Page 67 - Homes amp Gardens UK February 2021

T H A T 2 0 2 1 F E E L I N G
WE ASKED EXPERTS FROM THREE DISCIPLINES FOR THEIR THOUGHTS ON
HOW BEST TO STEP INTO THE NEW YEAR WITH A BRIGHT OUTLOOK
CHARLOTTE REY is the co-founder
of the award-winning design partnership and
creative consultancy Campbell-Rey.
We need a more holistic approach to decorating.
People are spending more time at home than ever so
it is important to evaluate what they want from their
spaces in a more thoughtful way, rather than seeing
decorating as another job to get done. That starts
with celebrating the beauty at the heart of everything.
If we buy or make something beautiful and share it
with others, then it becomes part of a nurturing
ecosystem. I believe that we are all creative, and the
home is a blank canvas. But we should all be more
confident in pushing the envelope and celebrating
diversity of taste and expression, rather than relying
on what other people think is meaningful.
The climate crisis and environmental concerns have
made society question whether they need to buy new.
It could be choosing recycled materials, such as a
reclaimed wood dining table, or buying antiques,
which younger people are doing increasingly.
Antiques come with their own narrative and story
and help give a space a sense of grounding.
Thinking more collaboratively is going to help us
live and work better: the old way of hoarding the best
contacts for yourself has to change. Last year, for
example, the designer Rita Konig opened up her
private list of antique dealers – a list she had spent
time sourcing – to help increase sales for these small
businesses, which was an incredibly generous act.
It’s that kind of thoughtfulness and sharing that we
need to increase in the design profession, as well
as in our private lives, as a way to nurture ourselves.
campbell-rey.com
LITTLE BLACK BOOK
My favourite shop is The Artichoke London on Chiltern Street.
The space was designed by Gabriel Chipperfield, then the
interiors were curated by his wife Laura de Gunzburg.
It’s on the site of Shreeji News.
66 H O M E S A N D G A R D E N S . C O M
DR ASH RANPURA is a
world-renowned neuroscientist and co-author
of How To Be Human: The Manual.
A lot of how we can feel better comes down to what
narrative we tell ourselves about our lives, and
about the year we will experience. There was a study
after the 9/11 attacks that examined people who
had defibrillators already fitted to monitor their
heart rhythms. For three days, there was no change
in their arrhythmias, unless they happened to be
right next to the site. But a month later, their readings
went up dramatically, correlating with how much
news they consumed. If we can generate a positive
narrative about what we’re living through – even if it is
terrifying – it will affect not only how we feel mentally,
but have positive health outcomes, too. That’s on a
global level, but our immediate surroundings – our
homes – are important, too. To make our lives better
we also need a sense of agency, meaning we need to
do something physically, rather than just consuming.
I recently built a bed for my son. It is not beautiful, but
my son loves it because it’s the only bed in the world
that his dad made for him, and so that fact makes
me feel great. Figuring out an action that gives you
agency is healthy because it reduces anxiety. The third
thing we can do is practice acceptance. There are lots
of things about myself that I wish were different: one
of which is that I never call my friends. I’ve realised
that I just don’t like the phone very much. Once you
accept the things about yourself that you’re just not
going to change, you’ll feel much more content.
ashranpura.com
ONE TO DOWNLOAD
CortexCast, a podcast where leading neuroscientists are
interviewed on a range of topics, from depression to pain
perception to the science of sleep.