I am often invited into people’s houses to help make it into their home. Weaving a new story that is unique to them and them only.
A boy – 13 or so, cycling to school. Arms folded, rucksack flung, damp combed hair and an easy smile. Sitting in traffic I watched him roll through, completely confident in his mode and with flair to spare.
There is a cupboard at the top of my home that is the keeper of many things. It is original to the house and is humble in its attic room design, as is the way of Georgian houses.
Lazing at home has come to an end. Students piled onto trains on Sunday afternoon, children headed back to school, and we are mostly all back into our normal life routines – whether work, caring for others, or other life choices.
We know that there is magic in the world. It is easier to feel with the smaller things in life. A magnificent cup of coffee, the first December box of Quality Street, Christmas reindeer antlers on your Labrador…..
We begin our seasonal shift to inside living – both of place and mind. Late Autumn and early Winter is the most natural season to think of decorating.
Think of the maps as a friend that always gives you a well counselled ‘thumbs up’. We all need friends like this.
People are often surprised that I actually know how to paint, and that I do paint a lot.
I think if we reframe normal as good enough, then a ‘good’ home becomes generous and possibly the best it can be. A large collective sigh…
There is something profoundly human in the pleasure of making something exist that didn’t exist before.
Materiality, aesthetics, and practicality are the sensitive triangle of your needs that I think about all the time. I only want to make the minimum number of products with the best ingredients, but I also want them to serve the right purpose in your homes.