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Anna Jacobs, The Colour Doctor

@annalysejacobs

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followers

4517

following

➖Artist + Designer
➖Colourful decor
➖Barn conversion + reno in the English countryside
✉️ [email protected]

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Decorating my flat in London like this created such a joyful home for me and my kids after a very challenging few years.

So I’m eternally grateful to my wonderful landlord for allowing me to have such creative freedom - which is extremely rare in the rental market.

And I’m thrilled that he sold it last year to an equally wonderful buyer who loved it! And now she in turn is unleashing her creative spirit to craft the home that will give her joy.

So now I’ve moved to the countryside and am creating another colourful home - but in a different way. And in a converted barn!

Follow along if you want to see how it turns out!

#dopaminedecor #colourfulhome #rentaldecor #joyfulliving #barnconversion taken in Crystal Palace, London by @annalysejacobs

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8 months ago

As many of you know, I LOVED my colourful London flat and it brought me so many incredible opportunities. So when my landlord said he had to sell it I was distraught at first.

But life can take unexpected turns and meeting my boyfriend - who didn’t run a mile when he saw the flat (as so many people said a man would) - led me here to this beautiful barn we’ve been converting in East Sussex!

Every single day I wake up incredibly grateful to be here and in slightly stunned awe that this is where I’ve ended up.

Having been born and bred in cities all my life, it turns out I’m now miraculously a countryside girl at heart and could never imagine living anywhere else!

This was an impromptu shot when the warm sun and Spring suddenly appeared yesterday afternoon.

So apologies for the scruffy bed and rug!

This is our first Spring in the barn, so it’s incredibly exciting to start experiencing it in its full glory.

Did anyone else drop everything and run outside like me and bask in the gorgeous warmth of the sun?!

#springishere #colourfulhome #barnconversion #bedroomgoals #countrysideliving taken in East Sussex by @annalysejacobs

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8 months ago

Hello! As I’ve had a few new followers on here recently I thought I’d reintroduce myself.

So as well as the ones in the reel, here are a few more fun facts …

My name is ANNA, not Annalyse. Lyse is just my middle name, which I don’t like because at school people called me Lies and Lice.

I don’t think most of us are aware of quite how much we’re being affected by colour all around us all the time.

I also believe that the right use of colour in our homes can have a powerful affect on our mental and physical wellbeing. And sometime that can mean a neutral scheme is the right one for you!

I worked as a Tall Ship sailor for a while and sailed the ship between sets on The Three Musketeers movie starring Kiefer Sutherland and Charlie Sheen.

I did jury service 4yrs ago in a domestic violence and police assault case. It was an important and incredible experience and had quite an impact on all 12 of us. Do it if you get called!

30yrs ago I did 600 sun salutations, 100 press ups and 100 sit-ups every day for 2yrs. I was very fit!

Last year I was diagnosed with severe arthritis in my lower back and haven’t been able to exercise for 18 months. I’m now only allowed to swim and do Pilates - which I haven’t started yet, so I feel rubbish.

I decorated the house I used to own in ALL WHITE! Because when I got back home from my intense job I wanted zero stimulation.

For years I wanted to be a Doctor but we weren’t allowed to study biology at school. So I persuaded our chemistry teacher to stay on after school once a week and teach me biology one-to-one, so that I could do the O ‘Level.

I’m doing up a farmhouse in East Sussex @thelittlewildfarm with the boyfriend, but I still live in my London rental flat.

That’s all for now, so …

Feel free to ask any questions - and I’d love to hear a fun fact about you too! ⬇️

#meettheartist #colourfulhome #colourfullife #colourfulhomevibe #colourfuldecor #inspirational #wellbeingathome #colourtheory #dopaminedecor taken in Crystal Palace, London by @annalysejacobs

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3 years ago

Anna had less than 24 hours to choose her entire kitchen and here she talks @deirdremcgettrick through that quick decision as well as her DIY @ikeauk cabinets which make the kitchen a focal point in her open plan living space 😍

Check out the full Home Tour on our YouTube channel and via the link in our bio and on our stories.

#ufurnishhometours #hometours #housetour #interiors #kitchen by @annalysejacobs

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2 months ago

When Anna was presented with a second hand spiral staircase for her home for just £1,800 she jumped at the opportunity! However it was 2cm short for her home. Here @annalysejacobs talks @deirdremcgettrick through the journey of acquiring the stairs and making it fit to ultimately become a focal feature in her home 👏

Check out the full Home Tour on our YouTube channel and via the link in our bio and on our stories.

#ufurnishhometours #hometours #housetour #interiors #spiralstaircase by @annalysejacobs

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2 months ago

@annalysejacobs found a maternity roost of bats while carrying out her barn conversion and talks @deirdremcgettrick through having to build an extension for the bats!

What strange things have you come across during your own conversion or renovation projects? 🤔

Check out the full Home Tour on our YouTube channel and via the link in our bio and on our stories.

#ufurnishhometours #hometours #housetour #interiors #barnconversion by @annalysejacobs

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2 months ago

Would you rather a kitchen extension or your own personal pool overlooking lush, secluded countryside as far as the eye can see?! 😍

@annalysejacobs talks @deirdremcgettrick through her decision to build this stunning pool rather than build a kitchen extension.

Check out the full Home Tour on our YouTube channel and via the link in our bio and on our stories.

#ufurnishhometours #hometours #housetour #interiors #pool by @annalysejacobs

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2 months ago

When @deirdremcgettrick visited Anna’s home on our Home Tour she had a few very interesting quick fire questions for her! 👀

Take a look to watch the ladies have a good giggle and discuss the mechanics of glass storage 😂

Check out the full Home Tour on our YouTube channel and via the link in our bio and on our stories.

#ufurnishhometours #hometours #housetour #interiors #q&a by @annalysejacobs

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2 months ago

A few weeks ago, @ufurnishcom came round to film a tour of our barn here, while the lovely and incredible Ufurnish founder, @deirdremcgettrick interviewed me at the same time - and it’s being published across YouTube TikTok, Instagram, websites, etc., on Tuesday!

But when Deirdre first walked in she was amazed at how big and spacious it was because I’ve only ever really posted fairly composed and tight shots on here.

So, I thought I’d post a few wide shots today, just to give you more of a sense of it.

I have to admit, I took these rather spontaneously on my phone, so they are not styled and perfectly composed and there’s a big plant missing from the big pot on the ground, but I hope it gives you more of an understanding of at least what the ground floor of our barn is actually like.

But of course you’ll get even more of a sense of the whole thing when you watch the tour on Tuesday. Very exciting!

In other news, our Airbnb continues to be going very successfully and we have our seventh changeover today.

But would you believe it, our whole sewage system up at the barn here has blocked again and overflowed into the driveway that I’m in the middle of building! Hence the pause in driveway progress on my Stories.

So I have been working that out and gradually and manually unblocking it bit by bit myself, which has been a bit of a ‘shitty’ task 😅 Honestly, I wasn’t sure that anybody really wanted to see the live update of that on Stories!

But I will be continuing today and I have actually learned a lot in the process - as usual - so might find a way to give you a palatable update on Stories later.

Oooh and have you ever seen a pigeon feeding her babies??! I managed to film it yesterday - it looks like quite a brutal process and I really felt for that mama pigeon! Will post that on stories this morning too.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Anna x

#colourfulhome #dopaminedecor #barnconversion #colourfuldecor #hometour taken in East Sussex by @annalysejacobs

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2 months ago

I’ve been asked how I choose colour in my home for years, so here we go!

After quite a bit of persuasion (actually… a lot of persuasion!), I’ve finally made the first reel in what I think might become a little colour series.

This one is all about how I chose the colours in my bedroom. It really only scratches the surface, because choosing colour has never been about finding the “perfect” paint for me. It’s about creating a feeling first, and then choosing colours that support it.

Over the years I’ve had the privilege of teaching colour for Interior Design at Chelsea College of Arts and speaking about it at Grand Designs Live and Ideal Home Show.

So colour has been such a huge part of my life and career, that it feels lovely to finally start sharing a little more of the thinking behind my own home too.

I could probably make several reels just on complementary colours alone!

So if you found this one helpful, or there’s something you’d love me to explain in a future reel, I’d genuinely love to know. Just leave me a comment below.

And for those of you who’ve been asking about Little Wild, I’ll be opening more Airbnb dates tomorrow, with stays available from this Thursday. I’ll share the mailing list link in my Stories this morning if you’d like to be the first to hear.

Happy Sunday everyone!

#colourfulhome #colourinspiration #colourpalette #colourlover #colourconfidence taken in East Sussex by @annalysejacobs

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2 months ago

Our AirBnB accidentally went live!

A debacle. I don’t know how it happened. I hadn’t even finished editing the listing.

I’d just had a conversation with my partner agreeing that we were actually going to list the farmhouse as a whole rather than an individual room - and that we weren’t quite ready yet - when suddenly I started getting notifications of requests to book!

Whaaat?!

Panic stations.

And then I accidentally confirmed one of them!

Even more panic. 😂

But after chatting to the couple who wanted to book and Airbnb, they were very relaxed, and so we decided to go ahead.

So we have our first people arriving this afternoon!

And then yesterday the other listing accidentally went live! I promise you I hadn’t gone anywhere near it for days.

And so of course we got another immediate request to book - same scenario - and they are now arriving on Sunday for a week!

So these will be our first two trials.

Airbnb, have actually been brilliant about it and they suggested that we keep both listings live but block out all dates for the next two years and then only release dates when we’re fully ready.

Which will be very soon!

So the moment the dates are released, I will let you know.

In the meantime, here’s a little film I made for our new website on Saturday. (it actually looks better in its original landscape version).

Starring my son at the beginning and end and a little bit in the middle - and our lovely friends Renske and Randy -
all of them brilliant in generously agreeing to come and film here on Saturday with only a few hours notice.

All clips that I’m in were brilliantly filmed by my daughter, except one where I’m picking raspberries, which was filmed by my partner. A whole family effort!

I’m not totally sure about the soundtrack, but wanted to put something on for the Instagram version, even though it’s actually silent on our website.

Which is www.littlewildsussex.co.uk in case you wanted to check it out.

What do you think?

All comments very gratefully received!

Happy end of July everyone!

#Retreatvenue #shootlocation #airbnbhost #airbnb #littlewildsussex

Slow living | Retreat venue | Shoot taken in East Sussex by @annalysejacobs

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3 months ago

uFurnish.com Founder @deirdremcgettrick goes inside the home of Anna Jacobs of @annalysejacobs 🏡👀

Anna is an artist & designer who loves colourful decor and is working on a barn conversion and renovation in the English countryside.

The full home tour premieres at 5pm tomorrow so be sure to check out our YouTube channel then to see how Anna has added incredible colours and life to her barn conversion 🏡

#ufurnishhometours #hometours #housetour #interiors #colourfulinteriors by @annalysejacobs

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2 months ago