"and a soft, tactile warmth to every word." What an absolutely gentle thing to say about my word. It really touched me. Thank you for putting this interview together in such a beautiful manner.
Ah I am so happy to hear that, spoken with truth, sometimes I wish I could climb into the pages of your letters. Thank you for sharing your beautiful home and how you live with us here. I have felt both inspired and comforted by your words about living in our homes as they are xx
Good question! The thing I’m constantly fantasising about is getting rid of most of (what I consider to be!) the extraneous stuff in our smallish flat - most of which belongs to my son & husband, & living in a much more pared-down environment. I do like the architectural bones of my home. But it started off as a home for just me, and now we are 3, so I find myself thinking about how I could create more space, for example a mezzanine bed for my son in the future. Xxx
Ah yes interesting and very relatable! Why is there so much stuff?! It seems inescapable! It’s great that you like the architectural bones, that’s the most important I think. I suppose storage is the other consideration, we haven’t gone ahead with any built-in storage due to cost etc but as a result have 1000 toy baskets! A mezzanine bed sounds super cool, I imagine your son would love that xx
I often wonder whether it’s just my child who seems to have innate hoarding tendencies, or if it’s across the board. Oh yes, the 1000s of toy boxes and baskets…And I exist in a state in-between wanting my son to grow up and leave home (with all his stuff!) now, and never ever wanting him to grow up or leave…xx
Definitely feeling this one. With three children in three different developmental stages their “stuff” is everywhere.
I’ve been working on myself to be more calm about it but we are also having a lot of conversations within the whole family about what we all need to thrive, how can my daughter collect hundreds of rocks without me having to pick them up the floor, etc. I talk to the kids a lot about my values when it comes to Mother Earth and why I don’t want to allow certain things in, and we talk about other options and we talk a lot about what gives a real sense of belonging vs why so many people buy as “therapy”.
I’ve recently read a beautiful piece about how it’s easy to be enlightened sitting alone in a cave, but the real mindfulness practice is to sit in chaos raising children. So let’s be real gentle on ourselves 🙏🏻
I love this Eva, so much wisdom here. And yes to little ones and their stuff, I completely feel both you and Annabel!
Despite not being a complete neat freak myself, I can feel myself becoming agitated by so much stuff and especially when it is not looked after in the optimal way. I love the sound of you talking about values for Mother Earth and would love to hear more about your chats about belonging v retail therapy as I feel there is a lot of loud messaging about wanting things really for the sake of it (though my husband and I are very mindful about what we buy).
And yes, I was a very calm person before I had children…!! Still try to be calm amongst the chaos but some days are easier than others! Love and gentleness to you xx
Hmm yes, my daughter in particular seems to have a crazily good memory for things that I am subtly trying to move out of our lives! Oh yes, the forever push/pull of needing space but wanting them close too xx
“Anyway, I believe there is something to be said about living in our homes, versus always striving to improve our spaces.” Gosh this is gold ✨🪄💫 I love reading and adoring this 🤍
and it is a practice, a journey, right? With how we are currently bombarded and influenced with home decor it is a sort of "remembering" and may be easier some days than others.
Thank you Jenna! Yesss those words got me too, always feeling an underlying ‘not enoughness’ in terms of the veryyyy slow pace of my homemaking, these words felt like an exhale and a revelation to me xx
Ah what a nourishing read! Beautiful questions and answers from two beautiful souls. Thank you for the soft wisdom and delightful perspectives you brought to life here ♥️
Oh wow, this is so so beautiful and so inspiring. Thank you both for such a gorgeous read, it’s made me really contemplate spaces in my home and how we make them work for our family values. Xx
So glad you enjoyed reading Lauren, I agree it is an honour to have these beautiful insights into Eva’s home and how it really reflects and embodies such deeply held values xx
You are so right, it’s about how it feels. We actually had quite a big clear out today for the first time in a long while and that felt really good. I love to keep in mind the William Morris quote about having nothing in your home that is not useful or beautiful! xx
SO beautiful. Yes, I too love the soulful minimalist look but seem to have more of a maximalist approach…! And yes sweet chickens in a city, what a dream scene! xx
"and a soft, tactile warmth to every word." What an absolutely gentle thing to say about my word. It really touched me. Thank you for putting this interview together in such a beautiful manner.
Ah I am so happy to hear that, spoken with truth, sometimes I wish I could climb into the pages of your letters. Thank you for sharing your beautiful home and how you live with us here. I have felt both inspired and comforted by your words about living in our homes as they are xx
hot damn i loved this!
Farai, I appreciate you!
Thank you for reading and joining us Farai! xx
Oh, how I love the pared-down, yet warm aesthetic of this home!
Thank you Annabel.
Ah I absolutely agree, it feels so calming but cosy and inviting too.
As an architect, I’d be fascinated to hear if you often find yourself wanting to make changes to your home or if you are happy with it as it is? xx
Good question! The thing I’m constantly fantasising about is getting rid of most of (what I consider to be!) the extraneous stuff in our smallish flat - most of which belongs to my son & husband, & living in a much more pared-down environment. I do like the architectural bones of my home. But it started off as a home for just me, and now we are 3, so I find myself thinking about how I could create more space, for example a mezzanine bed for my son in the future. Xxx
Ah yes interesting and very relatable! Why is there so much stuff?! It seems inescapable! It’s great that you like the architectural bones, that’s the most important I think. I suppose storage is the other consideration, we haven’t gone ahead with any built-in storage due to cost etc but as a result have 1000 toy baskets! A mezzanine bed sounds super cool, I imagine your son would love that xx
I often wonder whether it’s just my child who seems to have innate hoarding tendencies, or if it’s across the board. Oh yes, the 1000s of toy boxes and baskets…And I exist in a state in-between wanting my son to grow up and leave home (with all his stuff!) now, and never ever wanting him to grow up or leave…xx
Definitely feeling this one. With three children in three different developmental stages their “stuff” is everywhere.
I’ve been working on myself to be more calm about it but we are also having a lot of conversations within the whole family about what we all need to thrive, how can my daughter collect hundreds of rocks without me having to pick them up the floor, etc. I talk to the kids a lot about my values when it comes to Mother Earth and why I don’t want to allow certain things in, and we talk about other options and we talk a lot about what gives a real sense of belonging vs why so many people buy as “therapy”.
I’ve recently read a beautiful piece about how it’s easy to be enlightened sitting alone in a cave, but the real mindfulness practice is to sit in chaos raising children. So let’s be real gentle on ourselves 🙏🏻
I love this Eva, so much wisdom here. And yes to little ones and their stuff, I completely feel both you and Annabel!
Despite not being a complete neat freak myself, I can feel myself becoming agitated by so much stuff and especially when it is not looked after in the optimal way. I love the sound of you talking about values for Mother Earth and would love to hear more about your chats about belonging v retail therapy as I feel there is a lot of loud messaging about wanting things really for the sake of it (though my husband and I are very mindful about what we buy).
And yes, I was a very calm person before I had children…!! Still try to be calm amongst the chaos but some days are easier than others! Love and gentleness to you xx
Hmm yes, my daughter in particular seems to have a crazily good memory for things that I am subtly trying to move out of our lives! Oh yes, the forever push/pull of needing space but wanting them close too xx
“Anyway, I believe there is something to be said about living in our homes, versus always striving to improve our spaces.” Gosh this is gold ✨🪄💫 I love reading and adoring this 🤍
and it is a practice, a journey, right? With how we are currently bombarded and influenced with home decor it is a sort of "remembering" and may be easier some days than others.
Thank you Jenna! Yesss those words got me too, always feeling an underlying ‘not enoughness’ in terms of the veryyyy slow pace of my homemaking, these words felt like an exhale and a revelation to me xx
So true what you say about the real mindfulness practice! And what great conversations to be having with your kids. I shall remember that. x
Ah what a nourishing read! Beautiful questions and answers from two beautiful souls. Thank you for the soft wisdom and delightful perspectives you brought to life here ♥️
Thank you Julia!
Thank you Julia, so glad you enjoyed and felt nourished by reading and discovering Eva’s home xx
Oh wow, this is so so beautiful and so inspiring. Thank you both for such a gorgeous read, it’s made me really contemplate spaces in my home and how we make them work for our family values. Xx
Lauren, it filled my cup reading these lines from you this morning.
So glad you enjoyed reading Lauren, I agree it is an honour to have these beautiful insights into Eva’s home and how it really reflects and embodies such deeply held values xx
What a gorgeous home. I love a minimalist approach and yet I am a maximalist! Also, chickens 🥰
and there is absolutely nothing wrong with maximalist, as long as it feels good for you!
You are so right, it’s about how it feels. We actually had quite a big clear out today for the first time in a long while and that felt really good. I love to keep in mind the William Morris quote about having nothing in your home that is not useful or beautiful! xx
SO beautiful. Yes, I too love the soulful minimalist look but seem to have more of a maximalist approach…! And yes sweet chickens in a city, what a dream scene! xx