It should really go without saying, but your home should be your ultimate happy place. A place where your worries temporarily subside, and a sense of peace greets you warmly when walking through the front door. A place peppered with your personality – your sanctuary should be somewhere that makes you feel safe, and should reflect the way that you want to live.
I’m not talking about the ‘perfectly polished’ home interior, (you know, the kind that you see in magazines) I’m talking about the piece of artwork you have that raises both eyebrows and questions with guests, or perhaps the hallway that you painted head to toe in shade ‘Lemon Pie’ that summer to dose up on dopamine. Our quirks are unique, and should be celebrated within our homes confidently – without judgement (from yourself, or otherwise!) Here are 4 tips on how to create and embrace your happy home, because where else would you want to be?
1. Choose Mood Boosting Colours
One way to introduce energy and excitement into an interior is by injecting colour. It won’t be surprising to hear that looking at warm, bright colours elevate our feel good hormones; making us feel uplifted, inspired and ready to take on the day. You only need to take one glance at @thehousethatcolourbuilt’s Instagram feed to soak up enough joy to get you through the whole week. Jess Kavanagh is a self professed ‘massive colour enthusiast’, and took her pastel interior inspiration from clothes she wears, as these are the colours that she is drawn to most when curating an outfit. It makes perfect sense to transfer colours, pattern and textures worn daily into our interior and surroundings, as we know that to us personally, those elements will never go out of style. I refer to Kate Watson-Smyth’s wardrobe analogy regularly, as looking at your taste in clothes and accessories it is the perfect starting point when considering your unique home interior style.
2. Plants, Plants… and more Plants!
Most of us have an innate love for nature, so it makes sense that when we don’t connect with it regularly, we can notice a direct impact on our mental health. The long term solution to this? Surround yourself with nature at all times! Studies have shown that introducing plants into the home helps us feel more relaxed, soothed and comforted. Tranquility in the home is needed now more than ever seeing as more and more of us are working from home now.
Guto Requena is an architect who loves to explore biophilic design; pictured above, plants are positioned with purpose in his very own apartment, located in Brazil. The apartment draws heavily on the Amazon, which is where both Guto and his husband travelled to after their wedding… meaning that the honeymoon period is never over in the beautiful, nature filled paradise that they call home!
‘Coming home makes me smile; it warms my heart. This is what a home should provide – moments of peace, tranquility and reconnection.’ – Guto Requena
3. Introduce hand crafted elements
We are so lucky to live in an age where handcrafted, artisanal homewares are now so accessible. Handcrafted items can now be bought globally, which allows designer makers all over the world to share their unique talents, and one of a kind pieces with interior geeks such as myself… so that we can introduce heaps of character, culture and personality into our homes. Standout pieces such as these add so much interest, can be great conversation starters – and can introduce you to a whole new world of craft that you never knew existed.
Many independent stores within the UK now make it their mission to source handcrafted treasures from around the globe to share with fellow interior lovers. One store that does this exceptionally well is A New Tribe, located in Hackney, East London. Their owner Ella Jones travels far and wide to explore unique designers and pieces, forming strong relationships networks of artisans all over the world. Glassette is also another wonderful online marketplace, founded by Laura Jackson and Daniel Crow; their quest was to create a platform to host and curate the best homeware brands that the UK have to offer, supporting business’ big and small. Shop a few of my favourites below:
4. Make it cosy with lighting
Lighting can affect our mood without us even knowing it – so understanding the role that they play in our homes is so important, as it’s where a lot of us spend most of our time.
Think about those first few days of Spring, as the sun intensifies, and the daylight stretches out into early evening… how do you feel? The likelihood is that your mood has improved, your soul feels lifted and you feel ready for just about anything. Let’s figure out how to feel like this all year long! Warm ambient lighting can be reminiscent of the sun, and if placed in the right corners, can help us stay in that positive space for a lot longer. Dimmable lighting is also great for gaining control over the mood that you wish to set, for example a statement light above your dining room table, or above your bed. The ability to adjust to lower, more subdued lighting could be great if you have guests over for dinner and drinks, or if you’re looking to wind down and relax before falling asleep. The power of light truly is astonishing.