{"id":7132,"date":"2018-06-07T08:46:13","date_gmt":"2018-06-07T08:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiorscotswoldcocomblog.wordpress.com\/?post_type=jetpack-portfolio&p=6534"},"modified":"2022-04-04T13:02:44","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T12:02:44","slug":"happy-by-design-how-to-create-a-happy-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cotswoldco.com\/inspiration\/home-inspiration\/happy-by-design-how-to-create-a-happy-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy By Design \/\/ How To Create a Happy Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published this week, Happy by Design<\/em>\u00a0by Victoria Harrison<\/a>\u00a0is a beautiful and accessible guide filled with tips, tricks and fascinating research. With a wealth of information and easy-to-implement suggestions, Victoria highlights how we can all create a home that promotes both health and happiness. From the powers of the ever-popular houseplant and the importance of colour and scent, to how wishing happiness for others can actually do wonders for boosting your own happiness and mindset.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Happy by Design<\/em>\u00a0by Victoria Harrison, published by Aster on 7th June 2018 at \u00a312.99 in hardback (octopusbooks.co.uk<\/a>)<\/h6>\n

Tell us a little bit about yourself \u2013 what were you doing before you started on the Happy Home Programme<\/em> journey?<\/span><\/p>\n

I feel very lucky to have worked as a homes and gardens writer for the past 14 years. I\u2019m currently the UK Editor of Houzz<\/em> (www.houzz.co.uk<\/a>) and an interiors columnist for the Metro. <\/em>Over the years I\u2019ve worked across many of the leading interior design magazines such as Ideal Home<\/em>, House Beautiful<\/em>, The English Home<\/em> and Real Homes.<\/em><\/p>\n

Your book, Happy by Design<\/em>, is out this week. Tell us about the concept behind it \u2013 why did you choose this subject? How did you decide on which chapters to include?<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past few years I\u2019ve become increasingly fascinated by the role our homes and gardens play in our lives and the impact they can have on our health, happiness and wellbeing. I wanted to know if our homes could make us happy and this was the question I set out to answer when writing the book. I did all my research first then found that it naturally fell into quite clear chapters, such as colour, scent, decluttering, light etc. I could have written 10 books on the topic though, there is so much amazing research being done, and I spoke to so many interesting people it was hard to know where to stop!<\/p>\n

\"\"Victoria Harrison<\/span><\/a><\/h6>\n

How did you find the process of writing a book and how long did it take you to research? Where did this research take you?<\/span><\/p>\n

The research was the best bit! I\u2019m inherently nosey and I absolutely love asking people questions; I found that when you\u2019re writing a book, most people are incredibly kind and generous with their time, so that was wonderful. My research took me from the forests of Japan to the research labs of NASA (not literally, just via the wonders of Skype and email). Pulling all the threads together, finding patterns and shaping it into a clear, practical book was the trickier part though, and that was when I did most of my head scratching.<\/p>\n

You chat with some fascinating experts throughout \u2013 including Farrow & Ball\u2019s International Colour Consultant, Joa Studholme and NASA scientist, Dr Bill Wolverton – what was the most interesting piece of advice you learnt?<\/span><\/p>\n

So many! I was lucky to talk to some of the leading experts in their fields and took the opportunity to ask all the questions I wanted to know the answers to. One of my favourite discoveries was the amazing impact of wishing happiness for others. Apparently, wanting others to be happy is one of the most effective ways of boosting your own happiness. Being nice to other people is like creating an infinity circle of happiness! What a wonderful thing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Happy by Design<\/em>\u00a0is filled with tips, tricks and advice on how to live our happiest lives \u2013 and how our homes can influence this \u2013 if you had to choose, what are your top three tips for creating a happy home?<\/span><\/p>\n