many people as possible to create their own ideal outdoor space. Whether it's a quick makeover with new accessories to add comfort and your unique style, or something more transformative, that's what my brand is all about.

I see so many unloved gardens and wasted spaces with huge potential, and I know from own experience what an impact it can have on your lifestyle.

To have somewhere you can go and know that the stress of work and every day life will just melt away.

There are so many benefits to physical and mental health, of spending time outside in nature. 

Breathing in deep lungfuls of fresh air.

Hearing the birds singing.

Being surrounded by greenery, relaxing in comfort and making memories with friends and family that will be cherished forever.

 

I am finally building my own dream, one that I'm so passionate about and this is just the beginning...

 

Before

 

After