We caught up with interior designer, Caroline Jolly at her Bulli home recently. We loved chatting about her career, some fun projects she’s been working on and spent a LOT of time oohing and aahing at all of the pretty things [and her gorgeous doggo, Bronte].
Here’s our chat with Caroline!
1 // Did you find interior design or did interior design find you?
I did creative subjects at school and always enjoyed them but fell into the corporate world after school. It wasn’t until I moved to Europe because of my husband’s work, that I began to think about interior design as a career. We were in Scotland for a year and France for six years. There’s something about the history and culture of Europe, and also I found Europeans to be quite adventurous with colour and their own style.
When we moved back to Australia, I decided to study interior design at The Design Centre in Enmore. Looking back, I don’t know how I did it! It was four years part time three nights a week and I was working part time and my youngest son was two years old.
2 // How did you career progress once you got your qualifications?
I love colour so seemed to end up in jobs where colour is celebrated. I worked for a Dulux colour consultant for a while and then in a wallpaper shop in Alexandria – it was so lovely being surrounded by that all day.
I started working on my own interior design projects around those jobs and then when we moved to the Illawarra four years ago, I decided to start Caroline Jolly Interiors officially.
3 // You’ve worked on some pretty interesting projects, haven’t you?
I do colour consultation and property styling, as well as residential and commercial interior design.
I enjoy them all but have recently worked on some fun commercial projects, revitalising the interiors at Two Mountains Merchants at Thirroul where we used lots of colour! And I did the interiors for a new brewery in Wollongong called Dusty Lizard, which has a very relaxed industrial look.
I’m currently working on some exciting residential projects too – a lovely high-end duplex in Thirroul and a building project which will be three Hamptons style houses. Hamptons style is very popular at the moment.
4 // So, tell us about your home and how you incorporate your own style into your space.
We love our place in Bulli – it’s so quiet here but we’re still close to everything. It was the upstairs open plan living area that won me over. It has so much natural light. The house is definitely a work in progress, we’ve already extended the deck and we’ve got plans to do much more to it, but I’ve added personal finishes like feature walls and greenery to make it our own space while we work on renovation plans.
My style is very much mid-century, but it’s about working with what you’ve got and adding in your own style with things like furniture, window dressings, artwork, plants and paint.
5 // We’re very curious – where does an interior designer shop locally?
Well, it depends on if I’m shopping for myself or for a client, but I do love Noel & Gladys in Thirroul and Home Thyme in Albion Park for homewares. The Timbermill building down the road from us in Bulli is fantastic – I go to Twig & Bo for florals, The Candle Kitchen for candles obviously and they have some fantastic artists upstairs in the Timbermill Studios. Sunrise Nursery in Helensburgh also has a great range of quirky pots and homewares for some fun pieces.
6 // What advice do you give people who are overwhelmed by styling and designing their homes?
Don’t be afraid of colour. It can change the look and feel of a room so easily. I redesigned a school staff room, and it was interesting to see how something as simple as introducing colour, texture and the positioning of furniture could change the mindset and behaviour of the staff. You can do that in your home too if you surround yourself with the colour, things and style that YOU like.
And if you feel overwhelmed about doing that, call in an interior designer who can help guide you through that process.
Awesome! Thanks Caroline!
Caroline is an interior designer based in Bulli. She provides colour consultation and property styling services, as well as residential and commercial interior design projects. Caroline believes good design consists of both beauty and function. She specialises in creating bespoke spaces that reflect her client’s personality and lifestyle. Find out more here.
Oh, and here’s another pic of Bronte….just because!
