Vanessa Rhodes loves Christmas. “There is nothing I enjoy more than decorating the tree with the kids and reminiscing over Christmas decorations they made at school the year before.” The kitchen is the heart of the home for the interior designer. “We spend so much time in there, that as long as the decorations in that room are fine, I’m happy,” she says. “The kids have quite a big say as to where things go, so it rarely ends up quite as I visualised it.”

Based in Collingham near Wetherby, the mother-of-two has worked in interiors for ten years, launching her company eight years ago. Now she is in demand, giving her magic touch to homes throughout Yorkshire.

Vanessa, who works alongside colleague Lili Tanko, loves the challenge of mixing different styles to create truly unique homes. Past projects range from a country cottage in York, to a Harrogate townhouse and a quirky 1930s arts and crafts-style house in Leeds.

“Sometimes it starts off being one room and ends up being the whole house,” she says, “I consider a client’s design style: are they very contemporary or traditional or a mixture? It’s also important to find out about how they use the space.”

Among the many stunning homes she has transformed, this country house in Leeds – a large Victorian property began as a blank canvas.

Accustomed to city life, its owners wanted a modern take on country living. This was achieved by applying a mix of period and mid-century furniture blended with quirky furnishings and upholstery fabrics. As the owners comment: “Vanessa took our ideas on board. She instinctively knew when my husband and I would disagree on design choices and always found the perfect compromise.”

“We got to work straight away choosing colours for rooms, furnishing fabrics, sofas, beds and furniture. The whole house had to be redecorated and when that was done we could start having fun finding the right lighting, artworks and soft furnishings to make the house into the country escape they had always wanted .”

The couple wanted the house to be warm and inviting, so they opted for a rich and traditional decorating scheme. With Christmas approaching, they were keen to get the property feeling like home for the festive season - a look they agreed to replicate for Living.

“We started with the living room – the tree was decorated with vintage baubles and decorations, and not overworked,” says Vanessa. “Mirrors and pictures were dressed with simple sprigs of holly and the mantelpiece twinkled with fairy lights.”

Much of the green foliage used was collected from the garden to give a natural and traditionally inspired feel, even the swimming pool area was given the Christmas touch.

Adds Vanessa: “The dining room, although still traditional, had a cooler palette to tone with the paler colours of the room. Silver and antique gold baubles were stacked together in a vase to add a modern twist to the table decorations.

“Ivy was intertwined with smoky glass baubles over the table runner, resulting in a simple and relaxed table to enjoy mince pies and mulled wine.”

Vanessa, suggests gold’s and reds for a Christmassy feel. “They create a warm, traditional scheme, whereas frosted whites and silvers are a good start for modern decorations. Green works well with both, so it is possibly the ultimate Christmas colour – think holly and ivy, fir trees and, of course, the original Father Christmas.” She encourages people to think of new ways to use existing decorations – baubles in a vase or scattered around a kitchen table. “Collect pine cones and spray with artificial snow. Light candles with essence of citrus and cinnamon.”

To complement her interiors business, Vanessa also offers a design and manufacture service creating beautiful, bespoke furniture and upholstery for clients. Her portfolio includes fitted kitchens, dressing rooms and bedrooms.

Taken from the November issue of Yorkshire Living

For more information, visit vanessarhodesinteriors.com, phone 01937 918186 or email mail@vanessarhodesinteriors.com