Vanessa Richmond started her journalism career in 1998 thinking that she wanted to be the editor of Vogue. She got as far as being Chief Sub-editor at Red magazine before realising that home is where her heart is… and so she joined the Ideal Home family in 2006 and stayed for 15 years. Over that time, she was Chief Sub-editor and columnist, Associate Editor and then became Editor in 2015. A year later, she took Style at Home under her wing, too, and then, in 2018, became editor of a third title, Country Homes & Interiors. Over the years, she has seen Ideal Home develop and transform into the digital powerhouse it is today, while staying true to its 100-year-old ethos of trusted expertise and authoritative journalism. In 2021, Vanessa decided it was time for a midlife reboot, moved from London to Norfolk and retrained as a secondary English teacher. Journalism is her side hustle now, but why have one career you love when you can have two? Apart from writing for Ideal Home and idealhome.co.uk, Vanessa has also written for Scandi at Home and undertaken commercial projects. She lives in Norwich with her old mum (‘Ma Richmond’) and their disabled rescue cat, Willo the Wisp.
Ideal Home truths
Where’s your happy place?
In my home office. Before moving to Norwich, I worked at the kitchen table and packed everything away at the end of the day, but here there’s more space. The house has a big wooden building in the back garden – calling it a shed doesn’t do it justice because it has a loft and sliding glass doors, we call it ‘the cabin’. I have my desk there, plus a kettle and fridge, and a sofa so I can sit soft for a bit if I want to. It has nice rugs and the walls are covered with pictures. It does double duty as a playroom for my nieces when they come to stay – their extensive Lego collection is stored there – but otherwise it’s all mine. Sometimes I tell Ma Richmond I have lessons to plan, but actually I’m down there drinking wine and listening to music. I think she knows.
What’s your home addiction?
Baskets. Whenever I see one I like, I buy it. Every room in the house has at least one. I put loo rolls in them, slippers, soft toys in my nieces’ rooms, balls of knitting wool, random stuff I like to use while watching telly (like nail varnish and the iPad). I used to think it was impossible to have too many baskets, but it is. I have a basket containing unused baskets!
What is your next home project?
Gah, there are so many it’s hard to prioritise. Probably painting the hallway. There’s a stripey runner up the stairs, so I’ll pick colours from that – probably a creamy colour for the walls and off-black for the woodwork. Plus an amazing chandelier. I’ve got my eye on an amazing one at Pooky.
