House Doctor

House
Doctor

HOST BIO
ANN MAURICE

Californian interior designer Ann Maurice has a truly unique combination of skills and experience that set her apart from others in her field. Prior to her ten-year Interior Design career, she spent thirteen years selling Real Estate in the San Francisco Bay area.

Ten years ago she introduced the concept of "Home Staging" (how to prepare your home for sale from both the practical and aesthetic points of view) on "Home Front" in Great Britain. As Channel FIVE's House Doctor, she has gained a huge following in the UK who tune in faithfully to watch her quickly transform Britain's unsaleable properties into saleable ones. The successful House Doctor programme is currently in its eighth series and going stronger than ever with an ever growing audience.

Ann has published seven books: "Ann Maurice, House Doctor," "Ann Maurice, House Doctor - Quick Fixes," "House Doctor - Instant Makeovers," "The Best of House Doctor," "The Property Book," and most recently "House Doctor: A-Z of Design."

Aside from her filming and publishing commitments, she writes a regular feature for House Beautiful magazine, and for a quarterly publication called American in Britain and for Hampton's newsletter.

When she is not in England filming House Doctor, Ann divides her time between her main home in San Francisco, California and her holiday home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Both properties were long-term design projects in their own rights.

Her San Francisco home is a 1930s two-storey townhouse located in the Marina District, with a view of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. Although overall quite traditional, it nevertheless is a reflection of Ann's eclectic tastes and lifestyle. Both Ann and her partner Timothy are avid art buffs and their walls are lined with original artwork done mostly by friends and other local West Coast artists. The house is a showcase for not only her design talents, but is also filled with examples of the decorative painting techniques that she spent years perfecting.

Her San Miguel home is what Ann refers to as her fantasy home. The main house (now completely restored) is an original Spanish Colonial residence dating back to 1717. She and her partner later bought the property next door in order to combine the two, build a guest house and develop the gardens and roof terraces. The entire restoration and build took three years and is nearly complete. Says Ann, "This was the most creatively satisfying project I've done to date. The local artisans are so talented and can build anything one can imagine. So I really let my imagination have free reign. The result is a Spanish colonial home, with the charm of Mexico, some Moorish touches and furnished with antiques, local art and artefacts and mementoes from our many travels. It is the exact opposite of what I do in House Doctor. I love it!"

Ann has two grown daughters, Lauryn and Melanie, two granddaughters, Nicole and Anna, one grandson, Greg, a partner Timothy and a real live dog, Floyd, all who reside in California.

She has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan, studied Interior Design at the University of California and is a graduate of the Colour Research Institute of America.

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