Marlène’s Mindful Home

Where do you find your inspiration?

It is a bit of a mix. Interior or Decoration magazines, some lifestyle magazines as well. I like Cereal, Milk Decoration, Elle Decoration. I also love a good Pinterest or internet browse. Finally Interior Bloggers, and Interior Designers on Instagram give me lots of inspiration as well.

What’s the design process behind your home?

Interesting question. Everything we have done in our house has been user-centric and that is why I call it “mymindfulhome”. For example with the bathroom, we first discussed how we wanted to use the space and what was important for us: Easy to use for quick grooming routines and comfortable. Lots of natural light, hidden storage space, shower controls before stepping into the shower tray, large shower tray, minimalist with a hook for our daily towel, large over-head shower to unwind and relax. Then I designed the room around that.

Same for the kitchen, there I wanted to be able to stand next to the dishwasher and with a single movement being able to empty it and store the chinaware and cutlery in the cupboards. I like efficiency a lot. There is so much to think about in our busy lives that our home needs to really work for us. I always say if you don’t like it, change it. That is tip number one, tip number two is to use a simple and muted colour scheme I don’t really like bold colours and I hardly mix more than 3 colours in one room. Not because I am scared (or maybe I am) but just I don’t like to be distracted by colours, they are a bit like clutter to me if not mixed properly.

What’s the best bit of advice for someone decorating their home?

Don’t rush and create mood boards! I think the first step is to get some paper and a pen, it forces you to write down your requirements and source ideas in magazines, cut and order fabric samples. This in itself can be a nice mindful experience of slowing down the process as opposed to frenetically browse on online retailer’s website. Personally, I like using the computer because I am a bit of a geek but I know it is not everyone’s taste. Since I started doing mood boards I have less guilt in buying something that I later regret. Another bit of advice and equally important is to think about dimensions, and measure twice. There is nothing more annoying than furniture not fit for purpose. And the final one, think about light and air quality, as we spend more time at home and indoors, this is very important for our well-being..