FROM picking an interior theme for a cave to braving bush tucker trials, Colin and Justin have tackled a wide range of challenges in their varied careers. The Scottish couple have properties in three countries and own several interiors businesses including a furniture company and specialist candle company. But their passion has been and always will be interior design and in the homes they've designed across Europe and North America, there has been one constant.
Colin says: "It's always fun for us to go back to our roots and design properties, as bad taste is definitely universal. We tackle bad taste head on. We're currently working on some Canadian homes and one thing we've struggled to understand is why so many people waste a third of their house for storage - the basement. It's like in Britain when people speak about their spare rooms - no room should ever be spare."
Colin and Justin have been asked to design interiors for many weird and wonderful places over the years, but the one that stands out for them is a cave. They were given the challenge of turning a pile of rocks into a homely environment for an Ideal Homes show.
Justin says: "I doubt any cave family would have complained about our cave - we put in a stainless steel kitchen and gave it a really cosy feel. It was great fun and the idea behind it was to challenge people's perceptions - if you can make a cave homely, just think what you can do with a two-bedroom semi-detached. I wouldn't go as far as to say we'd move in but it was definitely not what people would expect."
The boys love nothing more than when they are given a new home to put their mark on. However they wouldn't recommend picking up the paintbrushes as soon as you put the boxes down.
Colin says: "Working with new homes is fantastic - people who get a brand new home have the most precious gift and yet so many people opt for tame decor. It's a blank canvas with no structural problems therefore there is no better place to express yourself. Let yourselves settle into the property first - get a feel for each room and what you want to use it for. Use bright furnishings if you're scared to put colours on the walls."
It's been a busy year for Colin and Justin, as they launched C & J Home eight months ago. The company specialises in candles, which are all made in Scotland, and has had buyers from around the globe. Readers of What House? magazine can get 15% off the candle range by typing What House into the promotion box at www.candjhome.co.uk when they check out.
How did you get into interior designing?
When we bought our first home together it was quite tired and there was a lot of work to do. We taught ourselves to do everything including building our own kitchen. The transformation was so good that when we put it on the market we doubled the price and quickly decided to do it again. As we moved up the property ladder, we were teaching ourselves about property and design. It all started from there and then we began writing for newspapers and doing interior design for others.
How did you get into TV presenting?
We used to write a column for The Herald newspaper in Scotland and somebody read our column when they were casting for designers for a BBC TV show. We were asked to audition so we went for it. They must have liked us as we got the job. We did seven series of Trading Up and The Million Pound Property Experiment, where we were given a £100,000 to make as much money and over two years made £300,000 profit from developing for charity. That was a really hard show and so much fun at the same time. We got a contract with Channel Five and did a wide range of different shows with them including Wedding Belles and The Farm. We then did a range of different reality TV shows including I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Our shows have been getting shown around the world for a few years now.
What does 2013 hold for you?
We are currently working on some formats for TV shows in the UK. It's a new challenge for us now as, with the general economy, there has been a lack of interest in property programs. However, there has been a swing of interest and we want to tap into that. People are seeing houses as homes rather than investments. Before we had become a nation of developers and people were forgetting something really important - you are living in your home everyday and we all need somewhere that is our sanctuary. It'll be a challenge to get a show off the ground but we've not shied away from one yet.