13 Jun 19

Creating a happy home with Fearne Cotton- Podcast show notes S3 Ep6

The final episode of the third series of the Great Indoors podcast and we are going out with a bang! The wonderful Fearne Cotton invited Kate and I into her gorgeous light filled home to share her interior design philosophy, and also give us the heads up on her new interior design TV show for BBC2!

Fearne has become an ambassador for finding joy and happiness. She hosts the incredibly popular (8 million downloads kind of successful!) Happy Place podcast where she speaks to inspiring people on how to unlock your inner happiness, which is a must listen- it’s great and fulfills her mission to explore our happiness and wellbeing. She turns up the happiness dial further in her latest book, Happy: Finding joy in every day and letting go of perfect and this is on top of a successful career as a radio & TV presenter, mother of two. And on the side she’s found the time to design and curate some awesome fashion, make-up and homeware ranges. And she’s one of the most delightful humans you could wish to meet. And her home is rather lovely too!

Fearnes love of pale pink and blue is evident throughout her home, and her wardrobe

So like all good homes, we kicked things off in the kitchen, all huddled up around the island, which is very much the heart of Fearne’s home. Try though you might you just can’t ignore the stars of the show, three huge pendant lampshades adorned with beading, flowers, and fringing – echoing a real Bohemian vibe – or as Kate described ‘Granny punk’. This is a real insight into Fearne’s personal style, as she designed them herself and had them made. She admits that she’s not a fan of cutting edge design but prefers a more homely look, although these shades are anything but ordinary! I always say with lighting, go bigger than you dare, and this is why. They totally rock.

The home of TV presenetr Fearne Cotton kitchen island with three oversized pendant lights

Fearnes kitchen island with her own design seriously cool lamp shades

The kitchen, in Fearne’s words, is the engine room of her home and she very much wanted to create a warm, airy and welcoming space for family and friends to just hang out and be comfortable in. Minimalism is not her thing, although she likes a cluttered style she knows where everything is and describes her house as organised chaos. Although I can vouch for the fact it is very much organised. I saw no chaos, it looked perfect!

Fearne’s top tips for creating a sociable family kitchen

Room permitting, get a kitchen island with bar stools, ideal for socialising when people drop in for a chat and a cuppa.
Again, if you have the room, a small sofa is a great way for people to relax and chill out and be together.
Newest addition is a fish tank which a great focal point for the kids to enjoy while you’re busy cooking.
Have a place for everything to be put away at the end of the day. Especially kids toys.

The house of Fearne Cotton featuring House of Hackney wallpaper and a framed print of David Bowie

The amazing House of Hackney wallpaper sets off a favourite Bowie print.

Into the living room

Pink pops up throughout the house as Fearne’s go-to colour and this slither of Artemis wallpaper by House of Hackney left Kate somewhat speechless as she has vocalised her lack of enthusiasm for feature walls quite a bit in the past. Honestly, you can’t take that woman anywhere! I agree with Fearne that with some of the more fabulous and expensive papers you only need a slither and it looks very cool with the David Bowie print hung infront. We did agree that it’s works well at distracting from the TV and Fearne has pulled the colours from the paper and continued them around the room, and they tie in really nicely with the painted bookcases.

Fearne’s husband Jesse uses this corner of the living room to write and play music. The view from this window is one of her favourite in the house.

The long slim living room is also home to the families collection of books and family photo’s. (We talked about how to display pictures and artwork on a previous podcast, see my notes here). Fearne’s family gallery wall is the perfect mix of different sizes and mismatched frames but it works well as they all have a common thread – they are all personal, sentimental family photos and she can add new memories to them over time.

Is there a formula for finding happiness in the home?

Fearne affirms that interior design is such a personal thing and great design can mean many different things to different people and its all about tuning into what lifts you up. Plenty of light is fundamental to Fearnes happiness and she has opened up the layout of her home in order to make it feel as light filled as possible.

Fearne’s tips…

Start with one colour that means something to you and go with it because of how it makes you feel and not just because it’s fashionable. Fearne loves blush pink and mossy green as she finds them calming and grounding colours to be around. So think about how you want to feel by looking at the colour all around you and feel what resonates.
Tune into what style of furniture you love and identify with and don’t follow trends. Fearne likes comfy rounded shapes.
Don’t listen to trends, just think about the colour, shape and form. Just listen to how you feel, and connect with that
Make connections to the outside. A sense of greenery really helps with a sense of wellbeing.

Kate the ‘Stat Queen’ dug out these findings. DFS conducted a survey on colour and emotions and blue = happiness & energy and pink = contentment. These are Fearnes two favourite colours.

Into the bedroom

Fearne chose to site her bedroom in the basement. Again, by tuning into her feelings she wanted the bedroom to feel safe and cosy and a place to retreat to. The soft colour palette and feminine touches make the room feel very calming and she has no less than nine cushions on the bed. A girl after my own heart! The fringed lamp is by local craftperson Anna Hayman , and was given as a gift by one of Fearnes friends.

Into the bathroom

Fearnes bathroom, next to her bedroom is also in the basement and has a low light but this chandelier set above the bath looks incredible. Fearne says Jesse her husband is firm that lighting is integral to creating the right mood in a room. Their home is lit with candle light in the evening and main lights are dimmed low.

the bathroom in the Home of Fearne Cotton, interviwed full house tour on the Great Indoors podcast with Sophie Robinson and Kate Watson Smyth

Fearne’s bathroom is low lit to create a relaxing mood in the evening

For the rest of Fearnes amazing home, including her incredible wardrobe closet and super cute kids rooms you can listen to the Great Indoors podcast here.

Fearne’s exciting new TV Show, Design Masters is out at the end of the summer. We will be giving you the latest news on that one here! Least because I am a guest judge on episode 4!

Fearne’s first Happy Place Festival takes place this summer in Chiswick on 3 and 4 August and at Tatton Park, in Cheshire, on 7 and 8 September, and I will be hosting talks about happy interiors at both events, so book yourself in and come and say hi! Follow Fearne on instagram here for the latest updates on ticekts.

Huge thanks to DFS for their sponsorship and support throughout the series, big high five to our producer Kate Taylor and of course my co-host Kate Watson-Smyth.