Reconnecting With Home

A tranquil Autumn day and time glides past unfettered, gently like a stream meandering towards a non specific destination. I stand at the kitchen window and watch a pair of fantails flit about in the plum tree like a pair of choreographed avian geisha, their fans darting here and there amongst the leaves. I watch them for a long while, transfixed and grateful to have this day opening up before me with no agenda and no pressing tasks. The coffee machine is warming on the bench behind me and the novel I am reading is waiting perched on the arm of the daybed as the late morning sunshine tracks between the lofty poplars, through the French doors and falls serendipitously where I am intending to sit. Yet another lockdown morning continues to pass in slow motion. It is unusual this luxury of time, it is indeed an unusual time.

It took a while to acclimatise to the rhythm of lockdown and to learn to not dwell too deeply on the global threat of this heinous virus that has driven us all into isolation. Some days have seemed clouded with horrific reports from tragically overwhelmed hospitals in cities that are offshore but close, places we know well - the grief is palpable. Too often an avalanche of statistics would befuddle my already anxious mind and I would try to firmly lead my thoughts away from this viral nightmare that is Covid 19. Eventually I quelled the anxiety and disbelief a little and allowed myself to enjoy this hugely unexpected hiatus from the fray of our usual life. As time slowed I began to notice the beauty in my home and local environment - beauty which is abundant and an uplifting antidote to the current climate of fear and uncertainty.

Reconnecting with home has been the unexpected silver lining to the discipline of self isolation. Now that the daily commotion of normal life is stilled I find myself with the time to appreciate the minutiae of our home. I have had time to pull out the hoard of cookbooks that have sat for decades in the bookcase waiting for the proverbial rainy day, I have read childhood diaries and laughed and cried and contacted sisters to compare memories, I finally cleaned the crowd of antique glass bottles and jars that have sat gathering a velveteen coating of dust on the bathroom table for innumerable months. I have cleaned many treasured objects and each item I touch invokes a recollection of where it was acquired - I have spent hours revisiting my past gently chronicled by possessions. I have rearranged, reexamined and reassessed and feel thoroughly connected to this jumbled, idiosyncratic, non minimalist haven that is our home.

All this interior focused energy is perhaps a peculiar kind of home mindfulness, a rare chance to pause, to truly be in the home environment and to find and feel the poignant meaning behind a lifetime of collecting and culling. The objects that we choose to surround ourselves with paint the unique story of our lives and candidly reflect our soul.

If you are anything like me all this scrutiny will have illuminated a little room for improvement or at least seeded the mood for a few changes. I have bookmarked the page in an issue of The World Of Interiors with a photograph of THE perfect shade of Georgian brown velvet to reupholster our wretched and ragged settee knowing full well that finding something similar will be like finding the Rosetta Stone and that our settee will likely remain threadbare for years to come. I have added the odd lamp and a painted chinoiserie corner cupboard to my wish list and contemplated relegating another chair or two to the hallway to enhance a potential chair vacancy in the living room. However, what is not up for debate, is the permanency of my beloved daybed. The last couple of weeks have galvanised my love for this inanimate four legged friend having spent an extravagant amount of time, reading, sketching, day dreaming and watching Netflix reclined in stylish and outrageous comfort. I am envisaging that this exquisite daybed will carry me off incrementally into old age like some allegorical yet cosy vessel disappearing into the mists of time.

Just before we went into lockdown we added an exceptional 19th century, Italian Empire daybed to the Haunt showroom. This lovely daybed has arrived from the early 19th century in uncommon original condition - it is authentic, graceful and truly a thing of beauty. The daybed is stripped back to a calico covering awaiting a fabric of your choice.

We look forward to welcoming you all back to Haunt again when the time comes but in the meantime stay safe and well and enjoy the sanctuary of your home.