This month on The Style Segment, we had the pleasure of chatting with talented interior designer Sally Rhys-Jones of RHYS / JONES Interior Design. With over 15 years experience in the residential design, Sally brings to the table a serious wealth of knowledge and a truly stunning portfolio that we thoroughly enjoyed pouring over here at Huntley + Co. It’s not hard to see why Sally has such a significant social media following! Sally is known for her beautifully resolved, liveable spaces and her down to earth approach to design. So let’s learn a little more about the incredibly talented woman that is Sally Rhys-Jones.
Amy: Tell us a bit about yourself. Tell us how your interiors journey begun?
Sally: Growing up I was always into anything creative, however my practical brain led me to study medical science in my first year of university. That didn’t last long! I then moved over to interior architecture and after graduating, I worked for an architect for 7 years, before going out on my own in 2011. When I’m not at work, I am happiest in the great outdoors and as close as I can be to the ocean, or in my garden, trying to grow veggies in my backyard patch!
Amy: What services does Rhys / Jones offer and how has your company evolved over time?
Sally: We started off specialising in bathroom and kitchen design which evolved into doing entire homes. Most of our clients will come to us with DA approved plans and we will take it from there, providing full interiors documentation and detailing – such as electricals plans, joinery design, finishes and fittings selections. We will also work closely with the builder to ensure it all comes together. I love being onsite with the builder and trades – you learn a lot from being involved onsite!
Amy: What does a typical day in the life of Sally Rhys-Jones look like?
Sally: My husband is a police officer so is usually at work at the crack of dawn, so it’s Mum duty first thing, getting my 4-year-old daughter off to kindy most mornings. If he is at home, I will try to get down to the beach at sunrise for a swim (it used to be a surf, before all the horrid weather in Sydney this year!), then it’s off to work!
If it’s a day in the office, we will be working on huge volumes of CAD drawings detailing lots of things like bathrooms and joinery. There is also a tonne of admin to be done – cross checking orders for tiles and tapware, placing orders, following up on shipments, invoicing suppliers, and clients. There will be emails and phone calls from our various building sites, with questions from trades to follow up on, which may also mean updating and re issuing drawings, organising joinery measures and installations.
Most weeks we will also spend time on our various building sites. At any given time, we can have between 2 to 6 sites on the go. At least once a week I will stop into site, to do a walk through with the builder or trades. Last week we did a walk through for an electrical rough in onsite, tile set outs with the tiler on another, and organised a few areas of joinery adjustments for a project just completed.
Back to the office to reply to any emails that have come in while onsite and update drawings after our site meetings.
Then kindy pickup rolls around and I attempt to get my 4-year-old to actually eat something for dinner, feed the family of magpies that come for a daily visit to our backdoor, do the bedtime routine, followed by dinner for us and flop onto the couch to unwind with whatever TV series we are watching (currently the Crown and Yellowstone!)
Are you tired yet? haha
Amy: What design trends are inspiring you right now?
Sally: I’m not really trend driven, but I am loving the use of more varying natural stones including stone cladding and lots of crazy paving. I’m a huge fan of all the texture that’s around at the moment!
Amy: How would you describe your own personal design style?
Sally: My style was once described as Smart Casual by House & Garden, which I loved! My design work is generally not trend driven but is somewhat influenced by coastal living, neutral and light colour palettes, with a focus on beautiful materials and texture.
Amy: Form, function or both? Where do you stand on this as a designer?
Sally: Although I often have materials in mind before I start the design, it’s always function first – I always start with the layout of the spaces I design, as it MUST be practical.
Amy: What are some key things you need to consider when designing a space?
Sally: What you want and need in the space from a practical perspective, then any specific materials you really want to use and what are the top priorities. There are always pros and cons you will need to weigh up to get the best result out of the available space.
Amy: What project in your portfolio are you most proud of and why?
Sally: That is very hard! Our Berry project was a fantastic one to work on as we had a brave client and were able to collaborate and use lots of different organic materials, unique custom-made pieces (our huge concrete cow trough bathroom sink!) and vintage pieces like the butchers block and marble basins.
Others have been firm favourites, not only from the perspective of what the finished result looked like, but the great vibe on site with the clients and builders! I won’t name names, but they know who they are!!!
Amy: How do you stay creatively inspired?
Sally: Travel is the main one – although that’s been difficult of late! I love travelling to slightly out of the way places and seeing different cultures – Nepal & Morocco have been highlights. Design wise I love spending time in Bali – the craftsmanship, use of materials and landscaping there is very inspiring.
Amy: What advice do you have for people wanting to get into, or starting out, in interior design?
Sally:
1. It’s not an overnight process
2. Learn AutoCAD
3. Get work experience while you study as you’ll learn more on the job than in the classroom!
Amy: What are your favourite pieces from the Huntley + Co range?
Ada Occasional Chair, Jax Timber Stool, Baker Rug
