I have worked on a number of quite challenging alteration projects with Jennie over the last six years. Her attention to detail and ability to see the big picture have always resulted in an excellent completed project.

We were based overseas and wanted to renovate our four bedroom home in Remuera before returning to New Zealand. We engaged Jennie to come up with the designs and manage the project on our behalf. 

Jennie has a superb sense of how different spaces in a home will work so the end result is a great place to live in. She is meticulous in her attention to detail and completely reliable in getting things done when she says they will be done. The renovation was a major rebuild, involving a complete rebuild internally, new windows and doors and a full exterior re-painting. Jennie kept us informed at every step without worrying us with details she could sort out. She has excellent trade contacts and expects a very high standard of work from all of them. Jennie did all the worrying and hard work for us and we moved in to a beautiful family home.

We have worked with Jennie for more than 12 years on two different homes and, amongst other things, she has worked with us on major renovations of a kitchen, main bathroom and our current master bedroom and en suite (which won a design award in 2010 and made the Trends Top 30 Bathrooms).  

Jennie has an incredible eye for detail and I think one of her key strengths is the ability to foresee issues before they arise and to ensure that practical aspects of design and use of spaces are not overlooked. Her designs are always mindful of budget and extremely practical. She has been a vital part of all of the projects we have undertaken, working brilliantly with the builders, cabinet-makers and other professionals to ensure that we are completely happy with the outcomes. 

There is no item or detail that escapes her attention, and she is more than happy to help out on all manner of things, from major structural changes to choosing the right rug or lampshades. She has patiently worked with us over the years to help us achieve a home that we love and that works for us – not always a simple task when working with people who haven’t been that great at describing what it is we’re after (we know what we like when we see it), and she has been able to bring life to our vague requests and ideas. A perfect example of this was our Master Bedroom and En-suite – while it had been fully renovated by the previous owners only a few years earlier, there were some major problems with the way the space was arranged – the wardrobing was inadequate, the orientation was all wrong to capture the views, there wasn’t room for a king size bed (even though the room was huge, the spaces were poorly laid out), and there was a spare “room” that served no practical purpose. Our brief to Jennie was to fix all of these problems and create a luxurious “bath temple”. I also wanted a seated vanity area to do hair and makeup, and a custom-designed wardrobe solution. I wanted the suite to be a decadent escape, with colours inspired by deep blues, turquoise and jewel tones that appeared in a painting that we have.  

We gave Jennie carte blanche to reconfigure the rooms and to come up with some suggestions, and we were instantly taken with the elegant solution that she proposed to re-orientate the use of the space. The mosaic tiled wall behind the bath was a fantastic idea which provided some wow factor. We continue to be delighted with the end result – it delivered on everything that we wanted, and Jennie’s attention to small details has produced a space that is a pleasure to be in and a delight to use. We will continue to involve Jennie in our small and large projects in the future, and have no hesitation in recommending her.