About me

I'm Jess, a former showbiz journalist (for my sins), now Interiors writer, editor and home do-er up-per. I have over ten years experience writing for national newspapers, magazines and websites including Grazia, Hello, ASOS and The Sun.

But while I had a hella load of fun getting drunk with Danny Dyer at the Cannes Film Festival and going for dinner a deux with the likes of Tom Hardy (yes that actually happened), I eventually ran out of enthusiasm for the wild nights and 5am finishes (but I'll never tire of lunch dates with you TH) and moved on to the decidedly more wholesome job of raising my two little humans Rafferty and Nellie, and juggling that with work as a freelance writer and celeb interviewer. I still pull the occasional 5am finish but it's a rarity rather than the norm now.

Which brings me neatly to why I decided to start this blog. About midway through maternity leave with Nellie, I realised I was well and truly over the showbiz journo life and that given the fact that approximately 90% of my brain was occupied with thoughts of paint charts, Ebay searches, fabric swatches, tile samples, shelf rejigging etc etc pretty much 24/7, I should probably be focusing on the one thing that I well and truly love (apart from my friends and family obvs). The thing that doesn't feel like work. The thing I never, ever, get bored of talking about...much to the delight of my husband (!!!) Also, it seems the birth of my second child unlocked a previously untapped source of 'why the f**k not' attitude. So here we are... 

Gold is a Neutral refers to my penchant for the shiny stuff. I love luxe textures like velvet, marble, linen and brass. I have a tendency to always like the most expensive thing in the magazine and sometimes I splurge, but generally speaking I don't have the budget to match so spend rather a lot of time searching for ways to get the look for less. I should also disclose that sitting contrarily alongside my love of all things luxe is a weakness for a bit of kitsch, so expect a bit of that too.

The Gold is A Neutral house is inhabited by me, my husband David and our two children Rafferty, 4, and Nellie, 1. Raf's room is a gold-free zone btw. For now.

This blog is about all the things I love. So as well as keeping you up to date on our ongoing renovations, I'll also be bringing you styling, shopping, travel and lifestyle tidbits and giving you the chance to have a nosy round some very stylish homes, hotels and more.

Click here for an intro to the Gold is a Neutral house.

I hope you enjoy it! 

Jess x