THE HEALING HOME & GARDEN
“Paula heals people because she really sees them. She gets right to the essence of who they are and mirrors it back to them through the spaces she creates. Her work is more than visual. It’s energetic.”
- Sonia Choquette, best-selling author, spiritual teacher, intuitive guide and creative consultant
The Healing Home & Garden
REIMAGINING SPACES FOR OPTIMAL WELLBEING
To be published by Yellow Kite (Hachette) on 9th May 2024
Are you tired of formulaic interiors and following trends? Do you long for a home that expresses who you truly are, that’s a sanctuary from our 24/7 lifestyles dominated by technology?
The Healing Home & Garden will help you to:
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Take an objective look at your home
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Examine whether it’s supporting your mental and physical wellbeing
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Identify how it may be perpetuating unhealthy habits like: working all hours, eating on the run, poor sleep and spending too much time indoors
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Tap into your intuition to create a healing environment that will ultimately make you happier, less stressed and healthier
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Reconnect with the restorative power of nature
The Healing Home & Garden is for everyone - no matter your budget, whether you rent or own, live in a bedsit or a mansion. No major building works are involved, just a call to follow your own intuition and create the home that’s right for you - not the style police!
This book is full of budget tips for rethinking your living space, creative suggestions for re-purposing furniture and objects, and extensive product and book recommendations.
Meet Paula
I believe that our happiness, health and success are profoundly affected by the spaces that we live and work in. As a designer and writer, I love helping people to create harmonious environments that transform their lives on all levels.
I’m happiest in nature - especially by the sea - and love designing outdoor spaces. I'm passionate about the environment, sustainable design, re-purposing furniture and objects, and supporting craftspeople over mass-producers.
Intuitive Designer
I’ve been called a ‘space whisperer’ because I intuitively sense what people need in order to thrive and I know how to transform the energy of their space accordingly.
I love getting to know people, understanding their needs and dreams, and helping them to create their personal havens.
Author
I write about how to make the spaces that we live and work in truly conducive to our physical and mental health. I am the author of The Healing Home & Garden: Reimagining Spaces for Optimal Wellbeing to be published by Yellow Kite (Hachette) on 9th May 2024, and The Room Planner: 100 Practical Plans for your Home.
Columnist
I have been an interiors columnist for The Sunday Times and the Sunday Telegraph, and Move Or Improve? magazine. I've contributed articles on design, home improvement and the psychology of space to many publications over the years. I also write fiction and am a regular contributor to The Aleph Review.
Books
I write about home improvement and design, the psychology of space and how it affects all areas of our lives.
THE HEALING
HOME & GARDEN
Reimagining spaces for optimal wellbeing
To be published on 9th May 2024 by Yellow Kite (Hachette)
The way we are currently living in our homes hasn’t kept pace with the dramatic changes that the 21st century has brought. The Healing Home & Garden examines the habits we’ve all formed (binge-watching TV; working all hours; not sleeping enough; eating on the run etc) and how our homes are perpetuating these. By rethinking the design of our homes, we can break unhealthy habits, and form new ones that are right for us as individuals - which will ultimately make us happier, less stressed and healthier.
Following the latest interiors trends is ultimately unsatisfactory because it doesn’t reflect who we truly are. It’s time to design our homes intuitively - not formulaically! In doing so, we create spaces that are a joy to live in, and feel comfortable and authentic to the people who really matter: those living there - not visitors, and certainly not the style police!
The Healing Home & Garden is an inspiring and practical guide offering innovative solutions to help you create a home that is healing and nurturing using your own intuition. It champions you to find your unique expression, surrounding yourself with what nourishes and soothes you. The book is filled with ideas to transform dull, predictable areas into inviting spaces that feed the soul. No major building work is required - only a sense of fun and adventure are needed, along with a willingness to examine how you’re currently living in your home, and what habits need to be broken so you can really thrive.
The book is divided into the different areas of the home, making it easy to tackle as much or as little as you feel comfortable with - be it your entire home, or just certain parts. Each chapter looks at the psychological, physical and energetic aspects of how we’re living in our homes, and how to improve these for greater wellbeing. It also addresses practical design considerations for all home sizes - from studio flats to large houses - and offers cost-effective, creative and inspiring suggestions.
The Healing Home & Garden advocates sustainable design and is full of budget tips on how to use your imagination to re-purpose pieces, transform architectural salvage, and avoid mass-produced products in favour of handcrafted pieces. It also offers simple steps to help you reconnect with nature - even when you’re stuck inside. There are product and book recommendations throughout, extensive lists of international resources and recommended reading at the end, and DIY guides for projects mentioned in the book can be downloaded for free from the book’s website.
THE ROOM PLANNER
100 Practical Plans for Your Home
The Room Planner offers a clear vision of the future for our homes and provides all the ideas and practical information to adapt the space in which you live. It is packed with tricks of the trade, along with nearly 200 user-friendly, colour-coded plans, illustrations, and diagrams which allow you to pick the designs and layouts most appropriate to your home - be it a terraced house or contemporary loft.
To reflect changing lifestyles, the emphasis of The Room Planner is on versatility and flexibility and includes chapters on: Versatile space (how to create additional rooms); High-performance space (maximising the potential of each room); Practical space (storage, soundproofing); Flexible space (creating moveable partitions).
Apart from focusing on space, the book deals with other important aspects in redesigning your home, particularly those of colour and shape. As well as exploring how these can make a room look, it focuses on the psychological effects, and how this knowledge can be used to your advantage.
There is also a helpful section of basic tips - from advice on budgeting, to considering how the family pets will cope with the disruption, as well as basics for particular rooms, lighting and furniture.
The Room Planner is ideal for homeowners who want a more hands-on approach to creating their dream home, or breathing new life into their existing living space.
“Paula’s design work transcends the usual goal of creating beautiful space. Step into any space that she has designed, and you literally feel your energy shift. She intuitively understands where the eye will rest, what emotions certain colors will evoke, and how to use design to create harmony, energy, and peacefulness within a space. She is able to work with objects across periods and countries, and weave them into a cohesive story. Her work is natural and effortless, her results are simultaneously timeless and modern. She deeply listens to her client’s objectives, comforts, and desires which then become the foundation of her vision for the project.”
—Monique Palumbo
Managing Director, Head of US Loan Syndications, Natixis
“I selected Paula Robinson to do our European headquarters in central London after her presentation blitzed several other firms’. From our first meeting through to the end of the project, Paula was there as a partner, not just someone with a contract to execute.
Paula’s appeal is borne of her powerful and perhaps unique melange of assets: her ability to listen, understand and communicate; her foundations as a psychologist; her aesthetic eclecticism, and her understanding of the impact of technological and other changes on places where people work. I found Paula and her team unfailingly professional, and flexible to the point of contortion. Budgets were respected faithfully. Her integrity is unimpeachable, and I would fight to have her involved in any commercial or private design project in the future.”
—Michael Short European Chief Executive, Inlumen (formerly NewsAlert)
“Paula is incredibly creative with an innate instinct and a sensitivity rare in some designers. Her work for The Kennebunkport Historical Society at two local historical properties (the Kenneth Roberts Estate and White Columns) exhibited exquisite taste and subtle accents and reflected all the research she had done. It was a delight to work with Paula and she shared her knowledge, talent, and infectious enthusiasm.”
—Susan C.S. Edwards
Executive Director, Museum of Old Newbury
I believe that our health, happiness and success are profoundly affected by the spaces that we live and work in. My focus as a designer is on creating living and working environments to transform my clients’ lives on all levels. I work intuitively, whether it’s reimagining an existing space or designing and building from the ground up. My team and I have worked on projects all over the world, pairing classical with contemporary; sourcing antiques and art; re-purposing unusual salvage pieces; and incorporating cutting edge technology.
I offer virtual consultations for clients all over the world, or I can travel to site for bigger projects. Please do get in touch to see how I can assist with your project - even if it’s just one room that you’re struggling with. It’s always a fun and collaborative journey!
Getting in Touch
