Ed’s letter Katrina reflects on the true meaning of home

WHERE THE HEART IS

At HB, we’ve always known that home truly is where the heart sings. It’s our sanctuary away from the rest of the world, where we share each day with the people we love, watch our children grow into life-sized humans and create memory-making meals for family and friends. It’s the place we feel, quite literally, most at home. Recently, home has also become our refuge. “Staying home” has not only been an edict for us home bodies, but in this time of tackling COVID-19, it has also actually saved lives, and shown the best possible support to the amazing people on the frontline who continue to turn up to work each day and do the incredible things they do.

At this time of staying in, the HB team has come together (from our living rooms, kitchen tables and studies) to do what we do best: provide inspiration for those projects you might want to tackle right now or the bigger ones you’ve been mindfully moodboarding. We’ve also worked to provide some breathing space to dream. Like me, you might be spending more time than usual contemplating how well the hardest-working spaces in your home work (hello, bathroom), so from page 163, we have the most stunning bathrooms to help you create a dream sanctuary. And, from page 39, we have all the inspiration you need to put together a great home office.

As I write this, from our outdoor lounge, I’m thankful for these moments of taking a breath. There have been some lovely times – sitting at this very spot under fairy lights and festoons, happy in the knowledge that yes, my two children will be home with us for dinner tonight (and it’s Saturday); hearing a family just over the fence gathering and laughing around their new fire pit, and spying a mum and dad happily playing a gentle game of make believe with their toddlers in their front yard. Yes, this pandemic has changed our lives in so many ways. But one thing it hasn’t changed is the importance of home, and the true value of the most important things in it.

Until next month, from our home to yours.