Annabelle Grundy

About me

Hello! I’m Annabelle Grundy. I became a freelance writer over twenty years ago, after several years as a buyer in the fashion industry. I started writing more or less by accident – I was living in London with my husband, interiors photographer Colin Poole and as I was between jobs, I started lending a hand on some of his interiors shoots. 

From there, I learned about styling and then took the plunge and wrote my first feature for Homes and Ideas magazine. It was about the verybrightly-coloured and multi-patterned home of an artist. Her enthusiasm, creativity and passion for her home were clear and I loved the whole experience. 

I’m a long-standing, frequent contributor of homes and makeover stories to Ideal Home, Style at Home and Country Homes and Interiors. My favourite part of the job is the shoot, as it’s such a privilege to be invited into someone’s home for the day. I love meeting homeowners, hearing the ups and downs of their decorating and renovation projects, and just chatting about all things interiors. 

My specialist subjects 

Although I’ve always written for the homes and interiors sector, it’s been incredibly varied – I’ve interviewed self-builders and people who live in windmills, chapels and houseboats. I’ve also ghost-written interior design books for the stars of BBC’s Home Front and Changing Rooms, and my work has appeared in publications from Hello magazine to Sunday supplements. 

My favourite places to shop

I always prefer to see and touch so I tend not to shop online. For reliable, basic homewares Ikea and John Lewis are hard to beat. We have fabulous local options like the Bristol Guild, which has beautiful gifts and accessories, or Hay in Bath for Scandi style. 

My Ideal Home 

I’m very lucky that I live in my Ideal Home – a Victorian property surrounded by green space, in a beautiful West Country village. We’ve renovated it over many years and although it’s been a challenge and a money-pit, it’s a one-off and I wouldn’t live anywhere else! 

Follow me 

You can find me on Instagram – just tap the link below.