Unpopular Opinion: My house will never be finished, and neither will yours

Welcome to the first in a new series of columns by Natalie Jahangiry, as she joins Ideal Home's Open House to show how she has juggles decorating with a busy life, decor ideals with the needs of her children.

Hello, here's my first column! Those who know me would say I'm a lively northerner with a passion for design. And for those who don't know me, let me introduce myself properly: I'm Natalie, a multidisciplinary designer with a background in graphic and web design turned interiors. I'm a self starter, plate spinning mum of two who loves DIY and getting her hands dirty.

So as this is my first column I thought I would start in a somewhat controversial manner, you know… shake it up a bit from the get go. So here it goes: I’m an interior designer and I am here to say my house will never be finished.

Contrary to the belief that, as a designer, your home is perfectly perfected, let me tell you, mine isn’t. And in all honesty? It probably never will be. What's more… I never really want it to be. Shocking right!? This might horrify some people (my husband included), but in my opinion a home should never really be “done”. So let me explain.

It's safe to say that people often believe that if you work in interiors your home will be a flawlessly styled space, every corner of the house worthy of Pinterest swooning, every item carefully selected with a unique place and purpose. A snap shot of a creative habitat, pulled straight from a glossy editorial. A museum of design discovery, an overall visual feast. Inspiration at every angle. So it may shatter some illusions when I tell you this is more often than not, not the case. It's not real life. What you usually see online isn’t authentic home living, it’s carefully staged to sell a dream.

The truth is, as family dynamics shift, cultural needs change, and your personal style evolves, so do your surroundings. And honestly, most of us are time-poor, so keeping up an Instagram-worthy home often feels like nothing more than a pipe dream.

Take my own home as an example. We moved in two years ago and I went full steam ahead with decorating, DIY-ing, and transforming it all at once. We had the bare bones of a great home to start with, but I immediately wanted to breathe life into it, adding personality to every room, bringing in colour to replace the dull grey walls, and creating a space that felt, at the time, ‘finished.’

But here’s the thing… time quickly became an issue (with two young children and a full-time job, time poor doesn’t even begin to cover it!). And as I was decorating, our circumstances were shifting, my style was evolving. Our children's needs rapidly changed and our priorities pivoted. Now I find myself revisiting rooms I’d ticked off the list not so long ago, because their purpose has completely changed.

I’m also guilty of starting one project while juggling another ten, which, unsurprisingly, leaves a lot of half-finished ideas lying around.

And then there’s the inevitable scuffs and wear-and-tear of family life. What was once a perfectly styled corner is now home to greasy little fingerprints, pen scribbles, and a few well-earned scratches.

So here's some nuggets of wisdom from me to you:

If one side of your home is beautiful, but the other side is unfinished, that's absolutely ok: Make a list of your home decor priorities and work through it at a pace that suits you and your families time and needs.

Be authentic to you: Don't follow trends and try to create an unachievable vision of how your space “should” look, your home isn't a show home, it's a real living space for everyday life.

Scratch that itch: Decorate slowly, upcycle a table, swap out a chair, shift the layout, buy a new piece and live with it, evolve your space and tweak over time rather than rushing into things head on and ultimately changing it more drastically down the line.

Decorate for the here and now: Don't leave walls bare because one day you may put your house on the market and you've been told that “all white” sells better (FYI it’s a myth, but we will park that and discuss another time). Your home is to be lived in for the everyday, not the future “what if”.

Try not to follow a vision that relies on drastic change: Trends come and go as quickly as the wind blows. If you want to follow the latest style try to do it with more manageable small scale projects rather than whole room makeovers (unless it's colour drenching of which I would say GO FOR IT NOW).

No matter how timeless your decor, your taste will change over time: Embrace your own evolution.

As I've grown into my role at Design & Refine, the heart of my interior purpose has developed. I've grasped a deeper understanding of colour, layout, styling and utilising spaces in a beautiful yet practical sense. I've also learnt to adjust with our family, move through the times, prioritise for now and embrace the art of ever changing decor.

The truth is people grow. Families evolve. Needs shift. What worked a year ago suddenly doesn’t now (remember that time COVID changed the landscape of how we used our dining tables?). Styles change, children mature, priorities realign and so should your home. I see it not as unfinished, but as a kind of living, breathing design. One that responds, adapts, and reflects who we are in each season of life.

So despite the fact I can create you the perfect Pinterest house… In all honesty, I don't want to. I want to design a home that's loved and lived in. One full of character and mischief, that balances the essential practical needs with bold beauty. And dare I say, a space that is never finished? So step into the softer side of interiors, where we celebrate imperfections and cherish the home that evolves alongside you. Perfection isn’t the goal. Growth, flexibility, and personality is.

Living spaces should grow with you, not trap you in perfection. Let go of ‘done’ and start loving your home as it is, and as it becomes. Now that’s the magic, don’t you think?