The last few weeks have been crazy, mentally. The coronavirus has definitely transformed our lives. Although I’m always a homebody, the idea of lockdown still hit me. I remember I nearly had a meltdown at Tesco in Edinburgh the other day when I saw the empty shelves, questioning what on earth has brought this?

At the moment when everything seems to bring sadness, I found it so hard down to love myself, to feel love. When I was at the milk aisle at the supermarket, questioning why all milk is sold out, I find a desperate need of love, the gentle, warming kind of love.

I’m not talking about romance here (although it’s extremely important!), I’m talking about the love that makes you feel supported, nurtured. The love that we all yearn and deserve, the one that makes our lives so meaningful and beautiful. I am sure at this uncertain times, a lot of us are struggling to feel the love - maybe we cannot see our families, maybe we cannot be hugged by children who always display their loves so selflessly. Whatever the reason, I’d like to say that you have the ability to love yourself. And you should make your home the most loving place ever! So today I’d like to explore ways you can bring love - radical self love - to your home, your soul space.

Why don’t we read some nourishing books right now?

The love

that makes you feel

nurtured, nourished

Bring in cushions and throw
Bring to mind your favourite rom-com when the two characters kiss at home, usually there are a lot of soft furnishings around that, isn’t it? It’s the softness of the cushions and throw that gives us a sense of coziness, that we feel supported. When we want to bring in more love to our home, I’d always suggest cushions and throws. Imagine the kind of support and warmness you feel when you have throws wrapping around you during the chilly weather (Well, I’m in Scotland…any home in Scotland needs a woollen throws!) Ideally you can find cushions that complement the colour of the rest of your furniture, otherwise find some that has a really intriguing pattern that you love.

And think further - you can also bring in some floor cushions, seated cushions to give that extra support and love. I just love lying on the floor on my floor cushion to visualise my dream life

John Lewis & Partners Boutique Hotel Linear Cushion, Dusky Pink. I love the softness on it and how gentle it looks - just like lying under a cherry blossom tree

Isn’t this floor cushion from urban outfitters beautiful? It just radiates a sense of loving energy

2. Display items you love, AND items that recall the moments you feel loved

What’s better than having constant reminders, symbols that tell you how loved you are? A lot of the time we simply forget about it. Most of my families are back home in Hong Kong, and sometimes I do feel the lack of love in Edinburgh compared to when I was at home. Despite the convenience of technology, I occasionally do miss those hugs, those encouraging words. And I don’t mean just displaying thousands and thousands of family photos.

I’d like us to remember the feeling of love, because feeling is unforgettable, it is infectious, it can transcend time. Therefore in my bookshelf I have a jewelry boxes that I picked together with my best friend, putting nicely next to some of my well-loved books. Is it a coaster that reminds you of all the nice coffee chats you have? Or is it a vase that you have always loved? Put it right in front of where you see it all the time! And everytime when you see it, put your hands on your heart, tell yourself, I am loved. And then that energy will flow in your space

3. Give yourself easy access and convenience

Giving yourself a sense of convenience, easy access and easy flow from one room to another room is an active way of bringing yourself love. No one likes it when the bed and the chest of drawers are so close that you cannot get around with it. Imagine how irritated you might feel. And your home would not be very welcoming if the shoe bench is blocking the entire entrance. It’s time to reposition that!

Surely storage can be problematic for those who live in a small flat (myself included), but it does not mean that we need to pile items that eventually block our ways. There are always storage solutions (I can help you if you want, book a discovery call!) that will give us the space we need. Be creative, reposition your furniture, swap to a bigger/ smaller piece of furniture and see how you feel. It might be a small thing, but you are sending a sign to the universe that you are taking care of yourself and loving yourself by putting yourself at ease

I love this small bedroom I found in pinterest It’s very small but there’s no excess issue. Everything has its place. You can get to bed easily, and turn the light on easily. It just takes some planning!

The more love you shower to that place, the more support you receive

4. Create a wee loving soul space

It has taken me a long time to know that I need to honour my feelings - the bad and the good, the craziness and the calmness. Have a loving soul space corner that is dedicated to self-love. Put spiritual tools there to support you. Put books that give you insights. It does not need to be big. It can just be your bedside table - but make it so crushingly loving! Put flowers, scents, essential oils, anything that gives love. Use this corner to meditate, to connect with your spirit guides.

I would love to invite you to craft a special loving soul space. The more love you shower to that place, the more support you’ll get.

5. Use the colour pink

Pink might not be the cup of tea for most people, for me it definitely wasn’t. However it’s interesting that I subconsciously start to collect more and more pink items when I made it my mission to love myself. I find pink giving me comfort, and in Feng shui, it’s also a colour of love. Colour theory also suggests pink gives sense of love, so put it in your surroundings. I don’t mean that you need to make it a cartoon-y pinky home, we can do it tastefully by having touch of pinks here and there. Maybe a rose quartz together with a pink vase, or a pink curtain with some pink orchid. See what pink items you like - and introduce it!

How beautiful these coasters from etsy is! Rose quartz’s properties is love - and this colour is just really irresistible!

This poster from society 6 makes use of pink, but it is not overwhelming. And the slogan is just a call for us to love ourselves

There are many more ways to bring love to your home. These are some test and proven methods that I’ve harnessed the energy of my home to bring love. Your soul might call differently, and I’d love to learn more about that. Connect with me on instagram and share with me.

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First (Proper) Blog since I relaunched this website in January, 2019.

Finally. After spending a long time thinking what to write.

Then a dear friend of mine that I should write about how my background and my experience affect my interior design style. It’s my one year anniversary in Edinburgh on Saturday.. It was my yearning for space and my passion for creating personalised interiors that brought me to the Scottish Capital.

I was sitting quietly, reflecting on my growth and changes and I come to realise how much my childhood, my heritage affect my interiors style

Victorian Harbour in Hong Kong, where I lived before relocating to the Scottish capital. The busyness, the streets, the human connection have always inspired me,

Smart use of space

HK is one of the most expensive and packed city in the world. The average home size in Hong Kong is 484 square feet (45 square meters) so since childhood I’m taught to be clever with the use of space. I don’t recall having a home with dedicated study/ storage space. Utilising every space possible has been crucial to a comfortable living. As much as I dreaded it, I had no choice but to place boxes of letters, photos underneath my bed that I customised. Extra blankets, beddings are always stored at the top drawer, fully using all the height.

Although I’m now in a city where space is less scarce, this is still a very useful skill. I’m almost trained to organise things in a certain ways to maximise the sense of space. No one wants to go home to see things lying around. Just adding a drawer or a small box in the cupboard (and a bit of self discipline!!) could create a peaceful space without clutter

A set of storage boxes are useful to place things that are rarely taken out. Also, this set from Beautify is also very pretty to look at :) Making you more inclined to sort out your things !

When I was living with my parents we built a bar tables. To increase storage space we make cupboards next to it where we can also use the counterop for displaying bottles

The need for Sanctuary

As one of the economic centres in the world, Hong Kong is truly a city that never stops. Shops open till 9, if not 10pm everyday. Stress is basically something that everyone deals with on a daily basis. Everyday when I was on my commute, trapped in the MTR with my body right next to someone’s shoulder, I longed for the moment in my bedroom where I could recharge. It’s the busyness, the distractions that makes it even more important to have that moment, that space where you can feel truly connected, inspired. Because of my busy working life back home, I understand fully the importance of creating a comforting, calming, inspiring space and that’s what I wish to help my clients create the sanctuary

People at heart

I’m fortunate enough to work with interesting people globally. Going to rural village in Thailand opened up my eyes - they have a different attitude to art, life. They brought their beliefs into crafting some of the most beautiful ceramic vases I’ve seen. The different shapes and colours are almost a symbolism of humanity. In the design industry, it’s key to form a harmonious relationship with people, and space. To me, design is really about people;, how to inspire, energise them? How to make them happier when they are upset? I guess it’s also my background in an international busy city like Hong Kong that makes me put people in front of everything else. An interiors will only be a good one if it is actively interacting with the people within. As cliche as it sounds, does it spark joy?

Ilse Crawford is my all time favourite designer. She designed the Cathay Pacific first-class lounge in Hong Kong. She carefully considers the needs of airport passenger and create a place for them to relax and recharge

Fusion of different styles

Hong Kong is a mixture of old & new, eastern & western. We have old Chinese styles temples dated hundred years ago, and every year there’s seem to be a new tall skyscraper entering the already-busy Victorian skyline. I grow up watching both local and western movies and I’m intrigued by both Eastern and Western culture. I like how both cultures interpret nature in a very different way. This uniqueness affect my style - I really like to mix different features from both culture. For example, I like to put a traditional Chinese urn next to some western handcrafted ceramic vase with victorian pattern. As long as you give some careful thoughts while curating the collection, the result is often a very pleasing one (of course, you can hire an interior stylist! contact me if there’s anything I can help!)