Utterly beautiful words and home. The tiles are incredible and I feel so soothed by all the colours. I’ve really been loving ‘home’ this summer, after mornings out to let go of cabin fever I’ve been thoroughly enjoying returning home to sit in the garden and then retreat inside to the coolness that our downstairs seems to bring us. It’s a true sanctuary. Our garden has become such an extension of the indoors and I’m soaking it up as much as I can while we have this weather. Gorgeous piece lovely. Xxx
Thank you dear. Yes the tiles always feel so cool and welcoming on hot days. It’s wonderful to hear more of your experience of home this summer, I really love the idea of getting out for a morning activity of some kind and coming home to slow the pace and retreat in the afternoons. And yes to the garden becoming an extra living space, it really is something to be treasured in these summer days. Thank you for reading and for your kind words L xx
Lyndsay your house is so beautiful! I am totally inspired. We've been in our house for just over a year now, and I feel in that strange season where all the major decorating has been done post-move, and yet it just doesn't feel quite right. I worked really hard in our London flat to bring nature in: we didn't have a garden, yet I love the outdoors, so our flat was filled with plants, linens, terracotta pots... All the things I could think of to make it feel like the outdoors. Now we live in a huge home with a huge garden (through my husband's work - we didn't choose it!), and while I've tried to maintain those elements, I feel a little lost with home decor. Lots was done in that postpartum haze (my LO was 3 weeks old when we moved!) so I'm not sure I made great decisions all the time. I wonder what the changing of the seasons will bring for us here in this home... I'm hoping that I begin to feel more harmony with this space 🥰
Thank you Holly, it is very much a slooooow work in progress but it does have good bones and as per my Note today I am realising that I can actually do a lot myself without having to wait for people/money to do the stuff I want to do which is a welcome realisation. Wonderful that you have been in your new home for a year, I really feel that you need to be in a home for a year and to experience all of the seasons before doing anything too major (though of course some things are urgent!). I moved into our home just before my son was born and yes the first few months/year are quite a blur. I feel that all of the decisions you made were undoubtedly right at the time and I am sure are tweak-able if not feeling right now. Your London flat sounds wonderful and I don't think you can ever go wrong bringing those natural aspects into your home, but perhaps this new home needs something slightly different. Also when it is a bigger space, it can feel overwhelming. I would look to your surroundings/local makers for cues/clues and also perhaps try to focus on smaller areas, not even whole rooms but vignettes within rooms as a starting point. I also feel that if you choose things you love you can't go too far wrong. And yes autumn/winter are the seasons for home! Also, remember there is no rush, it takes time xx
Ah thank you Tansie, I am beyond delighted it feels that way. And yes, sending British late summer vibes to you, happy to receive tropical ones always! xx
Lyndsay, reading your words is like a soothing balm, I really enjoyed this exploration into what home means to you in the summer. How interesting too about the history of your home and it having a potters wheel in it, you are continuing that creative thread ❤️. Really interesting how you talked about how natural materials underfoot ground us, we are staying in a holiday home in Cornwall with lovely wooden floors. Home in the summer for me also feels like a place to regroup and relax after a busy morning out and about with the kids. The colours of your sweet peas are just beautiful and I love sunflowers too 🌻xx
Ah I am so happy to hear that Jenna, thank you for saying. Yes, I really would like to spend some time finding out more about the history of this house and especially the potential creative threads. How wonderful to be on holiday in Cornwall, I am desperate to go. I hope you are feeling the sense of rootedness from the wooden floors where you are staying! And yes a place to regroup is the perfect way to describe home in summer, it is often a relief to return I find. Thank you, it feels like some colour in the garden is starting to fade but the sweet peas are still bringing a vibrancy, I wish the same could be said for my ill-fated sunflowers! xx
I see you're in N10. I grew up nearby. Certainly is a lovely place, in summer there's much greenery and it feels like you're somehow perched on top of London! I enjoyed your writing, thank you and enjoy these fadings days of summer x
Ah I love a North London connection! Are you still local? Yes, you’re right, we are so lucky to have the big trees lining many of the streets and the woods so close by. And yes, the views from certain points feel very expansive. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you too are able to immerse your days in late summer gold! xx
As someone without a garden, I loved reading about your beautiful one, & hearing about the fluid relationship between it & your home in summer! My light-filled south facing living space is too hot in this weather (& I stubbornly refuse to put up curtains, as I don’t want to obscure the beautiful panelling on the bay window!), so we are treating our shady local square as our summer living room, particularly in the afternoons, by which time the heat has really built up. Xx
Ah thank you for reading Annabel. It is lovely to be able to treat the garden like an extra room in summer, there is always a shift when I step outside. I know what you mean about south-facing rooms, somehow our back (south-facing) room gets the low sun in winter (which is much-needed) but it is as though the sun is too high in the sky to really hit it in summer (which is very lucky!) and I love your commitment to your windows, I am so with you on that (though I often do like the idea of curtains too, especially in winter!) If your nearby garden square is where I am thinking of, you have a beautiful option for local outdoor living! xx
Wow this was such a beautiful documentation of home in this season. I felt transported to your space while reading this! It made me think a lot about our liminal space of home these last few months, living in someone else's home before we move. I have spent so much more time outside, as being inside amongst another's furniture/design etc sometimes feels strange! I am so thankful for the glass front door, inviting in the greenery outside, the freshness of the pool, the plumeria blooming outside the kitchen window xx
Ah thank you Emily, I am so glad to hear you were transported, you are welcome here anytime! I feel like liminal space often feels vulnerable and yet powerful in its potential, it is exciting that you have a move ahead. I can absolutely understand your pull outside, I imagine it will be so nice to be surrounded by all of your things again. The views out of your current space sound absolutely beautiful and I am sure the pool is very much needed! xx
Just beautiful beautiful words ❤️ made me well up a little even as I think of home, traditions and rituals from my own childhood and the ones I'm now raising ❣️
Utterly beautiful words and home. The tiles are incredible and I feel so soothed by all the colours. I’ve really been loving ‘home’ this summer, after mornings out to let go of cabin fever I’ve been thoroughly enjoying returning home to sit in the garden and then retreat inside to the coolness that our downstairs seems to bring us. It’s a true sanctuary. Our garden has become such an extension of the indoors and I’m soaking it up as much as I can while we have this weather. Gorgeous piece lovely. Xxx
Thank you dear. Yes the tiles always feel so cool and welcoming on hot days. It’s wonderful to hear more of your experience of home this summer, I really love the idea of getting out for a morning activity of some kind and coming home to slow the pace and retreat in the afternoons. And yes to the garden becoming an extra living space, it really is something to be treasured in these summer days. Thank you for reading and for your kind words L xx
Such a beautiful home
Ah thank you Claire xx
This was such a joy to read, you have a beautiful home too x
Ah that’s very kind of you, thank you so much for reading Hayley xx
Lyndsay your house is so beautiful! I am totally inspired. We've been in our house for just over a year now, and I feel in that strange season where all the major decorating has been done post-move, and yet it just doesn't feel quite right. I worked really hard in our London flat to bring nature in: we didn't have a garden, yet I love the outdoors, so our flat was filled with plants, linens, terracotta pots... All the things I could think of to make it feel like the outdoors. Now we live in a huge home with a huge garden (through my husband's work - we didn't choose it!), and while I've tried to maintain those elements, I feel a little lost with home decor. Lots was done in that postpartum haze (my LO was 3 weeks old when we moved!) so I'm not sure I made great decisions all the time. I wonder what the changing of the seasons will bring for us here in this home... I'm hoping that I begin to feel more harmony with this space 🥰
Thank you Holly, it is very much a slooooow work in progress but it does have good bones and as per my Note today I am realising that I can actually do a lot myself without having to wait for people/money to do the stuff I want to do which is a welcome realisation. Wonderful that you have been in your new home for a year, I really feel that you need to be in a home for a year and to experience all of the seasons before doing anything too major (though of course some things are urgent!). I moved into our home just before my son was born and yes the first few months/year are quite a blur. I feel that all of the decisions you made were undoubtedly right at the time and I am sure are tweak-able if not feeling right now. Your London flat sounds wonderful and I don't think you can ever go wrong bringing those natural aspects into your home, but perhaps this new home needs something slightly different. Also when it is a bigger space, it can feel overwhelming. I would look to your surroundings/local makers for cues/clues and also perhaps try to focus on smaller areas, not even whole rooms but vignettes within rooms as a starting point. I also feel that if you choose things you love you can't go too far wrong. And yes autumn/winter are the seasons for home! Also, remember there is no rush, it takes time xx
Your writing is like a soothing balm! And as always, makes me miss having more distinct seasons x
Ah thank you Tansie, I am beyond delighted it feels that way. And yes, sending British late summer vibes to you, happy to receive tropical ones always! xx
Lyndsay, reading your words is like a soothing balm, I really enjoyed this exploration into what home means to you in the summer. How interesting too about the history of your home and it having a potters wheel in it, you are continuing that creative thread ❤️. Really interesting how you talked about how natural materials underfoot ground us, we are staying in a holiday home in Cornwall with lovely wooden floors. Home in the summer for me also feels like a place to regroup and relax after a busy morning out and about with the kids. The colours of your sweet peas are just beautiful and I love sunflowers too 🌻xx
Ah I am so happy to hear that Jenna, thank you for saying. Yes, I really would like to spend some time finding out more about the history of this house and especially the potential creative threads. How wonderful to be on holiday in Cornwall, I am desperate to go. I hope you are feeling the sense of rootedness from the wooden floors where you are staying! And yes a place to regroup is the perfect way to describe home in summer, it is often a relief to return I find. Thank you, it feels like some colour in the garden is starting to fade but the sweet peas are still bringing a vibrancy, I wish the same could be said for my ill-fated sunflowers! xx
I see you're in N10. I grew up nearby. Certainly is a lovely place, in summer there's much greenery and it feels like you're somehow perched on top of London! I enjoyed your writing, thank you and enjoy these fadings days of summer x
Ah I love a North London connection! Are you still local? Yes, you’re right, we are so lucky to have the big trees lining many of the streets and the woods so close by. And yes, the views from certain points feel very expansive. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you too are able to immerse your days in late summer gold! xx
So beautiful Lyndsay and your entryway is gorgeous! 🤩💛
Ah thank you Mackenzie and so glad you enjoyed reading xx
As someone without a garden, I loved reading about your beautiful one, & hearing about the fluid relationship between it & your home in summer! My light-filled south facing living space is too hot in this weather (& I stubbornly refuse to put up curtains, as I don’t want to obscure the beautiful panelling on the bay window!), so we are treating our shady local square as our summer living room, particularly in the afternoons, by which time the heat has really built up. Xx
Ah thank you for reading Annabel. It is lovely to be able to treat the garden like an extra room in summer, there is always a shift when I step outside. I know what you mean about south-facing rooms, somehow our back (south-facing) room gets the low sun in winter (which is much-needed) but it is as though the sun is too high in the sky to really hit it in summer (which is very lucky!) and I love your commitment to your windows, I am so with you on that (though I often do like the idea of curtains too, especially in winter!) If your nearby garden square is where I am thinking of, you have a beautiful option for local outdoor living! xx
Wow this was such a beautiful documentation of home in this season. I felt transported to your space while reading this! It made me think a lot about our liminal space of home these last few months, living in someone else's home before we move. I have spent so much more time outside, as being inside amongst another's furniture/design etc sometimes feels strange! I am so thankful for the glass front door, inviting in the greenery outside, the freshness of the pool, the plumeria blooming outside the kitchen window xx
Ah thank you Emily, I am so glad to hear you were transported, you are welcome here anytime! I feel like liminal space often feels vulnerable and yet powerful in its potential, it is exciting that you have a move ahead. I can absolutely understand your pull outside, I imagine it will be so nice to be surrounded by all of your things again. The views out of your current space sound absolutely beautiful and I am sure the pool is very much needed! xx
Just beautiful beautiful words ❤️ made me well up a little even as I think of home, traditions and rituals from my own childhood and the ones I'm now raising ❣️