Home Truths with Jenni Falconer - why she loves her kitchen (and her not-so-secret cushion obsession)

I take my shoes off, hang my coat up and head straight to the kitchen...a cup of tea is often on the agenda, but like most people one of the first things I do - often for no reason - is open the cupboard and wonder what I might eat!

Ironically, I love my kitchen. I am the world’s worst cook but I love the social element - I love how whenever friends come over they all gather in the kitchen and congregate around the island. 

It’s the most social room in the house, where Ella practises her dance moves, and where the music is - so this is the room where everyone sings their hearts out when we have a party!!

I love the evenings, we are all at home, we all have dinner together and catch up on the day. 

Summer evenings are my favourite too when we can have all the windows open, the sun is still in the sky - it’s just perfect.

My husband and daughter would say I am obsessed with cushions - I actually just like to dress a sofa and a bed with nice things! 

I am also obsessed with tidiness, however my bedroom tells a different story... I know I need to clear things out but eternally put it off… there’s too much stuff that I don’t need - too many tote bags, too many boxes and yes, possibly too much sports kit!

I have a lamp, lip balm, a candle (that never gets lit!) ,a mobile phone charger and usually always have a glass of water.

I like different places - a splurge purchase from Soho Home is lovely, but then also I love H&M Home. I could spend hours walking around Barker & Stonehouse or West Elm.

I love fresh, citrus and ginger scents. I am candle obsessed and have them in every room.

Yes - leaving rubbish by the back door instead of actually taking it out to the bin - in the hope that James might do it instead! It annoys me and I'm the one who does it! 

I love tidying and cleaning, vacuuming, and decluttering - I love how everything looks afterwards and have never regretted spending time to make sure the house looks refreshed. It’s just tricky finding the time to do it.

I hate gardening. I love a nice clean, spic and span garden but don’t want to do the actual work. I think it’s due to my irrational fear of creepy crawlies - it’s a reason why I also spent years building up the courage to go into the loft! 

Ridiculous as it sounds, I feared it was full of spiders and wouldn't go near it... I have been up since and as it turns out, it’s absolutely fine, I don’t know why I was so terrified!

Things being dumped and not put away, whether that’s a coffee mug on the floor next to the sofa, plates in the sink instead of the dishwasher, the ever-growing collection of shoes by the front door or leaving a pile of stuff on the stairs for days on end…

I would like to think that where I lack in cooking skills, I make up as a hostess. I get stressed when I invite people over for dinner as the making the meal part sends me into a panic. 

However, I like to make sure people feel at home, nobody has an empty glass and everyone has a good time.

When I lived alone in my 20s, I was great at DIY but even better at finding someone else to do it! I am great at delegating! 

One of the perks of being married to James is that he loves DIY - any excuse to get his tool kit out, use a power drill and hammer the wall... 

I mean, the results aren’t always as good as we would like, but he enjoys the process, which is a plus as I am not bothered.

If I have time at home on my own - which I don’t very often - I usually have a to do list - washing, tidying, changing bedding, emptying the dishwasher.... all the things that you can easily put off. 

I rarely get a chance at home on my own to sit down and watch a film and if I did have that time, I would probably use it to go for a run or get to the golf course or chat on the phone to friends... sitting still isn’t really ever an option for me.

Sleeping in my bed - I have been on holiday a few times in recent years and the bed is nowhere near as comfy as mine is!! 

Having all my beauty products on hand, as opposed to living off a condensed collection. And also stretching out on a gorgeous sofa to watch a movie with the family... and trying not to fall asleep!