AT HOME WITH...good read...
thendeep-divingintowhatyouintuitively
respondto.Soin termsofthestoriesfrom
themagazine,theywerestoriesabout
people,thentheirhome.It’sthejeweller,
thenthejeweller’seyeasappliedtotheir
home.Designanddécordon’thappenin
a vacuum,theyhavetobeinformedbyso
muchmorethanthat.Isthatwhenyougottheideafor
HappyInside?It’sbeenburblingin
myheadforever!I startedwritingyears
agoanddidn’thavetime,butit wasa
lifelonggoal.Whenit happened,thetime
wasrightandthepublisherwasright,
theyunderstoodwhatI wastryingto
do.Becauseit’snotaninteriorsbook,
it’sa wellbeingbookseenthroughthe
prismofhome.I realiseda lotofpeople
underestimatethepowerofthehometo
impactyourwellbeing.It wastryingget
acrossthatcolourandcushionsaren’t
frivolous,thisis fundamentalstu . But
alsoit’sa holisticendeavourandyou’re
partofthepicture,sothat’swhythebook
coversfood,exercise,andallthosethings- youneedtolookat it fromallangles.
And how can your home promote
good health and wellbeing? Well
that’s all in the book! But it starts by
considering every surface that surrounds
you, and the impact they can have on
you. It’s finding those materials, coloursandtexturesyourespondtoonanalmost
primallevel.I believewehavea need
tobesurroundedbyvisualandtactile
stimulation,especiallyin thisdigitalage.Soit’saboutsensingwhichtextures
andcolourswe’redrawnto?Yes,andI
thinkthere’salsoa dangerofoverthinking
it.Everyoneknowswhattheyliketoeat,
orwhatmusictheyintuitivelyrespondto,
andit’sthesamewithcolours,materials,
ortextures.Don’tthinkin termsof
specificfabrics,it’saboutcapturing
thebiggerpictureandmoodsthatyou
respondto.If yougotoa restaurantand
likethatspace,takea momenttothink
whatyoulikeaboutit.Is it becauseit’s
darkandmoody,brightandlight,green
orpink?It’saboutdivingintohowyou
feel,thenbeginningtopullupa picture
without thinking about it too much.How do you fill a space with things
you love and make it look beautiful? If
you surround yourself with those things,
it will be. There are tips and tricks to
contain and display stu , to show them(^01) Hangingmirrors
throughoutyour
houseaddslightand
a senseofspace.
(^02) The view from
the hallway to the
kitchen at Michelle’s
home – her book
delves into the
benefits of f low
betweenrooms.
(^03) HappyInside
featuresbeautiful
illustrations
throughout.
(^04) “The power of
surrounding
yourself with things
you love is
extraordinary.”
“I can, hand on heart,
say that every single
thing in my home fills
me with happiness.”
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PHOTOGRAPHY: MARIANNA WAHLSTEN; ILLUSTRATION: NICOLA REW