We are delighted to be talking about Michelle Ogundehin’s new book ‘Happy Inside: How to Harness the power of Home for Health and Happiness’. As a lifestyle manual x essential handbook for anyone in search of a considered home, with insight from colour psychology to Buddhism and mindfulness, never has a read been more timely. It is your step by step guide to the creation of a space in which to feel truly at home. Here follows an extract on why your sofa is one of the most important things in your #happyinside home.
It’s never a surprise to me that very large homes often boast a den as the homeowners’ favourite place of refuge. It fulfils a primal need for a warm, cosy space in which to retire and feel safe. This is the domestic version of the burrow to which an animal retreats to calm itself when it is no longer in flight or fight mode.
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And because this state of anxious over wiredness is also evidenced in humans due to the frenetic pace of modern living, we must try to create a new version of the primal den, but openly, in our main living spaces. And this perfect retreat is already to hand in the form of your sofa.
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This is a piece of furniture that should envelop you in comfort and act as a domestic talisman for a more balanced life. It should have a ridiculous number of cushions and plenty of soft throws, because it should be the equivalent of your wakeful bed. A place to which you will feel compelled to turn before you are exhausted. It will become your secondary point of gathering after your dining table. And you must learn to sit on it like a child, all snuggly with curled-up legs.
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As such, in the #happyinside home, sofas are not immaculate and shaped for an erect posture. Nor are they showpieces or sculptural artefacts with carefully draped antimacassars and cushions tipped en pointe and punched in the middle like a fortune cookie! The #happyinside sofa is deep, soft and comfy.
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So how to find such a thing? Firstly, do not be seduced by the latest ‘must- have’ lists in magazines. These are printed so that you can see the full range of what’s on offer, but as the inimitable Coco Chanel once said, ‘Fashion is what’s out there, but style is what you choose.’ And when it comes to a sofa, here are my top three tips for choosing a sofa that can give you a hug.
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• Buy big! That is to say, as big as can be easily accommodated in the space that you have available. A sofa should always be pulled back slightly from the walls if tucked into a corner, and there must be plenty of room to walk in front of and alongside at least one side of it.
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• Consider corner sofas. The epitome of comfort is a sofa long enough for you to stretch out on it solo. Deep enough for you to be able to sink right back into it. And wide enough so that two or more people can sit on it without you all being lined up as if you’re at the cinema.
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• Do not fret unduly over upholstery. It’s all about layering. Whatever you choose, see it only as a basic backdrop, for your sofa will, and must, be lavishly draped with additional quilts and throws, not to mention cushions. Much as you would do with a bed, dress your sofa from the base upwards. Make seats extra snuggly with soft linen- or velvet-covered pads laid over existing base cushions. Have enough throws so that each sofa recruit can wrap themselves individually. And as for cushions, how many can you stack! You can never have too many. Don’t miss this opportunity to indulge.
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You can purchase '‘Happy Inside: How to Harness the power of Home for Health and Happiness’ Here
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