Lee-Ann Bell is a Joburg-based furniture, homeware and interior designer. She founded Mezzanine, her furniture shop and interior-design consultancy, in 1999 MY LIFE sub_head_endI was born and bred in Jozi. I currently live in Forest Town, with my partner, Marcus Pieterse, and our daughter, Mila.The most inspirational place I've ever travelled to is Paris. Before baby, we went to Paris yearly. The saying "Paris is always a good idea" is true!mini_story_image_hleft1I'm dying togo to Denmark.I was artistic from a young age. I had great junior-school art teachers who saw my talent and nurtured it.I studied interior design at Wits Technikon and started Mezzanine at 23, so I had to learn on the job.The best hotel I've ever stayed at is U Palazzu Serenu in Oletta, Corsica, a small boutique hotel with amazing food.My favourite restaurant is Croft & Co in Parkview.My favourite quote is "Less is more," by Mies van der Rohe.sub_head_start MY WORK sub_head_endOur first interior-design project was Biscotti in Greenside. Grant Ravenscroft, the owner, is still a client 16 years on. We designed his latest restaurant, Croft & Co, in Parkview.mini_story_image_hright2There was no one particular breakthrough piece or project for us. It took a while for our furniture and interior work to be acknowledged.At the momentwe are busy on a few houses and we have a few new furniture designs in the pipeline too.I'm a Pinterest addict. I can see new ideas daily from all sources. I follow vintage, architecture, fashion. I also look at Etsy daily, for young designers hand-making items.I admire Dokter and Misses and MOS (Makers of Stuff) locally. My favourite international designer is Ilse Crawford.My favourite old-school architect is Mies van der Rohe and my favourite contemporary architect is Marcio Kogan, a Brazilian.sub_head_start MY HOME AND STYLE sub_head_endMy style is simple and modern. Quality is key.My home has lots of glass with a view of the garden. I love the light and seeing the green view.mini_story_image_hleft3One thing I always have in my fridge is rosemary.I makea great chicken curry.We are buildinga new home next year, so I'm looking more at architecture than furniture pieces.My most prized pieces of furniture are the vintage dining chairs that I bought for a steal and would not part with.I like to use neutral colours on big pieces and bring in pattern and colour on cushions and art. I find this will date less. I like to mix modern with vintage pieces.I havean 11-month-old baby, so my reading is all baby-related at the moment.My favourite app is Etsy.Visit Mezzanine...