Patrick Williams, the historic building specialist behind Berdoulat, also fears that our sensory responses are being deadened by poor design. ‘It was with the arrival of modernism, and the entirely new way of conceiving and making our homes that it promoted, that sensory stimulation and a building’s ability to connect with the core essence of human existence was fundamentally altered.’ The same could be said for the mass-produced designs that have taken the place of hand-crafted furniture and furnishings in many homes.
‘All eras have their mass-produced elements, which is often a result of socioeconomic factors as much as “design”,’ points out designer Sarah Walter Boyd. ‘It’s about doing things quickly and cheaply, which is often to the detriment of quality and therefore negatively impacts people and our environment.’ Like Catherine, Sarah sees the damage that social media is doing, not just in taking over our lives but in exposing us to ‘un-inspired, consumer-driven images’. However, this is not the full picture. ‘Great design is always going on in the background, or in the shadows, that we often don’t see,’ she explains. ‘Frustratingly, many of the most beautiful spaces being created won’t be photographed or publicised. There are so many craftsmen and makers keeping old skills alive, and designing new pieces to keep the skills relevant – it’s about where and how you look that will steer what you see.’
I would argue that it’s also a case of how you’re using things and not just what you’re using, as even ostensibly bland pieces can form part of a soulful scheme. Wendy Nicholls, who heads up decorating firm Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, thinks that this approach is already on the rise. ‘We’ve come out of the bland era into an era where people are expressing themselves more. Certainly, there is more colour.’ But colour is not the only form of expression. Wendy lists ‘good lighting, photographs, objects, fabrics you love, your choice of music, scent – whether of coffee, flowers or baking’ as other crucial ingredients of a characterful home.
Catherine agrees that the senses play a vital role, encouraging us all to source tactile, handmade and handheld objects, however big or small. ‘They have been touched, admired, repaired, cherished. A chair worn by decades of use. A bowl turned on a wheel by a craftsperson’s steady hand. Over lifetimes, these things have been loved into being. When introduced thoughtfully into a home, they hum with that energy.’ She says we should think ‘not trends, but truth’ by choosing objects that mean something to us.