Estudio Jana: creating perfect homes
From science to design: Jana Hughes' journey towards creating homes with soul.
Jana Hughes, founder of Estudio Jana, made a 180º turn in her life the moment she left behind her career as a medical scientist in Australia, went through London to train in Interior Design and ended up settling in Valencia. We invite you to discover Jana's wonderful journey in the following post.
Tell us about yourself and your work. Where did your vocation start? Any first memories?
My name is Jana, I'm Australian and I've been living in Valencia for six years. My dream had always been to work in design. After spending the first 15 years of my working life as a medical scientist, at the age of 38 I finally plucked up the courage to leave my career and my country to study Interior Design in London and then come to live in Valencia. In all that madness my design studio Estudio JanaFirst with my own projects of renovating and selling flats, then the renovations of a couple of friends and finally I started to offer my services to clients. It has been a long journey but I finally have the job I love.
What do you find most satisfying about your work, and is there anything you are particularly proud of?
My focus is residential design and my greatest satisfaction comes from helping my clients create a home that is perfect for them. There is no greater pleasure than knowing that I have helped create an interior that continues to make its occupants happy because it is beautiful and functional for them.
My aim as a designer is also to ensure that the process of designing and renovating your home is exciting and enjoyable, and that any problems that inevitably arise during construction are anticipated or resolved quickly, so that you don't spend too much time worrying about anything.
What is your creative process like, what are your sources of inspiration, any particular music while working?
For me it all starts with the client's way of life. This is where I try to understand how they want to live, their daily habits and needs, their likes and dislikes, and I also ask them what they want to feel when they enter their home. I also ask them what they want to feel when they enter their home - do they want this to be their quiet haven or a vibrant and stimulating place? Or maybe different spaces can make them feel different things. So I would say that my clients are my inspiration. They are all unique and special in their own way, and I try to draw out their desires and ideas and start designing from there. Also, my inspiration comes when I try to imagine and create something new from the old. There is something moving in that for me. It's the transformation that interests me, from before to after. To give new life to old neglected interiors.
Favourite colour, book, film and record - in that order! ;D
Green
He Died With A Felafel In His Hand by John Birmingham
A Single Man - is fashion designer Tom Ford's first film and the attention to detail shows, absolutely everything in this film is elegant and sensual, even the story.
The Reminder by Feist
Is your home a reflection of who you are? Tell us what it smells like, your favourite corner, your favourite decorative object or piece of furniture, if you treasure a collection... And if you have a pet, introduce it to us!
I think so. My flat is mainly open spaces, with a modern, cosmopolitan feel. You could pick up my flat and put it inside a building in any modern western city and I think it wouldn't look out of place. a bit like me.
My favourite corner is my armchair where I sit to read or simply to think.
Lamps are my fetish. I think lamps are to an interior what accessories are to an outfit: the final detail that makes the outfit stand out.
If you could buy anything right now and take it home, what would it be?
Anything! Ceramic table of Studio Floris WubbenDutch ceramist, his pieces are both furniture and works of art.
A great plan at home always includes...
Watch a movie with my boyfriend and popcorn.
Do you have a signature dish?
A dessert called Persian Love Cake and is the perfect combination of both exotic and familiar flavours. Here you can find the recipe in English if you want to do it yourself.
Where is your favourite place in your city and abroad?
The Russafa neighbourhood in Valencia. Abroad, the beaches and natural parks of New Zealand.
Anything you want to tell us that we haven't asked you, speak now or forever hold your peace!
When I was studying interior design in London, I won a furniture design competition. It's something I'd like to start doing in the future: designing my own small furniture and decorative objects.
