ABOUT ME

Hi! I’m Nova Williams, founder, author and ‘editor-in-chic’ of 18 Chelsea Mews, where passion, style and creativity live happily ever after.

I have a penchant for beautifully decorated spaces, cleverly designed furniture and brightly coloured home accessories, all made even more beautiful with lots of fresh flowers. I’m also obsessed with colourful ribbons, stationery, gift wrap and handmade cards…well, I’m a bit of a paper freak! My love for these things didn’t begin overnight; I’m more inclined to think I was born this way.

I recall embracing my creativity from a very young age as a child growing up in Jamaica. One of my favourite early creative memories is of my mom and I making macrame plant pot holders and macrame wall hangings to decorate our home. Yes, those were oh so chic back in the day! I looked forward to all the special days of the year when I could give relatives and friends my lovely handmade cards. If you were super special, you’d also receive a small gift (mostly mom’s fancy stationery found around the house, with her permission of course), nicely packaged in gift wrap created by yours truly, complete with handmade gift tag to match. As I grew older, I became more interested in making spaces beautiful, so I was always ‘the chosen one’ for decorating a space for pretty much every special occasion. I just loved pretty things, whether store bought or homemade, and I love making spaces pretty too.

Sadly, my love for art was encouraged as more of a hobby than something I should pursue as a career so my first admission to university was to study business while my art sat on the back burner. I later decided I wanted to study fine art and took the opportunity to do so eventually; I even achieved a Masters in Fine Art upon moving to London, now my second home. After graduation, the struggle to sustain a substantial and steady income from my art led me to accept corporate jobs; still doing my art on the side.

After the tragedy of a late miscarriage in 2012, I became a clinically depressed, bereaved mother, completely unable to snap out of the nesting phase I wholeheartedly embraced throughout my 23 and a half weeks of pregnancy. With my little girl now gone forever, I secretly continued to surf the internet looking for ideas on how to decorate a nursery there was no longer a need for. Thankfully, a house move saved me from myself, and I was finally able to outwardly embrace this nesting phase as I attempted to turn the new apartment into a real home…and just like that, 18 Chelsea Mews blog was born!

I started the blog as a bit of an escape. At first it was just a safe and pretty little world I created for myself, one that I was fully in control of, unlike my real world where ugly things ‘just happened’. I found the process of writing quite cathartic, and being able to sift through hundreds of gorgeous images of beautifully decorated homes and flower arrangements came as a bit of a treat for me. They were images I could simply admire without thinking too deeply. As I began to emerge from the darkness of my depression, I found myself eager to apply much of what I’d seen in those images, into my own living space and I found this very uplifting. The journey has continued ever since.

My decor style is modern, crisp and clean, peppered with energetic splashes of vibrant colours and bold graphic patterns. With all white walls as the backdrop, this approach to decorating works for me every time.

My blog is inspired by all things bright and beautiful and is intended for sharing useful decorating ideas, my creative flair and sophisticated style in the form of inspiring interiors, must-try food and drink recipes, worthwhile DIY projects and more.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you’ll stop by regularly!