Jessica Lillico Volume 2.

I grew up in rural Tasmania in a cosy no-frills farmhouse which was practical and modest. So, I do think it’s kind of funny that I ended up as an interior stylist. Alongside my husband, photographer Sean Fennessy, I style and document high-end architectural projects. Creating beautiful scenes is great fun, but it also makes you appreciate the real, idiosyncratic details that make a home feel lived in.

During the making of the book, we were lucky enough to visit several homes still occupied by the original owner-builders, some for more than half a century. Bush Modern homes seem to attract a thoughtful, creative type of person, and it was a joy to see how the buildings themselves had been allowed to age and show signs of wear, while the interiors had become layered with meaningful décor acquired over the decades.

Like most people, I probably spend too much time online, exposed to trend cycles and ‘aspirational’ content. It’s easy to feel like your home should keep up. But those visits prompted a different way of thinking. I'm now much more interested in letting my home take shape over time. I want to surround myself with things that mean something to me. They don’t need to be fancy - I still have a blue plastic bottle opener I picked up from a grocer in Paris on my first big trip in 2008 - but I like knowing how things came into my life, and why they’ve stayed. I’ve always collected books, and they’re probably the best example of this - something that accumulates over time, shaping how you see things. Finding inspiration outside the algorithm feels more important now than ever. I hope to one day have a huge, overflowing bookshelf with everything from old issues of Russh magazine (circa 2004) to my vintage 'Mexican Interiors' and 'Swedish Decorative Arts' books!