EDITOR’S LETTER
Chances are not many of the goals and plans you had for 2020 came to fruition in the end. Instead, this was the year that saw us all looking inward, taking breaks from the news cycle – if we were lucky enough to be able to – and focussing on our immediate surroundings. My fiancé has become a proficient indoor gardener (with over 50 plants at last count), and I invested in the Hepworth armchair we designed as part of Livingetc’s capsule collection for Love Your Home so I could curl up in peace and read the Wolf Hall trilogy at last.
These weren’t the aspirations we’d started the year with, but design played a huge part in keeping our spirits buoyant. For me it was the enveloping curves of my new seat, but I think we’ve all appreciated the big differences small changes to our living spaces can make. And so I hope you’ll be as inspired as I am by the Blue Sky Thinking feature on page 14, where we asked experts in fields as varied as architecture and neuroscience for their thought-leading ideas on how design can – and will – improve our lives next year. Director of Studio Weave Je Ahn’s belief that happiness – and creating the right conditions for people to feel happy – should be the starting point for every project is one we can all take something from.
I found this principle in play elsewhere in the issue as colour expert Dagny Thurmann-moe talks on page 110 about creating an energetic atmosphere by using different hues. She begins every space she designs instinctively asking ‘how will this make me feel?’ and I’ve long believed bold colours can be like serotonin for the soul.
So, in asking you to dream big this month we’re not expecting you to make plans of Everest proportions, but to focus on what you can do to improve your space – and therefore life – for your own well-being and sense of joy. That could be starting the interiors brand you’ve always thought about – in which case our tips on page 40 from those who’ve done it already will be invaluable – or it could be following the suggestions in our Design Dossier from page 121 and finally putting some order into those cluttered corners of your home (the built in box-file cubbyhole on page 133 is now top of my dream list).
And there’s Christmas inspiration over on Livingetc.com, where you can now find gift guides, cool decorating tips and advice for any festive dreams you want to realise.