The uncomfortable truth

The home of the future will be full of things we crave to touch but we also need to challenge ourselves to get seriously uncomfortable

More so than ever before, I believe we crave profoundly tactile environments. Think fluffy sheepskins, slubby linens, rough wooden kitchen tables and handmade crockery set against textured and patterned wall coverings.

It's essential to physically engage with the things around you in order to benefit from the support they can provide. To caress a cherished ornament or snuggle down on a richly adorned sofa is to feel the warm embrace of comfort. But more so than this, when we immerse ourselves in such profoundly sensory spaces, the pleasure wakes us on every level and serves to remind us of our essential humanity.

This definition of comfort also heralds a pause on the habitual genuflection to hot looks and hip buzzwords. Not the bigger waves of cultural change that authentically reflect the zeitgeist (for example, the mainstream move towards sustainability) but the faster ins and outs of fashionable whimsy.

In short, we've recognised that far from being frivolous, happy homemaking, the sort that comes from within, is fundamental to good health and happiness. Indeed, a report by consulting group McKinsey found that faced with a prolonged period of financial uncertainty, today's consumers "intend to continue shifting their spending largely to essentials... cutting back on most discretionary categories."And spending surveys show that these essentials resolutely include DIY and household goods as well as gardening items.

It reflects new priorities, if not a revised perception of luxury, namely a room of your own, quiet time, and outdoor space. Inevitably, the latest and the new will once again sing their siren song to lure us into another era of dictated must-haves and designer icons, but right now, we're dancing to our own tune and discovering what really lights our personal fires. And it feels good.

And yet, I am reminded of a quote by the Indian monk, Swami Vivekananda: “Comfort is no test of truth. Truth is often far from being comfortable.”