How Designer Ella Jones Is Making Her Mark With Interiors That Balance Color, Character, and Restraint
From London apartments to country houses, Ella Jones thoughtful approach blends rich colors, classic influences, and contemporary touches to create spaces that feel deeply personal. Discover her design philosophy and why she’s a talent to watch.
Having struggled to feel inspired by creative disciplines like sculpture and photography, it was only when Next in Design winner Ella Jones of Kaye Design Studio discovered interior design that her career path became clear. ‘I’d always liked making my own room look nice, and once I realized that could be an option, it all just felt so right,’ she says.
After studying at Sydney Design School, Ella returned to the UK and cut her teeth at Salvesen Graham and Sarah Brown Interiors. ‘I wouldn’t have my confidence in color if it weren’t for Salvesen Graham,’ she says. ‘They taught me to look back at traditional design and be inspired by that when you start a project.’ At Sarah Brown Interiors, she gained invaluable insight into the business side of the industry, helping prepare her to launch her own studio.
Today, Ella is building a portfolio that spans London homes and Somerset houses, with a style that balances warmth, character, and restraint. Drawn to rich tones such as burgundy, terracotta, and brown, she believes a home should unfold gradually. ‘A house has to be a journey,’ she explains. ‘Something that you travel through, room by room, being delighted by as you go.’ David Nicholls, who serves on the board responsible for selecting Ella, comments: ‘One of the things that really stood out was how adeptly Ella flits between aesthetics. Some of her rooms are pared-back and neutral – others are saturated in deep hues. But they all share the same sense of character and knack for clever curation.’
For Ella, the best interiors are personal rather than performative. ‘You never want a contrived home,’ she says. ‘You want to feel the story of the person living there.’ The result is homes that feel authentic, comforting, and full of life.
Homes & Gardens: How did you first get into interiors?
Ella Jones: I was at Leeds Arts University studying photography, but I just felt that it wasn’t me. I knew I was creative, but no medium I tried quite resonated – not sculpture, painting, or anything like that. So I decided to really think about what I loved, and I’d always enjoyed making my room look nice. And that just felt right! So I moved to Sydney and enrolled at Sydney Design School, and everything took off from there.
Homes & Gardens: Australian decor is so influential – did you bring any of those ideas back home with you?
Ella Jones: The way Australians design is very different from how we do it in the UK – they have so much more light and space than we do – but I love the sun-and-beachy feel, and that stays with me in the way I use warm colors and earthy tones. On the whole, Australians are a little more minimalist than I would say I am … even though I’d never say I was a maximalist. I do like to have things on display.
Homes & Gardens: What did you learn from your stints at British studios Salvesen Graham and Sarah Brown Interiors?
Ella Jones: I was at Salvesen Graham for just under two years, and I feel like you learn so much on the job – much more than at school. I wouldn’t have my confidence in color if it weren’t for Salvesen Graham, where I was taught to look back at traditional ideas and techniques to inform any new project, no matter how contemporary you plan to make it. Then, at Sarah Brown Interiors, I was part of more business conversations, which were really vital when thinking about how to set up my own studio.
Tiles, Claybrook Studio. Taps, Drummonds. Mirrord medicine cabinet, Water Monopoly. Wall Light, Balineum.
Homes & Gardens: What sort of projects have you been working on?
Ella Jones: I started with a few small projects in London, doing a main bedroom rework, then a bathroom. That turned into a whole flat, a pied-à-terre, and a full house in Queen’s Park. Now I’m working on two country houses, and I’m enjoying leaning into that aesthetic while adding my own flavor. I’m not into the layers and layers of pattern you might expect from a country house, but I am leaning into a cozy vibe with a mix of wallpapers – just not going super floral.
Homes & Gardens: What’s your approach to a project when you get it?
Ella Jones: The most important thing is getting to know the client and learning about how they live their life. If they have kids or a dog, then you’ll approach it differently, for example. Then I’ll study the architecture, work out what I can change, and get to know how far I can push the client.
Homes & Gardens: A lot of your spaces are very soothing – how do you infuse that essence into a scheme?
Ella Jones: I love to have certain rooms be calming, and others be more energizing. So you can go calming in the living room, then a little bit wackier in the kitchen, and finish off with deeper color in the bedroom. A house has to be a journey, and you want to give anyone who enters it a slow reveal, with things to delight them as they wander through.
Homes & Gardens: What are your favorite color combinations at the moment?
Ella Jones: I love red – I find it hard to move away from it. And I love browns, burgundy, and mustard. You can play around with all those shades, adding in green or a neutral, and everything becomes super cozy and calming. Terracotta is another favorite. I’m not someone who would paint a whole room a bright terracotta, but using it on woodwork and being smart about where you inject that color really works. I love a funky rug and funky fabrics against a nice, calming backdrop.
Homes & Gardens: Stripes and checkerboards also appear in your work often – why is that?
Ella Jones: It’s fun and characterful to use them! They’re a pop of joy in the home. They’ve been around for centuries, so they won’t date, especially if you use them in neutral colors.
Homes & Gardens: And what should a good home feel like?
Ella Jones: An expression of the person living in it, both for that person and their guests. You never want a contrived home, but you want to feel their story and their journey and see the things they’ve collected. And for the owner, having those things around them should help make them feel happy.
While Ella Jones’s aesthetic is undoubtedly warm and inviting, what sets her apart is her instinct for creating homes that evolve rather than reveal themselves all at once. By balancing calming spaces with moments of surprise, and classic influences with contemporary touches, she creates interiors that feel both timeless and deeply personal. As her portfolio grows from city apartments to country houses, that thoughtful approach remains at the heart of her work. The result is a body of projects that feel collected rather than decorated – homes that tell a story, reflect their owners, and become
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