"My name is Jessie Cutts. I'm a textile designer & quilter. I make quilts using traditional techniques with a focus on colour and organic free-flowing form. I live in Ramsgate in a 200 year old townhouse. We moved from London when the kids were small to have more space, a less hectic schedule and to be closer to nature.
The personality of the house is that it’s full of objects and artwork we love for their stories, sentiments or just their aesthetics. If they were a person they would be old, fun and lived an interesting life."
DISCOVER MORE OF JESSIE'S WORK
ORDER JESSIE'S NEW BOOK FROM BATSFORD BOOKS: FREE FORM QUILTS + PATCHWORK
WHAT HOUSE PIECES DID YOU CHOOSE FOR YOUR HOME?
"It was very hard to choose! But the Peekaboo Cushions are a favourite. I chose Norfolk Sands and Hot Celery Peekaboo Cushions, some Gardener Stripe Mish Mash Cushions and Hay Bale Blues Pillowcases."
TELL US ABOUT THE TEXTILES IN YOUR HOUSE.
"Obviously I absolutely love textiles and try to use them wherever possible. They add such warmth and personality. A few special mentions are an antique log-cabin quilt hanging in the hallway and the kantha quilts I have sewn together to make curtains in our bedroom. I love nothing more than handmade things, usually with some wear and tear about them."
HOW HAS THE HOUSE EVOLVED AROUND YOUR LIFE & ROUTINE?
"The house has been an ongoing project for over 7 years. We’ve renovated it room by room and as we have taken so long, you do start to realise what can be left alone, what the room needs and how we use the house.
We have only just finished the kitchen and what we planned 7 years ago and what we just did, was quite different. I think we have been more inventive with using reclaimed materials, reusing existing furniture etc and tried to do as little as possible to both save money and effort."
PICK A FAVOURITE THING FROM YOUR HOUSE AND TELL US ITS STORY.
"There’s so many things like that in the house. But maybe the South African mermaid that we had asked to come with the house price. The previous owner had an antique shop in town and I saw it in there and loved it, so my partner organised as a surprise for her to be part of the house sale. I learned years later from the previous owner that the mermaid had been from a charity auction and sold by Nelson Mandela and Naomi Campbell. He told me very casually one day when I went into his shop."
COLOUR, TEXTURE, LIGHT. PICK ONE.
"Colour, always. The difference you can make to a room just by changing the paint colour is absolutely enormous. When it comes to your house, changing the light is very tricky, but colours can be changed relatively easily. And if you don’t want to change the paint, it’s quite easy to add colour in other ways."
I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
"Our old Gaggia coffee machine. We’ve had it for 15 years and
got it second hand when we first bought it. It’s a bit temperamental and needs constant fussing but makes excellent coffee."
MY SECRET IS...
"Not finishing jobs. There is a pile of paint tins and brushes in the hallway ready for me to do some last little painting bits in the kitchen, but it’s going to take me months to get to it. The house is wonderful, but overwhelming to be constantly working on it.
And messy cupboards. The only reason our house can be somewhat tidy is the huge cupboards and various storage to throw things in. It’s a total privilege to live in a house with storage and be able to get things tidy."
SEE WHAT JESSIE CHOSE:
Hay Bale Blues Pillowcases, Jumbo Limes Kala Cotton Napkins, Norfolk Sands Peekaboo Cushion, Gardener Stripe Mish Mash Cushion, Hot Celery Peekaboo Cushion.
