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April 29, 2021 — 14:18 PM
Catherine Vickers (@53houseplantsandme on Instagram) is a teacher by day, interior design blogger by night. Her fantastical Southwest London home is a playground of pastels, plants, and plenty of pinks. Let’s take a tour.
Those color palettes! So amazing. Do you find that colors help shape your mood at all?
I like soft colors, like pastels, so that probably keeps my home feeling calm and serene.
Does your home shift with the seasons? Are there any changes you’re making as we head into spring?
Yes, definitely. I didn’t think it would, but moving into winter I made some changes and calmed the colors down a little. I painted the yellow ceiling pink, for instance. Now that we’re moving into spring, I’ve had a big clean and reorganized things and tried to declutter a bit.
Your space looks so fresh and spotless: What is your cleaning routine like? Any cleaning techniques or products you especially love?
I usually use method products because they smell so good. My cleaning routine is not really set in stone; I usually just tidy and wipe down surfaces as I go and then vacuum on a Sunday. I also tend to clean when I’m trying to take pictures for Instagram, so I get both jobs done at the same time usually.
What object in your home brings you the most joy and why?
Probably my record player. It was my grandparents’, and it is so nice sitting listening to records and having memories of them.
What’s the oldest thing in your home? Newest?
The oldest thing in my home is my rattan chair, which has also been passed down from my grandparents. The newest is my blue storage cabinet, which is the perfect blue to match my woodwork.
What noises can be heard in your home? What smells are there?
Birds in the garden, sometimes the traffic outside…I can also occasionally hear the music blaring in cars or people honking their horns!
I’m not a big cook, so there’s not usually anything on the stove. It’s more likely the smell of fruity candles.
What’s the most sentimental thing hanging on your walls, and what’s the story behind it?
I change up the art on my walls quite a lot, so I’m not necessarily too sentimental about the prints I have.
But there are a number of other items with sentimental value in my home: A vase my mum gave me as a moving gift is up there.
What does the word home mean to you?
That’s a difficult one. This is my first nonrented home, and it has been amazing renovating it. I think for me, it is a place to express my creativity, but also it is a place where I need to feel safe, relaxed, joyful. Sometimes when I’m at work, I so look forward to getting home—not because I don’t want to be at work but because I just love my home and how I have made it the way it is!
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
