Beautiful bedside manners

Jayne Tolley with her favourite David Moreland framed chair in front of a Mark Stephens sugar-bowl screen. Pictures / Carolyn Robertson

Jayne Tolley believes people should be surrounded by things that are aesthetically pleasing. "An environment should contain something that's useful or something you love," says the interior and furniture designer for Eon Design Centre in Auckland. "If something in a room doesn't serve a function then it should be beautiful."

Tolley is eager to create such interiors for her customers. She's a good listener, which could have something to do with her previous life as a nurse.

"Interior design was something I always wanted to do even when I was nursing," she says. "I always had an eye for design and was creative. There's quite a link, in a way, between nursing and interior design. Nursing really set me up to deal with customers. It's all about communication and listening to what they want.

"There's a lot of project and time management involved with both. People don't realise how stressful design can be and how much time it can take to source things."

Tolley is intent on mixing people's hobbies and passions into their interiors so they can become spaces of their own and will happily ensure that someone musically inclined has their instruments in easy reach, not hidden away.

Although Tolley's design ethos has a New Zealand focus, she certainly doesn't think that starting a room from scratch is necessary. "Obviously there will be some things that have to go but I'm a big advocate of using what you've got. We might use the table but buy some great new chairs to go with it, or vice versa, or even use a mix of different chairs without following the latest table styles just because they're in the magazines.

"The idea is to change a few things to make a room look more contemporary."

There are simple tricks she likes to use. These include custom-making furniture to fit the room and its purpose rather than making do with something readymade.

She prefers starting with a neutral base, investing in good-quality fabrics and injecting colour into a room with artwork and decorative objects. For a quick facelift, cushions give instant gratification.

But there are certain things she doesn't approve of.

"Curtains shouldn't end at the window. It just looks ridiculous and shortens the window. A curtain should fall to the ground and look beautiful. Otherwise, use a Roman blind." 

My 10 favourite things


1. My Warwick Freeman butterfly brooch because it was given to me by a friend who knew I really liked it.


2. Dorothy Brown's in Arrowtown. It is the most stylish movie theatre I have been to, with comfortable seats, an intermission, and the opportunity to have a second glass of wine.


3. Josh King's tiki clock for its clever use of a genuine New Zealand icon.


4. Mies Van De Rohe's Farnsworth House in Illinois. It was built in the 1940s and its influence on open-plan, light-filled homes continues to dominate New Zealand architecture.


5. My Jose Bribiesca ring, because it was given to my mother by my grandmother 30 years ago. The designer is still making them today.


6. Reincarnated. This little shop in Mangawhai Heads is full of interesting collectibles and there's a good chance you will find yourself something special.


7. Designers Charles and Ray Eames for their practical and honest approach to design and their lifestyle.


8 David Moreland's framed chair for its seemingly simple, versatile design and straightforward use of materials. The chair is available with or without an upholstered seat cushion which can be individually screenprinted. At the Sydney DesignEx this year the chair featured seat cushions with a screenprinted artwork by New Zealand artist Martin Poppelwell.


9. My white ceramic collection of Crown Lynn, Keith Murray and Peter Collis vases, for their combined organic shapes and textures.


10. Great Barrier Island - because there are those times when you really just need to get away from it all.