Homing

The co-founder of The Modern House and Inigo draws on psychology, sociology, design principles and firsthand accounts to examine how our homes and domestic habits have the power to make us feel profoundly better in every aspect of life. As a society, we’re spending more time at home than ever before, with two-thirds of our waking lives now taking place in one location. At the same time, our collective mental health is declining and we’re increasingly disconnected. We devote extraordinary amounts of time and money to meditation apps, sleep trackers and dietary supplements – but what if we considered our environment just as carefully? Matt Gibberd argues that home is the place where our physical and inner selves come together. Organised into five parts – belonging, routine, comfort, safety and identity – Homing considers the psychological principles that underpin this relationship, whether you’re a solo renter in the city or a sprawling family in the countryside. We can all find big and small ways to improve our homes by learning to recognise what matters most in daily life. Matt encourages us to notice personal thresholds for noise, clutter, light and social contact, explains the cumulative impact of micro stressors and makes a compelling argument for learning to live with fewer, better things. Thoughtful, original and fundamentally useful, Homing is an essential guide for navigating modern life.