I’m so glad that someone out there has a genuine Desire to Inspire because I am one of those people that definitely needs inspiration when it comes to my home. Decor and design just do not come naturally for me so I was thrilled to get to know Jo Walker from Desire To Inspire.
Jo and her husband live in the subtropical land of Brisbane Australia and Jo’s partner, Kim, lives in
Canana. The fact that these two talented gals have never met or even talked on the phone and have managed to pull off one of the coolest blogs on the internet just amazes me. I hope you enjoy getting to know midcentury Jo as much as I have……..
1. You and Kim obviously have a Desire to Inspire, so what led you to start a blog?
Kim and I
met through the Flickr group I *heart* rooms started by Holly from
decor8. We found we had lots in common including files full of hot rooms. When
the group closed Kim and I decided we were having so much fun finding and
sharing these remarkable spaces that we wanted to continue. That’s how the blog
came about. Basically it’s a way to feed our addiction to what we call “room
porn”. Surprisingly lots of people have the same
addiction/affliction.
pleasure)?
list them all. See our blogroll for our daily reads.
beautiful posts?
We spend
hours and hours searching the web for interior designers, architects, stylists
and photographers. I’ll follow a link anywhere and everywhere. I bookmark
everything and sometimes won’t come back to them for months. I know Kim is the
same. I used to think of it as time wasting now I call it research. We’re both
addicted to shelter magazines and these provide inspiration as well. I think
that coming from different sides of the world helps as well. We have our own
backyards to explore as well as the American scene.
and I both share a love of mid-century design. I joke that I am drawn to the ”
dark side” of design and am succumbing to Hollywood Regency. I think I am
corrupting Kim along the way. One of the things that keeps us fresh is our
different backgrounds. Mine’s in interior design and Kim’s is in web
development.
indulgence? (tv, travel,
Our partners complain that we are on our computers far too much. Both Kim and I
have full time jobs and this is supposed to be a sideline amusement. LOL It’s
taking over our lives!!! When I have spare time I like to draw and paint. I’ve
had a couple of exhibitions and sell my work through retail outlets. I’m working on an Etsy store but it’s hard to find the time. I’m addicted
to thrifting. Love the thrill of a good bargin hunt. Furniture restoration is
another fave. Oh I forgot you were asking about indulgences! Red wine,
chocolate, smell….I love a beautiful smell in my house whether it is oils or
fresh food cooking. Books and shoes are vices as well. Finally I love just
sitting drinking good coffee in a cafe watching the world pass
by.
you hook up and
you split the work of inspiring the world?
Kim and I met through Flickr and it snowballed from there. We are in touch all
the time via msn but we’ve never spoken. It’s weird. I would now count Kim as
one of my best friends but I have never heard her voice. Splitting
the work is easy. We post 3 times a day at least so one day I do 2 posts and Kim
does one then we swap the next. Doesn’t always work that way because we get so
excited about something and do extra posts all the time. Our readers tell us
that one of the things they like about the blog is that we do so many
posts.
try to set aside a day on the weekend to do a week’s worth of stories.
Discipline was never one
of my strong points but it is now. (Don’t laugh Kim!!)
I definitely think it helps having a partner to blog with. One of the reasons we
have so much content is that there are 2 of us. We bounce ideas off each other,
split the emails and know that if one of us is finding it hard to be inspired by
what we have found that week then the other one will most likely be having a
fabulous week.
posts?
people come looking for something specific. Others use us like an online
magazine and just dream of lovely rooms. A lot of what we show is high end
interior design but not all of it. Our biggest responses come when we showcase
designers who create a great look on a limited budget and from our regular
reader’s home feature. We all love to snoop into other people’s houses. If they
are beautiful all the better. We always say that we would be happy just doing
this for ourselves and a few friends but now thousands are coming each day so
people must like what they see.
Jo is no longer a full time interior designer and has returned to the University to study and now work in Mental Health with a homeless outreach team. Desire to Inspire is one way that Jo can keep up with Interior Design Trends and share what she loves.
Thanks for sharing with us, Jo!
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