Interiors with Sarah Jane Nielsen, owner and director of Sarah Jane Nielsen Limited, at Staveley.

Colour and texture surround us wherever we are, just with slightly different connotations to influence our thoughts and design decisions.

We are lucky to be near Pollensa old town, Mallorca, for the next two columns and like anywhere else hot we are approaching life from a different perspective, soaking up the views over our beautiful valley of olive and lime trees up into the mountain backdrop. My eight-year-old daughter and I discuss the design of all things quite a lot. Today, she asked me how I would design our own villa in place of the one we are currently renting. I actually said that I thought the owners had got it pretty well spot on, with a few tweaks on an alternative floor plan to suit our modern living.

The villa is newly built, but expertly and beautifully done in a traditional style. I love the tiny mullioned windows and curved terracotta slate details to the roof and timber eaves inside and out. The materials they have used are of the most appropriate style and quality to blend in around this neck of the woods. The soft stones look a little flint like, obviously mountain rocks and slates, expertly carved and chipped away at to tie into the mountainous surroundings. Externally, the door shutters are painted a deep forest green. Never an accent colour I have ever used in our country (with the exception of the Nigerian high commissioners house in London, the national flag dictated that scheme). However, here, it sits quite well; terracotta and corals with an accent of deep green. I look around me and there are a multitude of tones of greens from the grey greens in lavender and herbs in the garden to the vibrant greens of the palms, limes and fig trees. The contrast is rich and interesting.

It is fascinating how our environment affects our design thoughts, and these will be interpreted by individuals in a variety of ways. There is an inevitable option to create a contemporary timber and glass structure, which could also blend into the landscape. The use of mirror and reflections through the glass would create an equally impressive method of bringing the outside in, maybe through a courtyard with glass on all sides and an external living area inside and out. This design has room for development with a much more cutting edge shape and contemporary design...hmm?

Maybe next year!