Coffee & Interiors Talk Part 1 | What Makes A Space Feel Like 'Home'?

Pour yourself a cup of coffee and delve into today's talk.

There’s a distinct feeling that washes over you when you walk into a space that feels like home. It’s quiet and grounding, like a deep exhale. A sense of belonging that’s difficult to define yet impossible to ignore. It lives in the soft dip of your favourite armchair, the scent of something comforting simmering gently on the hob, the way afternoon light dances across your walls, turning ordinary moments into something sacred.

But what creates that feeling?

It isn’t about perfection, far from it. Home isn’t built in a weekend or styled in a single shopping trip. It reveals itself slowly, one meaningful layer at a time. Over weeks, months, even years. Through objects chosen with care, textures that speak to your senses, and personal rituals that make space for comfort and connection.

As a designer, I always begin with a question: How do you want to feel here? Because design isn’t only about appearance, it’s about atmosphere, energy, and emotion. A truly beautiful space is one that responds to the people who live in it. It listens to their lives, their rituals, their rhythms.

A space becomes home when it begins to hold your habits and your story. When the arm of the sofa knows the weight of your body. When the bedside table holds your favourite book. When the hallway mirror has witnessed your hurried mornings and slow departures. These are the things no design plan can replicate, yet they’re at the heart of every soulful interior.

We’re often told that certain colours are “in,” that particular styles define a well-designed room. But true luxury, the kind that’s felt rather than flaunted, doesn’t rely on trends. It lies in intimacy and time.

A room can be beautifully composed and still feel hollow. Without soul, even the most polished interiors risk becoming sterile. But soul lives in the small, seemingly insignificant details. The items you’ve lived with for years. The inherited chair with a wonky leg. The print bought on a solo holiday. A bowl that holds your keys, day after day. These things may not be conventionally beautiful, but they are deeply personal, and that, to me, is the essence of timeless design.

Design, at its best, is not about impressing others, it’s about expressing yourself. And expression takes time. It takes patience to evolve. That’s why I believe in slow decorating. Allowing a space to unfold gently, rather than forcing it into completion. Living in it, listening to it, learning what it needs and what it doesn’t.

I often think of home as a relationship, dynamic, emotional, sometimes challenging, often comforting. It reflects who you are, but also who you’re becoming. It changes with you. The colours you once loved may fade in meaning. The objects you used to treasure may no longer serve you. And that’s alright. Home should support your growth, not hold you in place.

So today, I invite you to pause and reflect. Make yourself a cup of something warm, and ask yourself, What, truly, makes a space feel like home? Is it a material? Velvet, wood, brass, silk? Is it a memory? Something inherited, gifted, or collected on your travels? Is it a ritual?

Perhaps it’s something you haven’t yet found. Something waiting to be discovered as you pay closer attention to how you live, not just how you want things to look.

Let this be your gentle reminder: you don’t have to finish your home. You just have to begin a relationship with it. To care for it.

Timeless design isn’t rushed. It lingers. It listens. It reveals itself slowly, through choices made with intention and love.

Just like the perfect cup of coffee: warm, grounding, and savoured slowly.

Thank you for joining me for the first edition of Coffee and Interiors Talk. Each month, I’ll be sharing reflections on interiors that go beyond trends, into feeling, philosophy, and artistry. If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. What are the soulful touches that make your home feel like yours?