Ideal Home is your one-stop-shop for all things interiors. We’re here to make the best home design accessible to everyone, and our unique formula of decorating ideas and inspiration plus practical expert advice and solutions is on hand to help you enjoy a happier, healthier, better designed home.
Ideal Home’s mission is to make great home design accessible to everyone
Who we are
Ideal Home has everything you need for a modern and smooth-running home in 2024, from cleaning to tech, room decor to renovation, wellness to property ownership. Our team of expert journalists has the answers to all of your homes-related questions and dilemmas, giving you the confidence and know-how to create your dream space.
Think of us as that trusted friend you always come to for advice. We're not here to judge, we want to empower you to not only make your home look its best, but for it to function brilliantly, too. We’re all about a democratic approach to home design, whatever your budget.
Every member of the Ideal Home team is passionate about all things home – whether they own their own place or are looking for ways to personalise their rental. We firmly believe that creating a home you love should be fun and exciting, and that’s exactly how we want you to feel when browsing our brilliant content in print, online and on our social channels.
Since 1920, Ideal Home has been delivering everything our readers need to create a home they’re proud of. In the very first edition of Ideal Home in January 1920, the then editor wrote: ‘The policy of The Ideal Home is to cater for the wide circle of the middle class. Every matter of interest, from the designing of the house and garden to its finishing touches, will be explained and illustrated by experts.’ In 2024, our mission stands firm, with an unwavering commitment to providing homes advice and inspiration at the highest standard.
We launched the Ideal Home website in 2016 to meet our audience's desire for always-on interiors inspiration and up-to-the-minute news and advice.
Meet the team
Ideal Home was one of the first magazines to bring the advice of leading industry experts into the homes of its audience. This lives on in 2024 with our team of brilliant editors, supported by well-known, experienced experts from the fields of interior design, home ownership, renovation and much more.
We can guarantee our editors as homes-obsessed as you. Homes are our passion, and that's why we love to write about them.
Leadership team
I am Editorial Director of Future's Homes network, and I am very proud to run the brilliant media brands Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens and Livingetc.
I've been writing and editing interiors, design, decorating and lifestyle content for my whole career and I am utterly passionate about it. It spills into my home life, too, as I renovate projects with my husband George.
I have written about interiors, property and gardens since 1990, working my way around the interiors departments of women's magazines before switching to interiors-only titles in the mid-nineties.
I was Associate Editor on Ideal Home, and Launch Editor of 4Homes magazine, before moving into digital in 2007, launching Channel 4's flagship website, Channel4.com/4homes.
In 2018, I took on the role of Global Editor in Chief for Realhomes.com, taking the site from a small magazine add-on to a global success. I was asked to repeat that success at Homes & Gardens, where I also took on the editorship of the magazine. Then, in 2023, I returned to Ideal Home to help grow the brand as I had done with its sister titles.
I am a serial renovator and also own rental properties, so bring first-hand knowledge to the subjects I oversee. I have many design heroes, but if forced to pick two, they would be Jake Arnold and Irene Gunter – both create beautiful homes that are inviting and practical.
I am Content Director for Ecommerce across the Future Homes titles. I have been writing about homes since 2013 when I joined the Homebuilding & Renovating team as Junior Web Editor. Here I got to put a lifelong passion for architecture and design to good use, overseeing web content for the brand and helping people find information and inspiration for their own builds.
When Future Plc acquired the brands in 2017, I was made Associate Editor of Realhomes.com. I was put in charge of increasing the brand’s presence as a product advisory, and built my skills around crafting review and buying guide content. In late 2020 my team was asked to bring this insight to the other Future Home brands including Homes & Gardens, Livingetc, Gardeningetc and, of course, Ideal Home.
When I am not writing about homes, I am working on the ongoing renovation of her Victorian terrace in the Staffordshire countryside. I have converted the loft, remodelled the bathroom and currently undertaking a kitchen makeover, as well as constantly trying to make something of my long narrow cottage garden.
I'm the Social Content Director for Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens and Livingetc, overseeing social content execution and strategy across all three brands.
I am a social media expert with over 15 years' experience and a strong background in fashion, beauty and lifestyle. Throughout my career I've worked for many well-known brands including Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, NET-A-PORTER, Hypebeast and ABASK
I've been Ideal Home’s Editor since late 2020, and Editor-In-Chief since 2023. I've been an interiors journalist and editor who’s been working for some of the UK’s leading interiors magazines for over 20 years, both in-house and as a freelancer.
I joined the interiors department on Ideal Home in 2006, initially as the deputy interiors editor before being promoted to interiors editor, overseeing the real homes and makeovers features. Searching out the UK's best homes to feature was a dream job!
After the birth of my twins in 2009 I went freelance, continuing to write for Ideal Home, as well as other leading homes titles, and launching my own award-winning interiors blog, Growing Spaces, in 2011.
I rejoined the Ideal Home family in 2018 and became Editor of Ideal Home and Style at Home at the end of 2020, then Editor-In-Chief of Ideal Home in 2023.
My family and I moved into our Victorian home in Surrey – a former hospital porter’s lodge – just before lockdown 2 at the end of 2020. It's got great bones, and we're embracing slow renovating to modernise it.
I'm the Deputy Editor on the Ideal Home website. I fell into the world of interiors a little bit by accident. After I graduated with a Masters degree in magazine journalism from City, University of London in 2018, I started my journalism career as a staff writer on women's weekly magazines. However, after joining the Ideal Home website team in 2019 as a Digital Writer I caught the DIY and interiors bug and never looked back.
In 2020 I moved into the position of Homes News Editor working across Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc, Real Homes, Gardeningetc and Ideal Home covering everything from the latest viral cleaning hack to the next big interior trend. In 2022 I returned full time to the Ideal Home team.
I am currently decorating my first unfurnished rental flat in London and hope to become a homeowner later this year. I love nothing more than thrifting through the second-hand furniture stores and charity shop bric-a-brac shelves.
I'm the Managing Editor for Ideal Home. I wanted to write for a living ever since I was a teenager. During my time at university, I realised my passion for magazines could translate into a career, after graduating in 2011, I gained an MA in Magazine Journalism from City University, London.
I spent some time working on fashion and lifestyle titles, then became the Deputy News & Houses Editor of LivingEtc, and over the years held positions at Homes & Gardens and Country Homes & Interiors then moving to be Content Editor across Ideal Home's website and magazine before taking up my current position in the summer of 2022.
I have interests across every area of homes - from kitchens and colour schemes to technology and architecture. Over the past couple of years I have interviewed some of the most renowned names in interior design and is passionate about talking to people to discover new ideas, theories and ways of looking at design. Although I am yet to become a homeowner, I love making my rental flat my own, and spend probably too much time idly designing my dream home.
I have been the Deputy Editor of Ideal Home print magazine since 2021, having first joined the team in 2011. I currently oversee the publication of the magazine each month, editing, writing and commissioning, from planning through to publication.
With a career in magazines spanning twenty years, I have worked for the majority of the UK’s interiors magazines and websites, both as staff and as a freelancer. Just some of the other brands I have written for include Homes & Gardens, Livingetc, Country Homes & Interiors, Style at Home and Good Homes.
I have been fortunate enough to have interviewed some of the most talented designers in the business and I've written about pretty much every area of the home - from shopping and decorating, appliances and home tech, wallpaper and fabric, kitchens and bathrooms, extensions and conversions. I recently left London having lived there for over two decades, moving north to Glasgow. Home is now in Glasgow's south side with my husband and son, and our (moody, but lovely) Devon Rex, Zelda.
Interiors team
I've been working with Ideal Home since June 2023. Prior to this, I was Features Editor at Top Ten Reviews where I focused on practical, how-to home and garden advice.
I graduated with a BA in English Literature from The University of Birmingham in 2020, and immediately joined the editorial team at the trade kitchen supplier Howdens where my love for writing about interiors blossomed.
When I'm not reading or writing, you can find me exploring the best London bars and brunch spots, or planning my next budget-friendly city break.
I've been a Content Editor at Ideal Home since June 2024, starting at the title as a News Writer in July 2023. I bring the Ideal Home’s readership features and news stories from the world of homes and interiors, as well as trend-led pieces, shopping round-ups and more, focusing on all things room decor, specialising in living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, home offices and dining rooms.
I'm also the Ideal Home Certified Expert in Training for Furniture, making it my mission to test and experience as many sofas and brands as possible so you have all the information you need to make a purchase.
I graduated from London College of Fashion with a BA degree in fashion journalism in 2016, and got my start in independent fashion and lifestyle magazines before making the leap into interiors.
I feel that fashion and interiors are intrinsically connected – if someone puts an effort into what they wear, they most likely also care about what they surround themselves with.
After studying Print Design at Winchester School of Art, I spent multiple years working in the interior industry, including styling and visual merchandising for many well-known brands.
I am now Sleep Editor at Ideal Home and the Ideal Home Certified Expert on Sleep, having spent over 1,000 hours testing mattresses, duvets and pillows. I also offer advice on creating your dream sleep space, whether that's choosing the perfect restful shade of paint, investing in a mattress, or choosing the right bedding.
I’m Ideal Home’s Kitchen Appliances Editor and an all-around baking and cooking enthusiast. I joined the team in September 2022 as an Ecommerce Editor after working across Real Homes, Homes & Gardens and Livingetc. I’ve been reviewing products for 4 years and now specialise in weighing up kitchen essentials' pros and cons, from air fryers to bean-to-cup coffee machines.
I’ve always been a keen reader, so after graduating from the University of Exeter in 2020 I was thrilled to find a way to write as a full-time job. Nowadays, as the Ideal Home Certified Expert on Appliances I spend my days at home or the Ideal Home test facility trying out new kitchen innovations to see if they’re worthy of space on your worktop.
My most beloved and hard-working appliance is my Sage coffee machine though I also take the unofficial title of Ideal Home’s in-house air fryer queen after writing about them religiously over the past few years.
How To team
I joined the Ideal Home team as Senior Digital Editor in 2023 following a couple of years working across sister brands Real Homes, Homes & Gardens, Livingetc and Gardeningetc.
I kickstarted my career over 10 years ago on women's and lifestyle titles, including InStyle, Red, Good Homes, Grand Designs and ICON, both in-house and freelance. My obsession with interior design began way back when I was, at the tender age of 9, glued to BBC’s Changing Rooms. A passion was ignited and I went on to study textiles and design at university.
Since getting on the property ladder, my love for interior design and gardening has taken on a new lease of life. I love collecting and salvaging unique items (much to my other half's despair) but sniffing out stylish home bargains is my one true love.
I'm Ideal Home’s Junior Writer and have been working for Ideal Home since October 2022. I graduated from the University of Nottingham with a BA in Architectural Studies in 2022 and in my final year at university, remotely joined the ArchDaily team as an Intern Editor at the start of 2022.
My focus is on vacuums, and after vacuuming over 2,550 sq m while testing I've become the Ideal Home Certified Expert on Vacuums.
I love exploring architecture and interior design within film, media, and virtual environments but recently switched my focus to news stories, taking any opportunity to scour the internet for any new and upcoming trends and hacks.
I've recently moved into a cosy rental flat in London, that I'm eager to make into a home using by bringing many home-decor Pinterest boards to life.
I joined the Ideal Home team as Gardens Editor in June 2024. My love of writing began as a child – I spent a lot of my free time crafting fairytales or writing up wildlife projects.
After studying English at Royal Holloway, University of London, I began writing for Grow Your Own magazine, which spurred on my love of gardening.
I’ve interviewed a myriad of incredible gardening experts throughout my career, including guest stars on The Dirt, the gardening podcast I co-hosted during my time at Grow Your Own.
As Gardens Editor, I’m always on the lookout for the latest garden trend. I love sharing growing hacks for every space, from herbaceous borders to compact balconies.
I'm Ideal Home’s Renovation Editor and look after subjects such as how to add more space to your home, what permissions you might need, and the costs you need to consider, as well as inspiring ideas to help you make your home the best it can be.
After graduating from University of Wales Aberystwyth, with a degree in English and Creative Writing, I entered publishing in 2007, working as a writer and digital editor on a range of titles including Homebuilding & Renovating (where she was digital editor for three and a half years), Real Homes, Gardeningetc, The Money Edit and more.
I've worked with the Ideal Home team since November 2021, looking after home finance content, before taking up the mantle of Renovation Editor in September 2024.
I joined the Ideal Home team as News Writer in September 2024. After graduating from City, University of London in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, I kicked off my career by spending two years working on women’s weekly magazines.
It was here I developed a love for women’s lifestyle, leading the way to a keen interest in homeware and interior design. I'm always on the lookout for the latest home news, finding you the best deals and trends - so you don’t miss a thing!
Social team
I'm Ideal Home's Social Media Editor, currently covering a colleague's maternity leave. I joined the team back in May 2024 and previously I was social editor at Real Homes. I graduated from Nottingham Trent in 2021 with an English degree and have had numerous freelance social jobs before moving to London and transitioning my career in to editorial.
I love finding clever hacks and how-tos that will help our audience. I'm of course obsessed with all things social and interiors, so I can usually be found scrolling on TikTok for home inspo or looking for decor in charity shops!
I've just joined Ideal Home – starting as Social Media Assistant in September 2024. I previously worked as a Marketing Executive at an award-winning media production company, and contributed to impactful marketing initiatives for a roster of high-profile corporate clients.
My experience spans content creation, social media management, brand development, and strategy development, and I'm excited about working in interiors and using social media to maximise the potential of every single story Ideal Home tells.
Ideal Home contributors
I began my journalism career at Ideal Home and am now the country style expert for the brand, as well as Editor of our sister title, Country Homes & Interiors.
My career spans interiors magazines, women's lifestyle titles and newspapers. Following my first job at Ideal Home, I moved on to women's magazines, Options and Frank. From there it was on to the launch of Red magazine, where I stayed for 10 years and became Assistant Editor.
I then shifted into freelancing, and spent 14 years writing for everyone from The Telegraph to The Sunday Times, LivingEtc, Stylist and Woman & Home.
I'm the Editor of Ideal Home's sister title, Style at Home magazine. I've written about interiors for more than 25 years and have worked on all the major homes titles, primarily Ideal Home, but also including Homes & Gardens, Country Homes & Interiors and Woman & Home.
I've written about pretty much every area of the home, from shopping and decorating, crafts and DIY to real home transformations and kitchen and bathroom makeovers.
Homes and interiors have always been a passion and I never tire of nosying around gorgeous homes, whether on TV, online, in print or in person, as well as being a serial shopper/bargain hunter.
I am a senior content editor and contributing gardening content for Ideal Home and am Editor of our sister title, Period Living.
I've written for lifestyle magazines for many years, with a particular focus on gardening, historic houses and arts and crafts. My journalism career began on BBC radio, where I enjoyed reporting on and writing programme scripts for all manner of stories, from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Always harbouring a passion for homes and gardens, I jumped at the opportunity to work on The English Home and The English Garden magazines for a number of years, before joining the Period Living team. Over more than 10 years working on the magazine, as features editor, deputy editor and now editor.
I began my career in 2018 as a feature writer and sub-editor for our sister brand Period Living, and now write about a wide range of interiors and renovation content ranging from features about designing the perfect kitchen to choosing the right windows for a period home.
I also regularly contribute to Country Homes & Interiors – interviewing leading designers and researching the latest home and garden updates.
A keen gardener, I've been faced with the challenges of gardening in a rental property leading to a vast array of potted plants – ranging from fruit trees to pretty annuals – and an ever-growing collection of houseplants.
About our product testing and reviews
Our product reviews and buying guides are written with the overarching aim to help you easily discover the best buys for your home. We know making a big purchase can be daunting, so our team of experts works hard to make the experience a little simpler, offering buying advice, answering common questions and putting products through their paces before making any recommendations.
We bring over a century of shopping expertise to the table Since 1920, Ideal Home has been advising homeowners on the best buys for their kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, gardens and more – and we are extremely proud of our commitment to sharing our knowledge and experience in new and innovative ways.
Our review panel is made up of a team of home cooks, sleep obsessives, hobby gardeners and tech gurus. All of them test the products they review in their own home to give them a real life experience.
How do we test products?
Product samples are sent to us for review (often free of charge by the brands, or we buy them to ensure we test all the market-leaders) and handed to experienced reviewers, both from the in-house team and regular contributors who specialise in that particular product area. They test the product for at least two weeks, and we test mattresses and some other products for much longer to allow us time to get a full picture of how each product performs.
We test the bestselling products within a brand's range, (they're usually a bestseller for good reason!) and review brand new products as soon as they launch. We often get the chance to get hands on experience with these products before they're even launched, so that our recommendations are always bang up-to-date.
Every product is tested in a real home, and we adhere to standardised testing criteria, including scientific tests where relevant. For example, every air fryer is tested to see how well it makes chips, and every mattress gets tested for motion isolation. We into account that different products are designed for different homes, matching products to the most suitable testers.
When we have finished our testing, we write the review and give the product a rating out of five stars. The very best products (4.5 stars and above) are awarded an 'Ideal Home Approved' recommendation.
These products reviews and tests form the basis of our buying guides where we showcase our expert edit of our top rated buys.
To request the Ideal Home Approved approved logo, please contact Efi Mandrides to learn about our logo usage packages.
Preferred Partner
When you see a label saying "Preferred Partner", that means a commercial partner is offering a preferential affiliate rate to Future in exchange for greater prominence on the page, such as by highlighting a particular deal for a product that our journalists recommend. We will only write content featuring 'Preferred Partners' when we feel it's aligned with our mission to create the best content for our audience. The text is written by an Ideal Home journalist, or one under the direction of an Ideal Home senior editor, and posted to Ideal Home. It is not sent to the funding partner for approval. This content abides by the Editors’ Code of Practice from the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
Affiliate and advertising disclosure
We are never paid to review products and work hard to ensure independence. The products we review are offered by the manufacturers for this purpose and they know we will produce a no-holds barred report on its performance.
Often, the products we write about are shoppable via links on our website. If you buy through one of these affiliate links, we may get paid a small amount of money from the company you bought from. This is not an added fee and is included in the normal purchase price everyone else sees.
Our editorial integrity is important to us – please write to us and let us know how we are doing. For more information, please refer to Content funding on Ideal Home.
About Ideal Home's Certified Expert programme
We developed our Certified Expert programme to take the Ideal Home editors’ product expertise to the next level in the 2020s to stay ahead of the demands of choosing products in an evermore complex market. It's a core part of Ideal Home's long-term commitment to delivering the best product expertise to our readers, and helping to guide them on the purchasing journey.
This certification creates a clear pathway for our passionate editors to become true and genuine experts in a specific product category, thanks to a rigorous internal accreditation process.
Currently covering Sleep, Appliances, Vacuums, Furniture and Cookware, the Certified Expert programme has seen two Ideal Home editors become fully qualified, with others working towards certification.
Brand partnerships
Ideal Home is proud to have worked with some of the UK’s leading brands on product licensing partnerships
These include:
- Ideal Home range of sofas with ScS
- Ideal Home range of curtains, blinds and cushions with Blinds 2go
- Ideal Home’s Emotions of Colour paint range with Albany Paints
Awards
The Ideal Home Awards celebrate great design and innovation across the home, from kitchens to gardens. Check out our 2024 winners:
2024 living room award winners
We love to look inside some of the UK’s most stylish homes, and so our annual Best Home Awards is a real highlight, celebrating the very best of the bunch in homes, room makeovers and gardens.
Contact us
Please do get in touch to talk about collaborating with us (please note we do not take part in link building).
Here’s a handy list if you would like to get in touch:
Email the digital team about the Ideal Home website
Email the print team about Ideal Home magazine
Email the ad team about content marketing and all advertising enquiries
Email our licensing team at licensing@futurenet.com about logos and quotes, or click here
ADDRESS
UK: Future PLC 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London, W2 6JR Telephone: +44 (0)20 7042 4000
US: Future PLC, 135 W41st St, New York, NY 10036 Telephone: +1 212 378 0448
Privacy policy
Here at Ideal Home, we have a strong commitment to protecting your privacy. Please read our in-depth privacy policy to find out more.
Code of conduct
Ideal Home is a member of the IPSO (Independent Press Standards Organisation) which regulates the UK print and digital news industry.
We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint, please contact legal@futurenet.com
If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk
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