As part of our interview series, My Happy Home, AJ Odudu talks houseplants, her orange stair carpet and the surprising 70s bathroom trend she wants to bring back.
AJ is a British television presenter best known for co-presenting Big Brother's Bit on the Side in 2013 alongside Rylan Clark and Emma Willis.
Born Onatejiro Odudu, AJ kickstarted her career as a reporter for BBC Blast at Radio Lancashire in 2006. Since then, she has gone on to present the UK jury points in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, the BBC's Platinum Jubilee Pageant in 2022, and Emma and AJ Get to Work on channel W during lockdown.
Currently AJ, who lives in London, appears alongside Dara Huang in Channel 4's The Big Interiors Battle and is the host of The Greatest Auction. Later this year, AJ will present the revival of Big Brother with Will Best.
What makes you happiest at home?
AJ: So much! I love it when I've perfectly timed my central heating to come on just as I get out of bed so it's not cold. That is adulting at its finest. I love waking up to my houseplants every single day, seeing that they're all alive and thriving. I have so many houseplants. When I go away there's a big commotion about who is going to come and water them. I call them the plant sitters. There are also two parakeets perched on the tree outside my living room window which make me really happy. Just waking up in a space that I have worked hard to get! It's a commodity that I don't take for granted at all. I am very lucky to love the space I am in.
Tell us about your childhood home
AJ: I grew up in Blackburn, Lancashire, in a terraced house on a main road with no back garden. There were 10 of us in a three-bedroom property. I have five brothers and two sisters.
We had a living room with a tiny window, then a front room which was called the 'nice room' that we weren't allowed to go in. It's where you would take the visitors. You would sit them on the nice chair in the nice room — everywhere else was chaos.
The kitchen was a long corridor, it was so tiny. You had to walk through the kitchen to get to the one bathroom that was downstairs. In the middle of the night there would be so many of us queuing up for the toilet. I remember that privacy was not a thing. One person was on the toilet, one person would be brushing their teeth, one person was in the bath. That's just how it was. But it was really so full of joy, it was so fun.
Mum had a load of photos that would spill from the walls to the floor. We had photos everywhere. We had mismatched chairs. Someone would be on the settee for tea, someone at the table, someone on the floor. It was a lot of people in a small space but really fun! Nothing matched, the walls were magnolia and we had lots of frilly lampshades. Quite retro let's put it that way!
When you get home, what is the first thing you like to do?
AJ: I like to take my shoes off. I take great pleasure in walking up my orange carpet. It's like my edition to a red carpet. It's bright, it's bold, it's ridiculous and it fills me with joy when I walk in. Nothing says relaxation like whacking on the telly, lighting a candle and sitting on the settee — and putting on something to eat.
Which room do you spend most of your time in? How did you decorate this space?
AJ: I spend most of my time in my living room. It's south facing with a lot of natural light. I have a gallery wall — a load of photographs printed in black and white, and put in black and white frames. It's a mixture of family photos and a bit of typography, which I love.
Below the frames, I have a cabinet unit filled with spare candles, nice glassware and records. On top of the unit is a record player, which I really wanted in my space. Growing up we had a record player, but it was the one item I was never ever allowed to touch! Mum was like 'don't touch the record player and don't touch the records'. It's now quite fun to have my mum over and say 'don't touch it!'.
I've got three quite large sash windows and two settees. One is bright blue velvet and so comfortable, while the other is bright orange. Directly underneath it is an abstract painting that my mate Sophie painted for me. It was a housewarming gift.
I've got the hugest palm plants that you've ever seen. They belong in an office or a botanical garden. I've got shelving which one of my friends said I should get for all my awards – now it's got a few awards on it and it's our joke that she manifested them.
I've got a flat screen which blends into one of the coves of the living room. I've also got a chimney breast but I haven't done anything with it so it's just a hole in the wall covered by a painting. It's got a really cool curved mirror on it.
I love my living room so much. It's where I spend a lot of time hosting. I can see the blossom tree outside. I play music in here, I have a drinks trolley in here, we have really nice cocktails in here, and yeah, I watch TV in here too.
Describe the view outside your bedroom window?
AJ: I am a top-floor flat, spread over two floors. I am right at the top of a very tall Victorian building. From my bedroom window I can see the blossom trees. You basically feel very high up. It's a very good place to be a nosy neighbour.
What would we find in your bedside table?
AJ: An eye mask as I am the worst sleeper ever. If I see the tiniest crack of light, I am awake. It's also got Vicks VapoRub for my blocked nose and there's always a book.
What is the best decorating advice you have ever received?
AJ: If you're unsure then paint everything white. My friend said you have to make so many decisions on the spot when decorating, but if you paint everything white it literally goes with everything. When you do later want to repaint your walls, you've got the base perfectly there. It's harder to go from darker colours to light colours because you have to put on so many paint layers. That was my top tip from my friend Chris.
What is the best home bargain you've ever snapped up?
AJ: I got a side table that has lived everywhere in my house. It's now in the bathroom with a candle, plant and bath salts on it. It cost me £10 from a car boot sale in Pimlico, London. I've had it for about 14 years – it's been everywhere. It could do with a sand down now. It's my little bargain buy.
What is your most treasured possession at home? Why is it so special?
AJ: It's a framed photograph of me and my mum in the living room. The whole gallery wall was inspired by my mum and how she loves photographs, printing them out, and putting them in mismatched frames at home. My gallery wall is more streamlined than hers. Less photos, all in black and white.
My friend Nathan took a photograph of me and my mum in his little studio. We were just doing a test shoot and it ended up being one of the most amazing photos which was inspired by my childhood home. I don't know, it's a simple thing but it's got so much meaning behind it for me.
What would top your list for the worst decor trend?
AJ: This might be a surprise but I really hate the feature wall, like the wallpaper on one wall but nowhere else. Also, carpets in bathrooms. I remember when everyone had carpets in their bathrooms and I found it to be damp and disgusting. I did not like that. But I must admit I actually really like garish trends. Let's bring back the salmon bathroom suite. I also want a green toilet, a green bath, and a green sink. That's a trend that died and I want to bring it back.
Are you green-fingered?
AJ: Yes, and I don't know where it has come from. I think living in London I really wanted to bring the outdoors in. I always want to feel away from the noise and pollution, enter and feel uplifted by the green space. These plants are air purifying. It's a really lively way to decorate your space – especially when I had no furniture.
If you could have a snoop around anyone's house, whose would it be and why?
AJ: I love Paloma Faith so much; I want her full house tour. She is quite a quirky character and I see snippets of it on Instagram all the time. I've seen a grand piano, a leopard print settee, the bold black and white striped hallway. That looks like a fun house I want to visit.
The Big Interiors Battle airs at 8pm on Channel 4. You can also stream episodes on All 4 here.
The Colour Edit
Lisa Joyner is the Senior Digital Writer at House Beautiful UK and Country Living UK, where she's busy writing about home and interiors, gardening, dog breeds, pets, health and wellbeing, countryside news, small space inspiration, and the hottest properties on the market. Previously, she has written for Conde Nast Traveller, House & Garden and Marie Claire magazine. Lisa studied at University For The Creative Arts, where she completed a BA in Fashion Journalism.
