She makes it look easy – transforming quirky or clinical interiors into spaces that really shine! For Jayne Morgan, lead interior designer and director of The Finishing Touches, creating harmonious, elegant interiors is fulfilling and fun.
Auckland and back
After the Christchurch earthquakes Jayne and her husband Steve moved up to Auckland where she worked in the print industry. A job that didn’t make her heart sing; in a “bigger, faster, more congested” city than their beloved Christchurch. During this time, Jayne completed a diploma in Interior Design through the NZ Design Institute. Then, in 2013, the stars aligned: Jayne bought into The Finishing Touches and the pair headed back south.
Arranging the doll’s house
Jayne’s always had a penchant for design. Looking back to her childhood, you could say she served an apprenticeship arranging and rearranging her Barbie’s house. Nowadays she loves sharing her dolls and the paraphernalia from their home with her granddaughter, Hazel.
Picking up the paintbrushes
She also has a passion for painting. “Art was my favourite subject at school, and I have recently taken art classes again.” Jayne’s eye for beauty is apparent when she starts talking about the stunning “nutmeg undersides of magnolia leaves” – the subject of her latest work.
Playing with the pieces
For Jayne, styling homes for the market still feels a bit like “playing” – on a much greater scale with much higher stakes, of course. “When we’ve unloaded everything and we are styling the room, it’s so satisfying playing around with the pieces…. and having fun with it.”
No copying and pasting
It’s also satisfying knowing they have an abundance of stock and can stage homes in different styles, depending on what fits best. As Jayne says, “There is no copying and pasting – each home is different.”
Challenging layouts
The layout of some homes can be challenging. “When the layout is challenging, we talk with the agent or owner about how the home is going to be marketed and how we can best make sense of the space to appeal to the right audience.”
The most rewarding part
As Jayne says, what we do at The Finishing Touches works! “When an agent tells us they’ve had 30 groups through on the first day, we go, YES! We have done our job!” They have produced a stunning interior that shines in the photographs – one that’s sure to have buyers grappling to secure the house as their own. Of course: “The most rewarding part of the job is when a house sells.”
Finished, but excited for the next project.
When Jayne finishes an interior, “I step back and think: This looks great!” Not unlike how she would’ve felt all those years ago after setting up her dolls house. The pleasure lies in getting to do it again and again (as she would have as a child) – with each home presenting new challenges and demanding different styles. For a passionate designer, what’s not to love.