We’ve always known that Jali customers are a pretty special bunch. Minimalists, on the whole, you are not; after all, if you didn’t have very much stuff, you wouldn’t need extra places to store or display it, would you?

And we do know that lots of you collect things, ranging from guitars to books to vintage handbags.

This week, David Beckham confessed to having over 1,000 pairs of (used) football boots – he just couldn’t bring himself to throw any of them away after a game.

(Several questions spring to mind here – do they get cleaned or do they still have half the pitch stuck to them? Is that part of the sentimental/lucky omen appeal? Do they smell a little, umm… pungent? And what does Victoria think? If you want to hear the man himself dish the dirt, as it were, he’s Kirsty’s guest on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs this Sunday, 29th January.)

Still, over one thousand pairs, eh? Now that’s a collection that would challenge most storage systems, but not ours. After all, Jali made a bespoke unit for Kaddy Lee-Preston’s almost equally impressive shoe array (above and below).

The beauty of the Jali system is its flexibility. No matter what is in your collection – however big, small, fragile or oddly-shaped – you can design one or more storage units around what you love, rather than trying to adapt it to what’s on the market.

With our genius kitchen dresser Designer, you can also combine shelving, cupboards and drawers to create unique display and storage units. You know how you can stop noticing and really appreciating what’s on show after a while? Whether it’s ceramics or tin toys, and however beautiful or quirky, we can get so used to seeing the same things day after day that we eventually just take them for granted.

Well, with a specially designed Jali unit, you can be your own expert curator!

You can move pieces around, displaying some on shelves or behind glass doors, while keeping others safe from dust and damage in cupboards and drawers.

That way, you’ll keep the element of freshness and surprise, and you’ll be able to wow yourself on a regular basis, as well as your visitors. And that has to be a good thing…

-Annie

If you thought that Jali was just for living rooms, bedrooms and halls – think again! Our products are perfect for bathrooms too, as our customer Helen realised. Before starting her project, Helen was really clear about her aims: “When planning the new bathroom I had to consider several factors such as:

Budget: if I wanted bespoke units built, it would just cost too much.

Storage: I wanted to create as much storage as I possibly could. However, I did not like any of the ready-made units for sale in bathroom & DIY stores. They were expensive and difficult to fit into a Victorian house. Also, many were very contemporary in look, which was not what I felt would suit the house.”

So this clever and capable woman got to work…

“To make maximum use of the space I designed a cupboard which combines a cover for the radiator and acts as a linen cupboard above – so all my linen and towels are kept lovely and warm.”

What a brilliant idea – there is nothing like something all-enveloping, warm and soft when you step out of a bath or shower, especially in chilly winter days. Heaven in a bathtowel. Sorry, Helen, where were we… ah, yes.

“I was able to phone the Jali team for help with dimensions and the placing of the shelves.”

You can see the inside of the cupboard, below; the louvred fretwork doors make it a perfect combined radiator cover and linen cupboard.

And now for the rest of the bathroom. “The sink unit (below) gives me all the storage space I need for cleaning materials, toiletries & medicines etc,” says Helen. “The top surface is a sheet of white gloss laminate, cut to size, which gives a very finished look and is easy to maintain.”

This is a really important factor in bathroom design – an installation that looks wonderful at first can easily start to lose its appeal, especially if you live in a hard water area, or is in constant use by the family.

It was certainly important to Helen: “Easy cleaning – I wanted a bathroom that could be easily cleaned and maintained, with no ugly pipes showing. The toilet (below) was fitted into a recess using a Jali cupboard design modified to fit. It is ideal – looks good, works well, and it hides all the pipes.”

“Jali enabled me to design a bathroom that suited the age of the property, giving a traditional effect that would not date & give me the bespoke look I wanted.”

“The gentleman who has carried out our home maintenance for over twenty years, completely fitted and decorated the bathroom. He found it easy to construct and could modify the units such as the toilet and wash hand basin with little difficulty. He, like myself, was impressed by the finish of the product.”

And Helen’s verdict on the completed installation? “I am delighted with the result, having achieved a good looking, easily maintained bathroom with loads of storage.” Helen also thanked Amy and the rest of the Jali team for their help and advice enabling us to complete the bathroom.”

Thank you for your great photos, Helen, and for giving us some fantastic ideas for our own bathroom projects. You’ve achieved something you can be very proud of. And you’ve shown just how versatile and adaptable Jali cupboards can be…

-Annie

Well, the Jali blog is back for the new year with a bang: something big, beautiful – and blue! “We are so thrilled with this!” said our happy customer Leah when she sent us these photographs – and we can see why.

It’s a great example of the way in which Jali can help you realise your dreams for a bespoke, individual piece that solves all your storage and style problems in one go.

“The room is quite dark,” Leah told us, so she wanted to have extra light.

“I also wanted it to be more dramatic, hence the extra coving. I am sooooo happy with it.”

The unit was designed with the Jali kitchen dresser Designer, which, as I’m always saying, is so versatile.

The extra coving was created in our mdf shapes Designer.

The result is a marriage made in heaven, and a stunning and unique piece of furniture. It’s going to look gorgeous at every time of the year…

By the way, the photo below has reminded me that Christmas decorations should be taken down today, the 6th of January. We are told it’s bad luck to take them down earlier or leave them up longer. (And, let’s face it, we probably don’t need any extra helpings of that commodity floating around in the coming year if we can help it. No sirree.)

Anyway, at Jali we’ve decided that, whatever else happens, 2017 is going to be chock full of brave, brilliant, modern DIY projects. Leah has got us off to a cracking start, and we’ve got more of your brilliant ideas to come. So if you’ve got a notion, get in motion – and like Leah, make the rest of us go “Whooo!”

-Annie