Inside story

The trends to watch now

My core mantra is that our homes are as fundamental to our well-being as nutrition and exercise. When we consider health and happiness, we often forget about the environments we inhabit, and I think that’s been a real mistake. We can’t all give up work and go and live in the woods, but we can address the place where we spend so much of our time.

However, making our homes into supportive places to be goes beyond just decor. It’s about the way we live. For too long, home has simply been a place to leave in the morning and crash back into at night. In lockdown we became more authentic. We baked because it was soothing. And spending more time at home gave us an opportunity to really examine our spaces, and perhaps recognise that they did not reflect who we really were, so in this way, perhaps a decorative overhaul will be on the cards.

The slick, modern furniture that has been popular in previous years was all about negating nature; we didn’t want to see gnarly wood, we wanted to see smooth surfaces. Now, in our profoundly digital era, with all the screens and computers we use on a daily basis, life has literally become too smooth, and when at home we crave texture: the softness of a chunky-knit scarf or blanket. This has led to a return to wooden furniture, textured wallpaper and vintage pieces.

We may well see the habits we were drawn to during lockdown – pickling, baking or making jams, for instance – rolling out into the bigger picture. Larders are back, and perhaps the kitchen will become less of a living space, and will go back to being simply a kitchen. In my