From the Editor
‘While we’re looking back at what went BEFORE, it’s VITALLY important to also think of the FUTURE and explore the idea of CHANGE’
Iwas a child of the Eighties and one of my favourite films, then and now, is the classic Back To The Future, which sees a time-travelling teenager trapped in 1955 and trying to find a way back to the present day. After the year that was 2020, the fantastical sci-fi plot resonates with me more than ever. It’s been 12 months where we’ve all felt equally imprisoned in what has seemed to be some sort of alternate dimension. The idea of battling to get back to normality feels painfully familiar.
Of course, as much as we may be hankering after what our lives used to be pre-Covid, the reality is that the way we live has changed irrevocably. So, while we’re looking back at what went before, as we burst enthusiastically into a shiny new year, it’s vitally important to also think of the future and explore the idea of change.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in our homes. No longer just sanctuaries, we have come to inhabit them 24/7. They have become our everything: office, gym, restaurant, pub, school… our worlds have shrunk to the confines of our four walls. This means we’re now looking at where we live in a whole new light.
While the new year always brings with it a sense of reflection and reassessment, in 2021 this feeling is greater than ever before. That’s why we’ve dedicated this issue to all things ‘future’. There’s an array of houses from around the world, all showing the great variety of what living in the here and now means, and insight on how our homes and the way we live will change going forward from a carefully curated selection of design and architecture experts. It may sound strange, but – you read it here first – we’re all soon going to be planting urban forests and upping sticks to the suburbs!
In true ELLE Decoration style, we’ve also put together an edit of forward-looking furniture, accessories and more to invest in, all linked to the big ideas and themes, which are set to shape tomorrow. Plus, as travel plans are still scuppered, for the moment at least, we reveal how you can explore nearby urban environments, finding golden gems among the grit and learning new things along the way.
So, as you lean into 2021, I hope you make like my hero Marty McFly and look both back to the past and towards the future… In my opinion, it’s the best (and only) way forward. Here’s to a year like no other, but this time for all the right reasons.