Happy Inside: How to harness the power of home for health and happiness

by Michelle Ogundehin

‘I love this book. Strong, clever, intelligent advice with soul.’Mary Portas‘A wonderful look at how to transform our homes to be more mindfully aligned with our true nature and a reflection of who we are.’Fearne Cotton‘A happy home is a fundamental building block of happiness, and Michelle’s book is an essential, step-by-step guide to creating a home we love.’Arianna Huffington, Founder & CEO, Thrive Global‘A must-have read for anyone looking to improve not just their home but also their quality of life within it.’Matthew Williamson Be happier, healthier and more empowered with Michelle Ogundehin’s step-by-step practical guide to creating a home that supports your well-being.Whether that home is owned or rented, small or large, and regardless of how much money you have, Happy Inside shows you how to harness its potential in pursuit of becoming your best self. If you want to feel calm, content, soothed or energized, you must begin with what surrounds you. This comprehensive guide covers everything from how to create more light and space to how to get a good night’s sleep; the path to a perfect sofa and why a dining table is your most vital piece of furniture. Plus, how to decorate to promote joy; the importance of play (and circular side tables); your definitive capsule kitchen kit; and why your hallway is where it all starts. Combining Michelle’s knowledge of Buddhist philosophy, mindfulness, colour psychology and good design, Happy Inside is your one-stop guide to living well.Welcome to the healthy home revolution!

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Design, Health

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2020

About the author

Internationally renowned as a thought-leader on interiors, trends and style, Michelle Ogundehin is a writer, editor, creative consultant, TV presenter and the former Editor-in-Chief of British ELLE Decoration. She originally trained as an architect and regularly contributes to The Financial Times, the influential design platform Dezeen, and many other prestigious publications worldwide. She is Head Judge on the BBC2/Netflix series Interior Design Masters, as well as a co-presenter of Channel 4’s Grand Designs: House of the Year. Michelle was born in Manchester, grew up in London, and has lived in both NY and LA. Home is now Brighton, UK. Her mission? To help us master our spaces thereby becoming our best selves: home meets wellbeing.

Reviews

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the opening titles of her TV Show, Interior Design Masters (with Alan Carr!), Michelle Ogundehin says ‘ Everyone with a passion for design thinks they can be an interior designer…’ Well, not if they read her book they won’t! While other books try to demystify the interior design process, this book puts it right up there on a pedestal.
For example, according to Ogundehin, in order to decorate your home, you need a pallette of (only!) 28 notes: 6 core colours (of which one must be white), 2 accent colours, 2 metallics, 2 woods,3 signature finishes, 2 humble textures,6 fabric textures, 2 natural stones (or other composite stone-type materials)and 3 ceramic tiles.
A lot of this book seems pretty random, covering issues with a fairly loose connection to the ‘home’ theme, such as healthy eating and how to poo efficiently.
But Ogundehin is at her best when writing about how to design your home space : it’s complicated, but I love it!
(edited to remove the excess f in efficiently!)

[Simona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beveik prieš metus kraustėmės į nuosavą namą. Nusprendę, kad gyvensim kaime, sakėm: "kad tau taip, tai kurkim savo svajonių namus". Ir kai vyro tėtis klausė "kam jums toks didelis namas, kiek gyvenimų jame planuojat nugyvent?", Marius atsakė "Vieną, bet gerą". 😀 Maždaug tokiu moto ir kuriam namus. Daug ką darom patys (o kai patys, tai užtrunkam), milijonai dalykų dar nebaigti, milijonai projektų, kurie vis pasipildo mūsų galvose. Namų kūrimą matom kaip nesibaigiantį procesą ir neturim vilčių, kad op ir gulim bambas išvertę. Todėl visad įdomu paskaitinėti, ką pataria visokie namų ekspertai - o gal kas patiks.

Pradėjus šią knygą kliuvo vadovaujantis tonas "jūs norite, jūs nenorite", bet nusprendžiau, kad niekas man nieko juk negali liept, o gal koks patarimas ims ir patiks. Taip nusiteikus skaitymas palengvėjo. Buvo vietų kuriose išsiskyrė nuomonės - kad koridorius svarbiausia reprezentacinė namų patalpa, kad virtuvės su didelėm salom nėra naudingos, kad reikia įsivesti laidinį telefoną dėl visų spinduliuočių. Taip pat kai kur atrodė, kad autorės būdai (pvz kas rytą šluoti grindis) yra pateikiami kaip vienareikšmiškai teisingi. Dabar, žinoma, galit sužinot, kad kasryt nešluoju grindų ir kad iš pavydo nesutinku. 😀 Galbūt. Aš, aišku, norėčiau tobulų namų, tobulos tvarkos, bet tenka pripažinti, kad gyvenimas būna visoks. Ypač su mažais vaikais. 🙂

Be viso to, aš pritariu autorei, kad namus reikia kurti tokius, kuriuose pačiam gera būti. Ne dėl akių, mados, kitų, pinteresto, bet dėl savęs ir savo poreikių atsakymo. Patiko požiūris, kad viskas pasidaro, jei pradedi žengt mažais žingsneliais tikslo link. Teisingos atrodo ir mintys apie holistiškumą, sveiką gyvenseną, sveiką požiūrį į save, miegą, maistą, psichologinės sveikatos priežiūrą. Ji teigia, kad sužiūrėjęs visus svarbiausius savo vidinius kampus, lengviau sužiūrėsi ir namų kampelius.

Skaitydama pacituodavau vyrui, pritardavau ar pasiginčydavau su autore. Bet iš esmės manau, kad tokia knyga pakliuvus vietoj ir laiku gali padėti išsigryninti tai, kas kiekvienam svarbiausia ir suteikti naudingų įžvalgų apie namus. 🙂

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me a very long time to read this mostly because it wasn’t engaging. The author is very didactic and their science is questionable. I distrust anyone who talks about detoxing - that’s why we have a liver and kidneys and if they aren’t working you have far bigger problems than how your home looks.

I’m intrigued as to why she thinks toasters are so dangerous when my professor of respiratory medicine doesn’t think they are an issue. In short I’m glad it was only a 99p kindle book.

[Helen Nix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful but preachy

I both love and hate this book. I love it because it is the first book about interiors I’ve read that really explores the link between interior design and having a life you love. It sets out a set of steps to enable you to really understand the space you have, what you have in it, what you really need, and how to design each zone in your house so that there is a cohesive flow and colour palette which you love and actually works for you.

The downside is there are a LOT of requirements for healthy and happy living set out here in a rather forthright way. So while I’m certain the principles are right, it gets tiring to be told so often and insistently about the critical importance of everything. It is critical to get your hall right. It is essential to sleep and eat well. It is vital to avoid unnecessary chemicals in your diet and home. You must have a multitude of throws and cushions on the sofa. You must only burn beeswax candles.

I’m really glad I read this book, and will apply a huge amount of it as we refresh our house. I would recommend it to a friend, but perhaps alongside a pinch or two of salt.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

A little pretentious - especially the parts where they reference another person’s work in the field of organisation and life improvements (Marie Kondo) and get it wrong. Didn’t feel very well researched - disappointing read.

[Uttara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I started reading it thinking it would be about design, but i found it to be so much more than that. This book is more about how the author lives her life, appreciates space, light and how the energy can flow to make your space serve you. As someone who has started appreciating design, I loved the way Michelle created a 'life template' for herself and shared how she personally lives a clean, healthy life and the way she can help her space and her space can in turn help her. Once I put this book down, I started my journey on Clean Cleaning and look at my place with more attention: am I blatantly disregarding important design principles? What is my palate? Where is there a block in the flow and what can i do about it? Already, certain practical changes have made positive impacts.
I do think Michelle tends to be preachy, and let's be real, not so relatable. She's a single mother, who managed to become the Editor in Chief of Elle Decoration, host of Interior Design masters, all while living in Brighton, raising a kid and....all without a drop of coffee (which she asks us to give up.) No Michelle, I am not giving up coffee, getting rid of my toaster and drinking broth at night for my immunity. But live your best life, ill take all the good bits and leave the rest.

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was simply a book about interior design, but it went off into a lot of other topics, such as exercise and healthy eating. The author's logic was that a happy home is hard to achieve unless you've got the basics of a healthy life under control.

I really enjoyed the parts about design, but I could've done without the health stuff. Some of it was scientifically sound (e.g. VOCs, mocking homeopathy) but other parts were questionable (e.g. the need to make your bedroom into a Faraday cage).

[Laima Meškelė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly what I expected it to be

At first seemed really interesting and worth reading but ended with just skipping last pages of it as the information there was just so obvious and repetitive. Might be good for those who never had any insights about creating home or their well being.

[Lyndsay Swinton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Five stars for sample chapter, one star for rest

This is not a design book, it’s a mish mash of other people’s ideas about how to live your life. Fine if that’s what you were expecting but not when you’re after interior design guidance.

[Charlie · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were some useful tips in here but it could have been a quarter of the size. It's mainly aimed at someone with a lot of time and money who owns their own house

[Viktorija Cekanauskienė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lengva ir faina knyga apie namų įsirengimą, kad juose būti laimingiems. Yra net skyrius dedikuotas įtikinti atsisakyti salos virtuvėje :) pasižymėjau keletą patarimų, pakeičiau požiūrį į tam tikrus dalykus, vertėjo skaityti :)

[Nia Nymue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing book to read, though a little more for its layout, typography, fabric cover and general aesthetic experience when reading, than for its actual content.

For content, I would recommend Marie Kondo any day. This book is at most supplementary.

I still enjoyed reading it for the effort and care put into creating the physical book.

[Jodi Blackman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't impressed by this book. I found it overly pretentious and didactic. Michelle seems to practice an overly complicated version of interior design (why must we use a palette of "only" 28 colours, finishes and surfaces?) Experts perhaps need to justify the enormous fees to their well heeled clients but it didn't offer much in the way of accessible advice to the average reader.

The book is too wide-ranging but not in a "comprehensive guide" kind of way. Her occasional detours into "woo" science - such as her belief in detoxification and her mysterious distrust of toasters - that are only tangential to the art of design amused me no end and perhaps lost her some credibility in my eyes.

[Anwai · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was disappointing. I enjoyed the bits about home decorating (which is what I'd been expecting to read about) and choosing your palette, but if I wanted advice on diet and exercise I'd have bought books specifically about those subjects written by experts in those fields. I also didn't like how some alternative practices were given enough credence to describe them fully, along with the exhortation to treat them with respect (sage smudging), whilst others are dismissed out of hand (homeopathy and crystal therapy) and others are given the half and half treatment (feng shui).
All in all, this seems more like Michelle Ogundehin's views on life rather than a book on how to best design your home.
A further note - the photos of her home decor don't work at all well on a Kindle Paper White!

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A speed-read. Tidbits from the book helped me discover preferences. (ex. I like cool colors, don't have preferences about fabric textures, etc.) It also helped me reevaluate the tone and sense of hospitality of certain areas of my home. Certain chapters didn't hold any interest for me.

Ogundehin and I will never agree on the sinister nature of toasters or necessity of an abundance of throw pillows. Know thyself, I suppose. :-)

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won’t be adopting the 18 note colour palette or getting rid of the toaster but have adopted the No tech after 9pm rule and moved the sofa.

I agree with her approach to ‘things’
“Your ‘things’ should be seen as evidence of the narrative of your life, value is never about the cost, it is about the stories’”
“With room to breathe and think, we can live a more meaningful life. And now know that this type of room is not necessarily a physical space; rather it is an absence of all that is extraneous alongside the sweet feeling of liberation that comes with realising you have enough”

A few more photos rather than the rather insipid little illustrations would have been nice but an inspiring book for a dark, cold January day.

[Laura Broadhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It’s full of practical, thoughtful advice for creating a home that feels truly personal. Michelle Ogundehin gives plenty of useful tips on how to start with a blank canvas and gradually build a colour palette based on what you genuinely like, rather than chasing trends.

What stood out most is her focus on enjoying your home as part of your daily life, not just making it look good. She writes about the importance of rituals, habits, and mindful choices that help you feel grounded and content in your space. It’s as much about living well as it is about decorating.

An inspiring read for anyone wanting to create a home that reflects who they are and supports the way they live.

[Mrs C L Bullock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about the home and how we live.

I enjoyed this book. The idea that your home and your internal home ( your body and mind) are linked is so true. Michelle brings this concept together very well in this book. This book is therefore more than just a book about the design of a home but a framework for living. I loved the way each living space was examined and how we live in these spaces. I will dip back into this book on a regular basis.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote my PhD about domestic advice books so I was interested to read this recent addition to the genre. It’s an odd one in that it combines expert interior design guidance with common sense well-being advice. In some chapters, Ogundehin offers valuable insights into the design and arrangement of the home, while in others she is provides unnecessarily didactic rules about how to live one’s life. All in all this is above average, I enjoyed it and learned a few things too.

[House Soul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for budding interior designers! I thought this was going to be about the soul of the home and how you connect with it, but it’s more about interior design. Loads of in depth practical advice on how to furnish your home if that’s what you’re after. I did enjoy the chapter on ‘energy’ but it was more geared to air purification, tech & plastic use in general than energy clearing/healing which is more my cup of tea

[Caroline Croezen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love books like these, such a guilty pleasure for me. This one didn't hit the mark for me, I'm not sure what Michelle has against toasters and I didn't really learn anything new but it's an easy, enjoyable read.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bizarre and preachy instruction manual for life. At times charming but also sometimes smug or patronising

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

The system for picking colors etc actually works.

[Caryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book contains some useful advice on interior design, I found myself skipping huge sections at a time to avoid the well-meaning but often misguided sections on "wellness".

Some of the subjects were reasonable and solidly founded, but others came across as either preachy (her crusade against microwaves) or ignorant (her fear of cleaning chemicals she can't pronounce, or her promotion of the entirely unfounded concept of "geopathic stress").

A decent enough book if you're interested in advice on diet and essential oils, not exactly an interior design manual.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michelle O is bossy in this book - and I loved it. Okay, maybe she is just strong in her views and directions to others...I thought this was a wonderful book. Well edited and written. She.Knows.Her.Stuff. With her background, I trust her views. This is about so much more than home design. Encourage you to read and implement the ideas that work for you. That's what I did.