As an interior designer, Linda Barker finds it hard to switch off from her work. During visits to hotels and restaurants, she always finds herself wondering how spaces within them have come together in terms of design.
“It’s always there and you never stop,” said Linda, who became a household name as a designer on BBC television series Changing Rooms.
“As a creative, you tend to walk around with your eyes open all the time and make judgements.
“I’ve quite often come across things I don’t like, especially in hotels. It’s usually a case of thinking more could have been done with the space, but then I often see other spaces which really inspire me.”
Linda’s creativity sparked from a young age, and although she spent a lot of time making and sewing, she never considered a career in interior design until graduating from the Surrey Institute of Art and Design in Farnham.
“I started off in print making and then went into fine art painting. There weren’t many courses in interior design at that time so it wasn’t something on my radar.”
The 53-year-old first caught the decorating bug while revamping her first flat. She then went on to work on friends’ homes to build a portfolio and things snowballed from there.
“I got my first flat in the late 80s so the decor was quite quirky,” she recalled.
“I was experimenting with a lot of paint effects and I remember doing a full-blown sky on the ceiling. It’s quite cringey looking back.
“I then grew a portfolio working for free on friends’ houses. It was good to do something I really wanted to do and developed a small business from there.
“I put together a creative book and after this, one thing lead to another and I was interviewed for Changing Rooms.”
The do-it-yourself home improvement programme first aired in 1996. With an eight-year run, it was the first show of its kind and set Britain into a home makeover frenzy as thousands tuned to see what kind of fantastic revamps could be achieved in such a short space of time.
“It had an incredible impact on people’s lives and people really remember it.
“I think it tapped in to everyone’s psyche, whether it was a case of being interested in decorating or wanting to see how other people lived.
“It was an absolute thrill to work on. I was working under immense pressure, which is something I really like, to turn around design schemes quickly. It was really exciting.”
When Changing Rooms came to an end in 2004, Linda continued to design, but didn’t quite escape fame as a reality TV star.
In 2013 she took part in Splash, an Olympic-themed variety TV show which put some of the UK’s best-known names through their paces on the diving board.
Mentored by Team GB Olympic Bronze Medal winning diver Tom Daley, Linda said the challenge knocked her straight from her comfort zone.
“Oh my gosh, it was really intense. The thought of those diving boards was horrific. I’m not generally a scaredey-cat, but I was terrified. Being asked to do somersaults into the pool was really hard work and took me to the edge of my skill set and beyond.
“Working with Tom Daley and the Olympic trainers he had was incredible and it was an experience I’m happy to have been a part of.”
Throughout the show, Linda was envied for her fantastic figure and was ranked as one of the world’s sexiest women.
“I naturally like keeping fit and active. I train in the gym, cycle a fair bit and I really like swimming.
“If I don’t do something everyday I can get a bit twitchy as I’m not someone who can sit behind a desk. I’ll do what I need to do at my computer and then get out.”
Really Linda Barker began as a mail order catalogue more than a decade ago and stemmed from Linda’s interest in accessorising people’s homes.
The collection boasts desirable items from cute kitchen wear to finishing touches for the living room.
“I love going to trade shows to see what new products are out there. When the business first started, it was a vehicle to bring these goods to a wider audience.
“I think decorating has hugely changed recently. It could be because we are coming out of the recession and people are starting to redecorate, whether it’s putting in a new kitchen or restyling their living room.
“It’s even more exciting now as people are creating individual looks for their home rather than taking ideas from a book or a magazine.
“Everything is becoming less prescriptive.”