Interior designer Beata Heuman's top 3 design rules for creating a magical home

Swedish-born, London-based designer Beata Heuman has shared how to create a joyous and uplifting home at a time when we need it the most, and we're listening to everything she has to say. 

See: Interior design tips – decorating secrets for the world's top experts

Speaking on the Homes & Gardens podcast, The Well-Crafted Life, Beata Heuman speaks of the joy she feels in the carefully crafted yet intimately charismatic home that she shares with her husband and children. The designer offered three key tips for creating a dreamlike haven where reality becomes somewhat surreal and undeniably fantastical, and young and old can exhibit remnants of their past. 

'I have always had quite a strong feeling that a home should encompass everything you need, as well as being comforting and cozy,' Beata said. 

'I like when you focus on the moment and bring in the outside world. You can create that by adding elements that are a bit out of this world and almost a bit fantastical – so my work sometimes takes a bit of a surreal direction to accentuate the feeling that you are in another world.'

Beata explains that you can craft a vibrant, personal oasis with three tips: in creating a sense of occasion, embracing the sentimental, and adding variation in your home. In conversation with our Editorial Director Sarah Spiteri, she further expanded on these three rules while offering anecdotes of how they play out in her rainbow-kissed London home. 

1. Create a sense of occasion

The first of Beata's three tips involves celebrating minute pockets of reality – whether that is the froth on your morning coffee or the timeless pleasure of a helium balloon on your birthday. 

'I always come up with little rituals,' Beata begins. 

The designer continued, suggesting that while our choice in decor is important, a fantastical home is primarily created through the way we indulge in daily domestic activities. 

'I found that especially, in the middle of lockdown, you need to make things feel special. Making a little extra effort to create a nice memory or occasion goes a long way.'

• See: Living room ideas – inspiring ways to decorate and furnish your space

2. Embrace the sentimental

Showcasing nostalgic elements of your heritage, family heirlooms, or fragments of your travels are, according to Beata, an essential part of a home. 

'Everything I do comes from some experience or memory,' Beata shares. 'I think it's really important to have those memories that shape you reflected in your home around you. That is naturally how I design.'

The designer continues, explaining the importance of 'problem-solving,' linking to her second design rule. 

'Everything we sell in Shoppa really means something to me. It all comes from a need. We aren't pushing products, we were in need of something at some point, and we just made it happen.'

'I think sentimental [pieces] are often under-appreciated, but, to be honest, these are the things that really resonate with people. It doesn't need to be the most beautiful thing of all time; it just needs to mean something. 

'I do think that's so important, when it comes to creating a space that's personal for you, to include things from your childhood or things that have stayed with you, for whatever reason. It will just mean so much more.'

3. Add variation in your home

Beata concluded her rules by encouraging us to elevate our every day by emphasizing our home's assets and showcasing the best of our decor. 

'We are all stuck in our houses, and it's the same thing day in, day out – so I wanted to create a variation around me,' Beata shares. The designer then offered ways to accentuate our interiors through little luxuries, encouraging us to light candles and craft uniquely individual moments that matter, most notably whilst in lockdown.

'If you light a candle in the evening, the room feels really different, and I do think that can be quite uplifting and inspiring, Beata added.

See: Interior designer Susie Atkinson reveals the simple secret to bringing bespoke beauty into your home