Can you Rewild Your Home?

I'm glad you asked

Hello,

I hope you’re all having a lovely weekend.

I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘wild’ living spaces this week and what that means. For me, a wild home is one that that feels linked to the ebb and flow of the seasons.

You know when a house has this quality as soon as you walk in, it feels fresh, warm and alive somehow; it’s deeply rooted in its surroundings and has a little bit of magic about it. Wild homes seem to breathe, and they invite you to stay and settle. But how do you create a home like this?

That’s exactly what I set out to answer with my most recent book; Rewild Your Home. My own house is very small and ordinary (semi-detached, tiny garden, street-facing), but over the past few years I’ve made constant tweaks and changes to bring it as close to this ‘wild’ ideal as possible. Many of these ideas made their way into the book, some extracts of which I’ll be sharing with you today.

I like to test everything before I suggest others follow my lead, so I used my home as a test site (you’re welcome) to try and distill exactly what that magical essence is that can make a home feel just… right.

Available from wherever you like to buy your books

Some of the changes I made to my home along the way were big ones; putting skylights in the roof for example was a game changer, it instantly connected me to the stars at night, and allowed my home to breathe. But others had just as much impact without costing a penny; like making a light map of my home or understanding the importance of green views.

Did I find the secret recipe to a wild home? You’ll have to read the book to find out! But I’ve distilled some of the ideas in it below to give you a taster. Skip straight to the end for these if you’re in a rush, or keep reading if you prefer to meander your way there.

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Can changing our home change the way we live?

I believe it can. Everything my family and I do at home now is tied to the seasons and the world outside. Yes, this is partly because I’m obsessed with seasonal living, so no-one else gets a choice! But it’s also because I’ve set my home up in a way that encourages and allows this to happen naturally.

The boundaries between inside and out are now deliberately blurred. Skylights are propped open at every opportunity to invite breezes in, and with them they bring a scent of the outdoors, evening bird song, or once, memorably, an inquisitive pigeon.

I’ve greened the view of the street beyond our windows by filling the tiny front garden with allotment beds, orchard trees and wild meadow grass that grows up to meet the eyeline. This higgledy space is edged with hollyhocks and sunflowers that grow as high as the roof and tap against the windows at night. The leaves creates shadows on the walls indoors as the sun shines through them and the bees that visit the vegetables sometimes flutter against the window glass, inviting us out.

We bring in treasure from outdoors, emptying out seed heads, flowers and leaves from our pockets onto various surfaces. Bare feet pad across wooden floor boards and over seagrass mats that still smell slightly, deliciously, of the sea. Our wooden furniture is old and carries the marks and knots of its previous life in the forest. Woollen blankets on the back of the sofa provide cosy warmth and smell slightly of warm sheep, which is nicer than you’d think. Nothing is precious, everything is well worn.

On Winter days we listen as the rain taps on the skylights above us. We light beeswax candles and for a moment the whole house smells like honey. We cut out paper birds and hang them up on threads from the ceiling so they fly in the breeze and remind us of Spring to come.

Our pace of life is as slow and steady as I can make it. It might look like a very small life from the outside, but it’s a life that's deeply tied to place and the seasons and I find more peace now in my home than I have ever found anywhere else. 

Here’s how you can do the same:

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Six steps to a wilder home

Each of these themes is explored in much greater detail in my book (in fact there are actually nine steps in the book! This is the edited highlights version). You can grab a copy here.

1. Wild Shapes

If you take a walk outside and look around you might notice a peculiar fact - there are very few straight lines in nature. Once you start looking you’ll see you’re surrounded by soft curves and flowing lines. Our homes however, are the exact opposite of this. Look around the room you’re currently in and the chances are you’ll see neat lines and straight edges everywhere. Studies have shown that humans respond much better to ‘biomorphic’ shapes than hard edges. We are soothed by curves and stressed by sharp edges. So finding ways to counterbalance straight lines with curved decor, soft textiles and organically ‘wonky’ forms can help to reset the balance a little.

2. Wild Materials

Using natural materials is one of the quickest and easiest ways to bring the outdoors in. Materials like jute and seagrass and even wool have a warm comforting smell that instantly places you in a wild landscape and helps your home to breathe. In the book I explain how to create a material palette and give examples of materials that combine well.

3. Wild Colours

Often when we think of natural colour palettes we think of earthy tones and soft neutrals, but a wild colour palette can be so much more than this. In order to find a path through the endless colour options I’ve found there’s a simple rule to follow. Look outside and search for the tones and shades in the landscape around you and you’ll find a scheme that allows your home to sit comfortably in its setting. Sea blues, forest greens or cornfield yellows; in the book I show you how to go ‘wild colour gathering’ and give examples of wild colour palettes to use as inspiration.

4. Wild Plants

Plants, plants, plants; indoors and out. You can never have too many. My own tiny garden is edged with wild hedgerow instead of a fence and is crammed with trees; they wrap around the house so every window is filled with green-filtered sunlight. In the summer we grow tomatoes, sweetcorn, herbs and berries in tiny allotment beds at the front of the house, some successfully, some not. It doesn’t matter. And indoors the windowsills overflow with seedlings in the springtime, and a sprawling collection of herbs, houseplants and drying seeds in the winter. Everything breathes, everything grows, everything is alive. Get more plants, I can guarantee you don’t have enough yet.

5. Wild Views

When we spend time indoors we often become inward facing, but the views out of your home can have a profound effect on your health and happiness. Studies have proved that green views are soothing and healing. The key to this is to always design your outdoor space by thinking first of how it will look from indoors. Bring garden plants right up to the window, draw chairs up to the window glass to give yourself the best view of them. Don’t position your chairs with their backs to the windows. It’s a wasted opportunity. In every room try and have a green view of some sort. Even if it’s just houseplants on the windowsill, it still counts.

6. Wild Light

This is the big one. Designing your home to maximise natural light can help to keep your circadian rhythm in check and is much healthier than relying on artificial light. In the book I talk you through the basics of designing a light map for your home as well as how to embrace biodynamic lighting. And finally, don’t overlook the importance of the dark at home either. Find ways to reduce light pollution to support your rest time as well as protecting the wildlife outside your door. Dark skies and starlight are as important to us as sunlight. Maximise both.

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I hope that was useful! I have plenty more to say on each of the steps above, as well as lots of behind the scenes content and notes from the book-writing process in case that might be something of interest? Maybe let me know in the comments if you’d be interested in hearing more on this topic.

Have a lovely day,
Vicky xx

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