The Beautiful Jayde of @jayde_archives 🌸

What is your name? Who’s a part of your everyday life?

Hello, I’m Jayde of @jayde_archives! Mama to my almost 2 year old son Ollie and partner to my hubby Jase. I’m also expecting baby #2 at the end of May. We haven’t found out the gender of bub so we are extra excited to finally meet the newest member of our little family soon.

Jase and I have both worked from home since Ollie was born (a positive out of the pandemic for us) so we are all very close. Ollie has grown up with mum and dad both around most of the time, and even though I’m his primary carer, Jase is usually available for a cuddle or little play throughout the day. To be honest I don’t know how I would have coped sometimes if he was away at the office for 10 hours of the day.

You’re renovating your beautiful Queenslander home… tell us about the journey so far. Ups, downs, inspiration…

Yes, we thought moving countries (from Switzerland where we lived for 5 years back to our home town Brisbane), buying a house and being pregnant just wasn’t enough excitement for one year so we also decided to start renovating before bub arrives. Looking back I can see we pushed ourselves a bit too far, but now that we’ve got our beautiful new kitchen it’s hard to say I’d change it!

I think renovating is one of those things that looks like lots of fun when you just see somebody else’s before and afters but when you’re knee deep in dust, washing your dishes in the tiny bathroom sink and wondering when you will eat a home cooked meal again it can be really tough. I think I managed to cope so well because I prepared myself mentally for the temporary mess and chaos and kept reminding myself the result would be worth the 5-6 weeks of craziness.

So far we’ve done a bit of maintenance work on the outside of the house (the verandah had lots of rotten timber and needed a fresh coat of paint), some painting inside (we still need to do the ceiling and doors) and we’ve pretty much completed our new kitchen.

I think seeing our kitchen come together has been the biggest highlight so far - knowing we designed it ourselves, sourced the materials and labor and Jase did a lot of the work (apart from some plumbing, electrical and structural changes) himself has made it that much more special. It’s completely changed the vibe of our home and really set the bar for how we want the rest of the house to look.

The hardest part has been the exhaustion of parenting and working during the day and then renovating on weeknights and weekends and having no down time or social life. Some nights Jase would be up until midnight working away at things.

You're pregnant with baby #2, how has renovations, everyday life and work changed?

Haha well it hasn’t changed that much - mostly because I’m pretty ambitious and usually make myself keep going even when I should really take a break. Something I’m still learning to get better at. Although I think with lower energy levels you just get good at prioritizing the things that really make a difference in your work or day and letting go of the stuff that doesn’t really matter.

I fell pregnant almost exactly when we moved back to Australia so from day one of setting up our life and my businesses here again I’ve had less energy than I normally would have - not to mention the first 14 weeks of morning sickness and fatigue. But I’m really proud to see how far I’ve come with my Instagram @jayde_archives work and also my motherhood photography business @jayde_archives_studio.

You and your beautiful family seem to live outdoors in the fresh air… what are some of your favourite places in Australia? In the world?

Oh yes our time in Switzerland really opened our eyes up to the beauty of getting outside and exploring nature. We loved hiking, going to the mountains and living right by a beautiful Swiss lake. Even during snowy days in winter I would be outside with Ollie rugged up in his pram to visit the ducks at the lake. So Switzerland will always hold a special place in our hearts and I would have to say is one of our favourite places in the world now.

While we lived there we traveled quite a lot around Europe and one of my biggest highlights was staying in the Sahara Desert in Morocco - riding camels through the dunes to set up a fire, drink mint tea, gaze at the stars and listen to our guides play music was a moment I’ll never forget. I’m embarrassed to say we’ve seen less of Australia than we have of the rest of the world and now that we are back we have a new found appreciation for our home.

Our next travel wishes are to see more of Australia and we’ve just come back from a little family-moon in Tasmania - which we loved!

What’s your favourite Fabrik piece?

Ooh that’s a tough one! I really love so much of what you do and your stance of sustainability. But I guess I would say I love your classic pieces like the T-Shirt Smock Dress and Everyday Overalls - I think these are so comfy and timeless that I’ll be wearing them for years to come.

Follow along with Jayde and her sweet family online at @jayde_archives & her photography business at @jayde_archives_studio.