ANN Jackman
Interior Designer
“My previous career as a Mentor and Executive Coach taught me how to delve deep and understand the full potential for a brief.
Active listening, observing, asking good questions, motivating and encouraging openness are essential techniques to enable a designer to create a more personal design. ”
Following in the footsteps of leading designers Kelly Hoppen, Kit Kemp and Ilse Crawford, Ann is self-taught rather than formally trained. An intuitive designer she is driven by a life-long passion, honed by practical experience.
”I learned about interior style from my paternal grandmother who was way ahead of her time. She was fantastic at choosing colours for her decorating schemes and adventurous in her choices – she mixed patterns freely and was always able to produce a design that was very different from those of her friends and family. We were not rich but she was happy to save up for quality purchases, and she was always up to date. We were the first people in our family to have a Formica kitchen!”
Living on a house boat on the River Thames, Ann works mainly in London and Surrey. Projects include listed properties, modern apartments and of course a number of house boats. Building on her mentoring skills, Ann is generous with her time, passing on her skills and knowledge in the press and speaking at private and public events, such as Grand Designs Live.
What clients say about ANN
Chiswick, Design & Renovation
“Ann’s attention to detail was excellent and her design concept for the refurbishment, being mid-century, was exactly what I had envisaged in my mind. She could also very perceptively decipher my thoughts and ideas which were often confused and unclear into a coherent design reality.
She took me through the whole process from start to finish in a very reassuring and patient manner. Her extensive knowledge and choice of materials and furniture was extremely welcome and the end product was exemplary, leaving the client very happy with the finished article!
Moreover the way she dealt with any issues was laser guided, calm and professional. One always felt Ann was there to hold one’s hand and manage the project with passion and with focus.
Finally I felt that Ann, no matter how busy she was, always had the time to give her energy, ideas and attention to my project.”
Holland Park, Design & Renovation
“I don’t generally write reviews but felt compelled to write one for Decorbuddi and Ann as they did such a stellar job on my flat. I renovated my entire flat (after 20 years!). I had no idea 1) how to use the small space well and 2) how to design the interior. Ann was, in a word, amazing. In her words, she “stretched me” (necessarily) but beautifully transformed my flat. She offered suitable options for each room in terms of furnishings and ideas for the design, was budget conscious, would pick out appropriate furniture and take care of the paperwork (and even be at the flat for the delivery if necessary) which was enormously helpful when one has limited time. She worked well with the builder and noticed small things that I never would have caught and sorted it out. I would recommend Decorbuddi and Ann without reservation.”
Chelsea & Chiswick Refurbishment
“Ann has completed several interior design commissions at our home in Chelsea over the past four years, including a project involving the redecoration and supply of soft furnishings for the whole house. We found her to be a pleasure to work with and have always been delighted with the completed result. Most importantly she is extremely talented whilst giving great attention to detail and has the gift of reading her clients tastes and understanding how they would like to see the finished product.
We found her to be extremely professional, calm, organised, and discrete and were most impressed with the way she solved the very few unexpected problems that arose with the minimum of fuss and delay. She has a good relationship with her team of builders who are very reliable and constantly achieve the high standards that are required of them.
Finally, in our experience, she has always managed to adhere to our budget and has always finished our various projects on time. We would highly recommend her and certainly plan to use her services again in the future.”