Fearne Cotton on why she'll never embrace minimalism

(Image credit: Alex Cameron)

published 3 August 2022

Home is a subject that is incredibly important to me as it really is my happy place. Home is the womb. It's safety and comfort and our hideaways from the velocity of the modern world. We want our homes to be a retreat and a place to recalibrate when life feels too much.

As we all know, there are no guarantees when it comes to homes; there's often the chaos of family life, pet hair, washing machines breaking, damp on walls, food stains on sofa's, yet there are elements we can control and parts of the home that we have beautiful agency over.

My husband often refers to me as a Bower bird. Ever watched one in action on a wildlife documentary? If not, imagine me with wings and a beak going about my nest filling it with shiny objects and attractive sticks. I love to potter, I'm more potter than Harry! I could spend a whole day moving objects about, re-painting old furniture and arranging wild flowers and sprigs in vases. HEAVEN! I'm constantly looking for that equilibrium and harmony in the home.

One of my favourite happy items is a blue double layered shelving unit which I got for a steal on eBay. It's bright and slightly weathered looking, has six individual compartments and is the perfect place for me to put precious things. So far there are shells the kids found on the beach in Dorset, my favourite natural roll on oil, some incense, a little photo of Honey that her teacher laminated on her last day of reception and a candle that smells of grass. Whenever I look at it I beam. A happy home isn't one full of super-spenny items, or show-home-styled accessories, it's one of memories. I want my home to be a museum of reminders of all of my favourite things, places and people.

My new shelving unit very much a shrine to all that love and I look forward to filling it more over the coming months. It's in the kitchen where I spend most of my time so is a constant source of good vibes. Fill your home with objects that spark joyful memories. To me that means a very happy home.

Topics

Read The Room

Fearne Cotton is one of the best known and most popular broadcasters in the UK and is most recently known as the Founder of the wellbeing brand, Happy Place. The brand was created from her first book released in 2017, Happy, which was a Sunday Times Bestseller and a silver Nielsen Bestseller. This was the first in a series of books talking about her own, and some of the not so positive, experiences with happiness. This was also the premise for her podcast launched in 2018, Happy Place, and has featured an array of guest such as Ellie Golding, Hilary Rodham Clinton, Jada Pinkett Smith, Russell Brand, Gary Barlow, Alicia Keys, and Elizabeth Gilbert amongst others. To date, the podcast has over 59 million downloads and continues to top the charts. 2019 saw a further extension of the brand into the live space, with over 10,000 people attending two Happy Place Festivals, one in the north and one in the south of England. The Festival went virtual in 2020, running over for month featuring around 150 pieces of content. The Festivals return later on this summer to Chiswick House & Gardens and Tatton Park.

Her third children’s book Your Mood Journal was published in the November 2020, and her most recent book Bigger Than Us, was published in January this year. In 2021 Fearne also launched Happy Place Books, which has already published some amazing works by Lawrence Okolie & Dr Olivia Remes.

Fearne is a mother of two, and step-Mother of two, and closely supports a range of charities - most notably mental health charity Mind, The Prince’s Trust and Coppafeel!, the latter of which she curates the charity’s music festival, Festifeel.