Genie is wearing a bright orange outfit and smiling as she sits at her dining table. There is a Berry Skinny locker next to her and a vibrant yellow wall behind.

From gray London terrace to cozy + colorful: welcome to the House of Eden Court

November 15, 2023

Step inside the home of freelance stylist and art director Janine Genower. With her creative director and artist husband Thomas and their two daughters, Janine took a 1920s London terrace from neutral — "all the walls were gray," she tells us — to a boldly colorful, eclectic space bursting with personality.

Here she shares her tips and tricks for creating a cohesive home, and takes us behind the scenes of her latest project: a room makeover for her two daughters. Discover a world of playful accents, an ice cream color palette, and a whole wall of Mustard Made lockers!

A Poppy red Shorty sits next to a bed dressed in bright, clashing linens. There is a shelf above the bed holding colourful graphic prints and a trailing plant.

The Shorty in Poppy

discovering interior design

As a creative, design is something Janine — or Genie, as she's usually called – knows all too well. She's worked in magazines for years, designing page layouts and social posts as well as art-directing photo shoots. But it was the Covid lockdowns that inspired her to turn her eye to interiors. Unable to work and at home with a new baby, she tells us "I threw myself into the house to keep creative." Her talent for creating eye-catching spaces stood out, and she now works as an interior content creator and color advisor (hello dream job!) If you've come across her on Instagram, you'll probably recognize her handle, @houseofedencourt.

A dark teal living room features an orange velvet couch with vibrant colourful cushions. There is a yellow lamp in the corner and a rainbow print on the wall.

So, where did she start with the renovation? "The house was decorated in a neutral style," Genie says, "with all the walls gray. We started decorating in the front room as this could be cordoned off from the kids. I didn't have any skills as a decorator before this so it took weeks!" Color was her first port of call: "I painted it a beautiful deep green, Mid Azure Green from Little Greene Paint Company. We really pushed ourselves in this room color-wise by buying an orange sofa, a blue and pink chair, and then commissioned the wonderful orange and white psychedelic rug from Hessia Studio. The shelves are painted in an ombre sunset color scheme, going from an orange through to yellow. We are constantly adding items to each room so our style evolves over time."

A wooden bookshelf is positioned next to a green tiled fireplace. The wall behind it has a diagonal line down the centre, dividing sections of bright green and white paint.

paint by numbers

If that sounds like a lot of color, it is — and that's why we love it! It's not just any color combo, though. "We decided on a color palette very early on," Genie says. They picked about eight colors and made sure that they all worked together in different combinations. The result is a bold, bright home that still feels cohesive, thanks to the common thread of color. "Even though each room is different there are hints of each color hidden or in plain sight," Genie says.

As a color expert, we had to ask Genie's top tip for choosing a palette. "I always look at the items you already own in your home," she explains. "You can tell what you like from things you've collected over the years or your choice of clothing. Always try testers on large bits of paper that you can move around the room at different times of the day, you can tell which ones work much better!"

For Genie and Tom, it's all about yellow and green, which they've used in every room.

A Berry Lowdown is tucked into a nook in a dark teal room, below built-in yellow bookshelves.

The Lowdown in Berry

color shy?

If you're nervous about color, Genie suggests starting small. Select an accent vase or a picture, and work your way up. "Vintage pieces are a great way to inject personality into a house too! Lights, rugs, or a plant pot, it doesn't have to be a massive piece. Also, plants add instant personality and give homes that lived-in feel."

Genie also says it's important to remember that nothing's permanent. "I've always said that if something doesn't work, it's only paint, and we can paint over it. I think it's this thought that allows me to push the boundaries, to try things that I wouldn't normally do, like with the girl's room. Yellow, pink, green and white! Definitely my most ambitious color scheme so far. But you'll be surprised to know that I also love white – it's an amazing color if used well."

"Just do what you love. That will never go out of style."

In a children's bedroom, there are three Skinny lockers in Mustard, Blush and Berry sitting next to a pale green fireplace. The ceiling is painted yellow.

The Skinny in Mustard, Blush and Berry + Wordbits Magnets

ice cream color scheme

For her latest project, Genie took on a makeover of her daughters' shared bedroom. Isabelle, 7, and Aubrey, 3, had a cool-toned gray room. "They decided on ice cream colors, choosing pink, white, mint, and yellow (well, the yellow was me, but I had to add it in somewhere, didn't I!)", Genie says. "I hadn't painted a ceiling before so this was the perfect opportunity to try it out." The yellow ceiling creates a beautiful warmth in the room.

Three Skinny lockers in Poppy, Ocean and Sage are decorated with wordbits magnets spelling out 'Belle' and an activity schedule.

The Skinny in Poppy, Ocean and Sage + Wordbits Magnets

Of course, it wouldn't be a Mustard home tour without a few lockers! With Aubrey joining her elder sister Belle at school in September, Genie decided on a row of six Skinnys to help keep their school uniforms separate from their everyday clothes, making mornings easier. To match their red uniforms, the girls chose a Poppy and a Berry Skinny, then each chose two other colors they loved. "It was really important that the girls had input on what went in their room," Genie says. Luckily, the rainbow result is spectacular! Inside the lockers, the girls use Baskets to separate their different items of clothing and Genie says "I love the fact that the shelves can be moved down as the kids' clothing gets bigger."

Two Shorty lockers in Blush and Poppy sit side by side to form a TV cabinet. Thhere are large-scale colourful artworks on the walls and a mint green arch feature painted beside it.

The Shorty to the Left in Blush + The Shorty in Poppy

locker love

The Skinnys aren't the only lockers to make an appearance in Genie's colorful home. "I love The Shorty as it's the perfect small color hit and hides all the wires from the TV." (Spot the Blush and Poppy combo!)

A Mustard Midi locker sits against a cobalt blue wall with bold, black and white graphic prints. One reads 'all you need is love!'

The Midi in Mustard

"We also have a Midi in Mustard, which will eventually house all my plant bits and bobs and my interior samples. We're just starting on the kitchen reno so it's holding all the extra crockery and other items at the moment." We aren't kidding when we say how versatile lockers are!

personality plus

Part of what makes Genie's home so unique is the collection of bespoke pieces throughout the home. In the dining room, the vintage Pepsi chairs are a major talking point! Genie calls them "Tom's greatest find. He worked a lot in Mexico around ten years ago (one of his advertising clients was a tequila company) and we were moving into our first house. Unfortunately the sale kept getting put back and Tom had to fly to Mexico two days before we completed, to film an advert. So I moved into this AWFUL renovation house on my own, I cried when we got the keys… It was so dirty and smelled awful, with yellow walls and flea-infested carpets. Anyway, while he was out there he found the Pepsi chairs in a second-hand shop, they were old cafe chairs. So he folded them, bubble wrapped and protected them as best he could, then put them in the aeroplane hold. They were an 'I'm sorry I left you to do this yourself present.' Not bad eh?"

A Skinny in Berry is propped against a bright yellow wall with colourful wavy-patterned cushions on a bench next to them.

The Skinny in Berry

Ultimately, it's these kind of special touches that make Genie and Tom's home so lovely. "I think our home is a reflection of me and Tom. We like to collect things that inspire us on our travels, as well as vintage pieces, mid-century furniture, Modern art and my most recent obsession over the last few years is house plants (I have so many!)" Despite all the bright colors and fun accents, the home feels quite timeless, and that's down to Genie's simplest advice: "just do what you love. That will never go out of style."

A little note for our US locker lovers:

If you spied the Shorty and Skinny in these images, no you didn't! We're really sorry to say these styles are currently unavailable in the US. We've explained more here.