2020-08-01_Mollie_Makes

PHOTOGRAPHY (TOP TO BOTTOM): EMMA HARRIS; MARIANNA WAHLSTEN

D

esignlegendandinteriorsicon

MichelleOgundehinis a firm

believerthatourhomeshave the

powertoactasa pathto

wellbeing.And,asthemulti-

awardwinningformerEditor-in-Chiefof

ELLEDecorationUKandanauthorityon

thepsychologicaleectsofcolour,she’s

gottheknowledgetobackit up.

WechattedtoMichelletheweekafter

lockdownwasputinplacein theUK,and

werealreadyfeelinggratefulforthesafe

spaceourhomesgaveus,makingthe

releaseofhernewbook,HappyInside:

Howto HarnessthePowerof Homefor

HealthandHappinessevenmorepoignant.

Fromtheimportanceofthewayyou

livetothesignificanceofcolour,Happy

Insideis intendedasanessential

handbookfortransformingyourspace

intoa sanctuary.And,wegotthe

lowdownfromMichelleonjusthowyour

home can empower and enrich your life.

Haveyoualwayshada passionfor

creatingconsideredspaces?Eversince

I wasa childI’vehada knackofknowing

if I movedthis,orputthatthere,or

paintedthisthatcolour,thespacewould

feelbetter.Sooftenpeoplesay“wehave

tomove,wehaven’tgotenoughroom,”

butmostpeopledon’tneedmorespace,

theyneedlessstu. Weneedtomakethe

mostof whatwehave,butuseit more

eectively.Andbehonestabouttheway

youliveyourlife.Soif TVis importantto

you,givemorespacetothelivingarea.If

you’rea passionatecook,gearyourhome

more towards the kitchen space.

Sopeopleneedtothinkabouthow

theyusetheirhousefirst?Absolutely.

Tomakea homethatsupportsyou– so

forthewayyouauthenticallyliveyourlife

andwhoyouare– it hastocomefrom

within.Youhavetoknow who you are and

what sustains you.

DoyouthinkyoursuccessatELLE

DecorationUKwasdowntoyour

uniquetakeonhome?Definitely– I

wasalwaysinterestedtoexplorethe

widernarrativearoundhome,sowhat

it meanstofeelat home,andat home

withyourself– I don’tthinkthetwocan

beseparated.Yourhomereflectsand

respondstowhoyouare,andin turn,you

canreverseengineeryourspaceofmind

andwellbeingthroughtheconsideration

ofyourhome.Butit’sneverjustaboutthe

décor. It’s about how it makes you feel,

(^01) Michelle’sbook,
HappyInside,
givesadviceon
creatinga
harmonioushome
throughcuration,
colour and more.
(^02) Shelvesin
Michelle’sdining
roomshowcase
artworksand
someofhermost
treasured
possessions.
01
02
“Tomake a
homethat
supports you,
youhave to
know who you
areand what
sustains you.”