Inspired Living

Spatial loveliness does not come about by just plonking things down anywhere. It comes about through curation. One of my favourite words, curate, comes from the Latin, cura, meaning care. I believe lovely soulful homes come about through attention, love, nurture and caring about your space. 

Curation is most often synonymous with museums and galleries; however, it also applies to our homes. I’ve been blessed to be involved in many forms of curation in my career, gallery exhibitions, interiors, events, fashion shows, clothing collections, and it’s all about conscious and creative selection, organising and caring for objects and pieces and bringing them together with synergy and harmony. 

To curate is to carefully choose and arrange; it’s not about perfection, but it is about intention. Bringing together “things”, objects, colours, textures, and so on, in ways that make us happy, or peaceful or energise us, and so on, is the key. 

Somebody asked me the other day whether home is just about the visual, the aesthetic, or if it’s more than that. I say, it needs to be more than that, if you want to live in meaningful and inspired ways in interesting and uplifting spaces. 

The word "aesthetic" is sometimes considered a cold or shallow word. It comes from the Greek word aisthesis, meaning discernment or sensation and our ability to perceive meaning from the world. Aisthesis also means “to breathe in.”  Breathing in, that little gasp of delight or joy, is a recognition; it is a taking in of the world around us. The next time you see something that makes you gasp, however small or subtle, you are drawing that thing into you. This is how beauty and ugliness affect us. Imagine if you had to literally eat everything you appreciate, a picture, a sofa, a light fixture, to be able to take it into you to be moved by it. Of course, we don't and can't; instead, we philosophically breathe it in. 

So, I say to curate meaningful homes, the aesthetic, the stuff, needs to move us, to bring us joy. I recommend a focus on ambience, flow and mood, which are ultimately a personal feeling and response to the choices we make in our human habits. Don't worry about trends or "the rules" because design is subjective, so do what feels good to you. Your home, your life, your way and focus on how you want to feel. 

Please do share your thoughts below or email me at lfp@paulscadding.com

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