Michelle’s book, Happy Inside, is on sale now. Visit
http://www.michelleogundehin.com to find out more,
and follow her on Insta @michelleogundehin for
her latest colour explorations and trend theories.o to their best advantage, but we need
to get away from this idea that anyone
else has to like it. You cannot surround
yourself with things that have no meaning
for you. Some of the most precious things
in my home are the drawings my son has
done, and they’re stuck to the wall in the
room I’m in now! I hope Happy Inside
will give people the courage of their own
convictions and empower them to love
what they like.Makers love personalising their homes- do you think that’s important? By
crafting, you’re engendering an emotional
connection with your space. You already
care about it, you’re engaged with it,
and that’s what it’s about. That you want
to paint a chair instead of buying one,
or that you want to salvage and repair
something, it’s wonderful. How can we
expect our homes to shelter us, how can
we expect to enjoy our things, if we don’t
treasure them? Every single thing in your
home impacts you, it brings an energy to
your home, so the power of surrounding
yourself only with things that you love and
that mean something is extraordinary.
Would you say every item in your
home reflects who you are? Absolutely.
I can, hand on heart, say that every single
thing in my home fills me with happiness.
It’s a part of the story that I want to tell.
Every item is treasured, therefore it’s not
a chore for me to dust picture frames
or polish things, because I remember
when I bought it, or I remember who I
was – or who I was with – when I got it.
Everything, from the weight of my cutlery
to my sheets, to the scent of my soap, it’s
been considered. But not in a painful,
picky way, these things just evolve.Does your belief in the power of
home come from experience then?
Completely. I’ve lived in my fair share
of dodgy rentals, I’ve moved cities and
continents, and I’ve come home not only
to ‘home’, but to a deeper understanding
of myself. I finally understand who I am,
what I like, and what I respond to. It’s a
lifelong pursuit, but it’s a superpower to
have that in your back pocket. To have
your home support you on every level,
even in our current situation, is just
terrific, and I give thanks for it.0304